Shadowing Follow-Up

[fireheart]

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I know there are a lot of threads about how to find shadowing experiences but I couldn't really find one that answered my question. Basically, I emailed a couple of PT clinics yesterday asking if I can shadow someone there and my question for you guys is how long do you think I should wait until I follow-up with a call (Assuming they don't reply any time soon)? Also, how can I avoid sounding pushy when I call asking for an update?

Thanks in advance for any help

 

[aroszko]

Most places will respond pretty quickly. If you hear nothing I would say its safe to call after a week has gone by.

 

[Romazicon]

I agree with @aroszko . A week of waiting would be the best if they don't call you back. When I looked for an inpatient setting, I called 5 hospitals. 2 called back saying they will send my message to the rehab director. they never contacted me again. 2 other places didn't contact me, so I called a week later..and they didn't contact me afterwards as well. the last place called me a couple of days later and the PT there asked what my availability was, I said mornings. he said "great, when do you want to start?" I said, "tomorrow if it's fine" and he said "that's not a problem, 6 am, polo and khakis, no shorts or sandals..see you then" I didn't have to show any proof of vaccinations (although I had them for a previous internship at a cardiac rehab facility) or any orientation or training. He just said to not talk about patients and their personal information out of the hospital. It was the last day of a PTA there, so for the next 4 weeks he taught me "as a PTA" how to care for the patients. And it was a perfect "observation" experience 🙂 Good luck to you! and follow up with your experiences. Too many (informative) threads die down due to inactivity now a days.

 

[amilly1324]

For email or calls, especially during the holiday season a week is probably a good time frame. I would suggest trying to physically stop in the office and ask. That's how I got all my observation hours and whoever is at the front desk usually can tell you right away if the accept shadows and if they have availability to take more on. You definitely get a quick response that way. Good luck and don't worry too much about coming off 'pushy'. All PT offices go through these encounters and are really understanding.

 

[DesertPT]

I agree that in general if you haven't had an email replied to within a business week, you are never going to get a reply. Occasionally this is not the case (eg if someone is on vacation, etc) but there is nothing wrong with calling to politely follow up after a week.

 

[DesertPT]

I agree with @aroszko . A week of waiting would be the best if they don't call you back. When I looked for an inpatient setting, I called 5 hospitals. 2 called back saying they will send my message to the rehab director. they never contacted me again. 2 other places didn't contact me, so I called a week later..and they didn't contact me afterwards as well. the last place called me a couple of days later and the PT there asked what my availability was, I said mornings. he said "great, when do you want to start?" I said, "tomorrow if it's fine" and he said "that's not a problem, 6 am, polo and khakis, no shorts or sandals..see you then" I didn't have to show any proof of vaccinations (although I had them for a previous internship at a cardiac rehab facility) or any orientation or training. He just said to not talk about patients and their personal information out of the hospital. It was the last day of a PTA there, so for the next 4 weeks he taught me "as a PTA" how to care for the patients. And it was a perfect "observation" experience 🙂 Good luck to you! and follow up with your experiences. Too many (informative) threads die down due to inactivity now a days.

It was amazing to me how wide the spectrum of hoops you have to jump through can be...I shadowed at one hospital that took 3 months to complete the application process to shadow...and I went other places where I literally called and they said sure come in whenever you want...

 

[Romazicon]

It was amazing to me how wide the spectrum of hoops you have to jump through can be...I shadowed at one hospital that took 3 months to complete the application process to shadow...and I went other places where I literally called and they said sure come in whenever you want...

Exactly my experience. This is also deters a lot of "lazy" applicants (if I may say) from searching for inpatient settings which may or may not lead to a rejection from a school (or may not qualify them for schools who require inpatient). So unfortunate, but for those who persevere through this process may possess the same characteristics of current practicing PTs.

 

[fireheart]

Like Romazicon previously said a lot of informative threads die down due to inactivity so I'm going to provide a quick update. I applied to three places (for this summer) and so far all have given me an initial response. I have hours set up with one outpatient clinic already which start in May. The second clinic said that their head physical therapist was out for a while and that she just got back in so I'm still waiting for more information. The third offered me hours but they were all before summer started so I couldn't do those. They told me to call again near the start of summer. If that doesn't work out I'm also in the process of applying for a hospital right now. Hopefully it won't take me 3 months.