Shadowing... illegal??

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Okay so I just asked my primary care doctor who is a pretty nice guy if I could shadow him or if he knew any doctors in ID or surgery that he might put me into contact with that I could shadow. He then proceeded to tell me that it was illegal to shadow and a violation of some sort of laws and the only people allowed to do so are medical students and doctors...

I am almost positive this isn't the case as I don't see many posts here about how you were arrested for following a doctor around. Who knows the knitty gritty on this and can possibly suggest a course of action for me to go about shadowing a doctor?

 

[HeatherMD]

I don't know if it's illegal.. I've really never heard of such a thing.

But then I never heard of shadowing period until I came to these boards last week and learned it was required for some schools.

Shadowing strikes me as wildly intrusive and obnoxious. I guess it wouldn't really surprised me if it WAS illegal.

 

[MudPhudHopeful]

Keep looking around. I remember when I was looking for doctors to shadow, a few places restricted shadowing to medical students, but I finally found some that allowed me to shadow. I do not think it is illegal. Perhaps, because of the new HIPAA laws, some places have put restrictions on who can shadow and who cannot.

 

[HumidBeing]

In some areas of the country it is very difficult to find places which will allow you to shadow because of their interpretation of HIPAA.

I had to have an attending enroll me in one day HIPAA training program at a local hospital and get signed off on that before I could shadow in either the office or hospital. Other areas of country can be much more strict.

 

[Keona]

Some places have rules against shadowing, so it's sometimes hard to find ones that permit it. I shadowed my pediatrician and he just asked the patients if they minded, and introduced me when we went to see the patients. He also usually didn't want me to go in the rooms with the teenagers who he thought would be embarrassed. I have never heard of anyone saying it's illegal until your post🙂 Keep on calling around to different places, you need the shadowing.

 

[magikdoc]

when I went to shadow some orthopedic surgeons, I basically felt like it was an interview for a job / criminal background check. I had to submit a resume, transcript, briefly meet one of the doctors, and even explain to the secretary why I wanted to become a physician in the first place!

definitely a more "informal" process trying to shadow at a small clinic than in a hospital...

when i shadowed at a VA hospital, man, that took nearly 3ths of paperwork through my research PI! I felt like such a liability to them after that, that I only shadowed for 1 time, and then just decided to drop it....

definitely present yourself very very professionally and also be very careful what you do when you are shadowing...

 

[beachblonde]

Keep asking. Eventually you'll find a Dr. who doesn't mind you shadowing and hence, will let it happen.

You might have to do anything from getting a TB test to signing HIPAA forms, do an online training, yadda yadda but hopefully it won't be too obnoxious. I'm lucky, the new guy I'm shadowing just has me show up. No forms to fill out or anything. It's pretty sweet. 😎

 

[Demas567]

Okay so I just asked my primary care doctor who is a pretty nice guy if I could shadow him or if he knew any doctors in ID or surgery that he might put me into contact with that I could shadow. He then proceeded to tell me that it was illegal to shadow and a violation of some sort of laws and the only people allowed to do so are medical students and doctors...

I am almost positive this isn't the case as I don't see many posts here about how you were arrested for following a doctor around. Who knows the knitty gritty on this and can possibly suggest a course of action for me to go about shadowing a doctor?

Every place is different (hospitals, clinics, health centers, etc). However, no where is it illegal to shadow a physician if the proper confidentiality requirements are followed. I've shadowed family physicians, pediatricians, cardialogists, radialogists, orthopedic surgeons, and gynecologists (and I'm a guy!!). I would just try to find another doctor to shadow. Good luck in your search!

 

[Destro96]

Those who cite HIPPA and/or other rules is
(1) Ignorant
(2) Blowing you off
(3) Both

It's a simple as formally enrolling you as a volunteer. You receive brief training on HIPAA and airborne pathogens/PPE, are tested for Hepatitis and TB and it's done. All legal and all on the up-and-up.

Anyone who tells you otherwise falls into one of the categories above.

 

[rafflecopter]

Thanks for all the posts. I can contact the doctors I know and see if they will let me shadow (only a cardiologist and a neurologist). If they don't want me to, how should I go about finding doctors willing?
Should I look up all the doctors in a hospital and email/call them one-by-one?
Anyone have advice on this?

 

[BlueElmo]

Wow, reading these posts made me realize how easy I got my shadowing position. Here is what happened:

1. I looked up a pediatric surgeon on the hospital website.
2. I faxed him that I was interested in shadowing.
3. He replied back to come in the very same week.
4. I came in and now shadowing every week.

No paperwork, no worrying about HIPPA, nothing. I get to watch really cool pediatric surgeries every Friday: hernia, removal of neck absecess, trauma, appendicitis, tumor removal, etc.
Plus the doctor encourages questions and explains everything to me.
I guess I got really lucky with this process.

 

[calnation]

Maybe the doctor didn't want to be shadowed. Easy way to say no.

 

[Vihsadas]

It's definitely not illegal. As an observer, you're no more involved in patient contact (actually probably less so in some cases) than a formal hospital volunteer. Completing the formal requirements for hospital volunteering at whatever institution your shadowing will take place should be enough. These should include HIPAA training.

 

[Law2Doc]

It's definitely not illegal. As an observer, you're no more involved in patient contact (actually probably less so in some cases) than a formal hospital volunteer. Completing the formal requirements for hospital volunteering at whatever institution your shadowing will take place should be enough. These should include HIPAA training.

Bear in mind that states can have their own privacy rules that exceed the federal HIPAA rules. So it's not inconceivable that it could be illegal at some places. More likely though, it represents someone's misunderstanding of what's allowed under HIPAA. I'd keep trying to find someone else.

 

[Steeler7588]

I guess I got really lucky with this process.

Same. I guess it's different in that the doctors I've shadowed are people I've known for a pretty long time, but they all just told me to come in whenever. They would tell the patients that I was interested in being a doctor, and asked if it was alright if I was in the room.

If you've already gotten tests done, had training, etc. for some sort of position in a hospital already, bringing this to attention should help.

 

[NicoDuval]

So, I ended up talking to a small hospital in a not so good area of Baltimore. Go in as a volunteer, not someone looking to shadow. They posted me in the ER as that is the place that needs the most help. This was actually great because I ended up meeting most of the doctors in the hospital. The surgeons will come down to help with minor things and would often have me come in to assist. After that, it is no problem getting to see other operations. I even got hired on as a unit clerk after like 2 months, so now I get experienced and I get paid. So, found a hospital that will actually appreciate the help.

 

[DomFowler]

I asked 5 different physicians about shadowing and shadowed 4 of them

The one that said "no", gave me the same crap about how only medical students can shadow..yada yada. And that doctor was actually a friend of mine..lol

I later on asked one of the other doctors if its true. He said its a bunch of crock, made up to keep you out the clinic.

Basically, shadowing is all about squeezing every last hour out of the doctor. Some will be happy to have you, some may act like they don't want you around. Doesn't matter. Just swallow your pride and keep shadowing, either until you believe you received enough exposure or till they kick you out.🙂

GL

-Dom

 

[175961]

I'm pretty that doc was just pulling your leg and didnt want you tagging along. In the hospitals I've volunteered at they always make us do the HIPAA thing before we are allowed to be in and around everything, but all the docs that I've shadowed at private practices were always more than willing to let me shadow them. I'm not sure about the legalities of it all but I think that a doctor in a private practice can do whatever he wants in terms of allowing someone to shadow him