Shadowing in NYC with full-time job?

[IgA]

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Does anyone have any suggestions on how to go about shadowing with a full-time job? After work, weekends? I am not really sure what to do here. I work 9-5 Mon-Fri, but would be willing to take a few days off if necessary. I live in NYC so there must be opportunities here.

Has anyone had any great shadowing experiences in NYC, or has shadowed at odd times or weekends? Looking for any type of suggestions. Thanks!

 

[kami333]

I'm not in NYC but I used my vacation days to shadow.

 

[red doctober]

Just keep in mind that most if not all hospitals will require you to pass a health screen even for shadowing. Get a PPD test and a physical if you haven't within the past year and have the documentation ready to give.

 

[OwlPower22]

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[justkeepswiming]

It's totally possible- I've been doing it for a couple of years now. I've done both nights and weekends at different times. I know Lenox Hill, Columbia and Cornell have shadowing programs/misc clinical volunteer positions, and I'm sure other hospitals in the area do too. I started out by calling the individual hospital's volunteer offices, and I also checked with my postbacc program for opportunities. As red doctober mentioned, the initial health screening and paperwork can take a while to process, depending on the hospital, so the sooner you start the better!

 

[CRCprofessional]

I have a full-time job and have shadowed on my days off (state holidays, etc). But, what worked best for me was finding some ED docs and shadowing them since their hours vary greatly. You should get some good shadowing nights/weekends at a ED.

 

[IgA]

It's totally possible- I've been doing it for a couple of years now. I've done both nights and weekends at different times. I know Lenox Hill, Columbia and Cornell have shadowing programs/misc clinical volunteer positions, and I'm sure other hospitals in the area do too. I started out by calling the individual hospital's volunteer offices, and I also checked with my postbacc program for opportunities. As red doctober mentioned, the initial health screening and paperwork can take a while to process, depending on the hospital, so the sooner you start the better!

Thanks! I will definitely call up and see what they say. What kind of doctors have you been shadowing at these places? Did you get to choose what you wanted to shadow, or were you just placed somewhere?

 

[IgA]

I have a full-time job and have shadowed on my days off (state holidays, etc). But, what worked best for me was finding some ED docs and shadowing them since their hours vary greatly. You should get some good shadowing nights/weekends at a ED.

How did you get in touch with these ER docs? Through the hospital or just contacting them directly?

 

[justkeepswiming]

Thanks! I will definitely call up and see what they say. What kind of doctors have you been shadowing at these places? Did you get to choose what you wanted to shadow, or were you just placed somewhere?

I ended up in a program within a specific area of the hospital doing a combination of shadowing/clinical research. In my experience, where you end up shadowing kind of depends on the hospital and the program that you find, and it's sort of a combination between what you're interested in and where they have space or a need for volunteers. Feel free to PM me if you have any specific questions!