Shadowing hour amount

[the humming sea]

Sorry if this is the wrong place for this...

I am curious what the average amount of shadowing hours is for applicants/competitive applicants/acceptees.

I know that the more the better, but I am looking to pin down a number that I can have as a goal. Thanks.

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[TheFogHat]

I will have 40-50 hrs when I apply.. I shadowed for 1 week full time.. IMO, the amount of time doesn't matter, you can probably get into a school like Harvard with or without shadowing experience.. The reason you should shadow is to help you analyze your decision to become a doctor. This will help you write your personal statement and nail some of the tougher interview questions. Shadowing is not about resume', it is about introspection.
During my shadowing experience, I went in expecting to boost my resume. However, I noticed that I had this strange desire to be a nurse instead of a physician (specifically because nurses spent significantly more time with patients, and my primary reason for entering medicine was to interact with people and help them when they were sick). I had to analyze why I felt the way I did, and if I still wanted to be a doctor. Now, I still want to be a doctor, I just figured out better reasons after being forced to rethink things

 

[the humming sea]

I am not doubting you, and I appreciate your input on using shadowing to "really decide on medicine" but if that is the case than why do schools like clinical volunteering?

 

[anfleisch]

clinical volunteering is different than shadowing, in my mind and I think to the schools. One is in part community service.

 

[Catalystik]

With clinical experience, you focus on interacting with the patient, whether through a job or volunteering. In shadowing, you focus on what the doctor is doing. There is a wide range of what schools like to see in hours (including none at all), but I generally recommend 60-80 hours split among 2-3 docs, of which one is in primary care, so as to satisfy the expectations of a broad range of school.

 

[the humming sea]

Thanks. I guess that i always thought that schools would count shadowing as clinical experience considering that you are seeing patients.

 

[Catalystik]

A few positions cover both, like ER scribe, medical translator, or private office medical assistant.