Shadowing Question

[sisko]

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So I'm non-trad, working full time night shifts and finishing up my last couple classes during the days. No shadowing yet.

I'd planned to start shadowing next semester and I'd have days free to schedule it (even though I should be sleeping but what can you do).

However I just got offered a job which would allow me to see a new area of health care and probably look a little better application-wise than my current job, but it's daytime. I'd like to be back on a normal person schedule, but then what about the shadowing?

They said they could be a little flexible for classes, but as for shadowing, I really don't know how much time off I would need for it -- not sure what to tell them. I've seen some people on here shadowed every week for multiple years with a doc and others did just one half-day and that's it... a gigantic range!

So what do you guys think: slightly less impressive/interesting job but days free to do more shadowing, or slightly more impressive/interesting job that allows little schedule availability for shadowing? If you'd vote for the new job, how much time off should I tell them I'll need to get a minimum amount of it done? Thanks in advance 🙂

 

[Mti43]

So I'm non-trad, working full time night shifts and finishing up my last couple classes during the days. No shadowing yet.

I'd planned to start shadowing next semester and I'd have days free to schedule it (even though I should be sleeping but what can you do).

However I just got offered a job which would allow me to see a new area of health care and probably look a little better application-wise than my current job, but it's daytime. I'd like to be back on a normal person schedule, but then what about the shadowing?

They said they could be a little flexible for classes, but as for shadowing, I really don't know how much time off I would need for it -- not sure what to tell them. I've seen some people on here shadowed every week for multiple years with a doc and others did just one half-day and that's it... a gigantic range!

So what do you guys think: slightly less impressive/interesting job but days free to do more shadowing, or slightly more impressive/interesting job that allows little schedule availability for shadowing? If you'd vote for the new job, how much time off should I tell them I'll need to get a minimum amount of it done? Thanks in advance 🙂

I would say whichever job you want more. I don't think shadowing hours are very important if you are working in a clinical healthcare job (if not I think it would be more so). I only have 8 hours of total shadowing and have been fine this cycle. I have however had 4 years of clinical work experience. You can always take a day or two off to shadow just schedule far in advance if you have too.

 

[arc5005]

Take the job that you think is better. I'm sure you can take sick days or personal days to shadow here and there. Physicians also work evenings/weekends/nights...so that leaves you options to shadow when you are not at work as well.

 

[Dr Tony T. Chopper]

So I'm non-trad, working full time night shifts and finishing up my last couple classes during the days. No shadowing yet.

I'd planned to start shadowing next semester and I'd have days free to schedule it (even though I should be sleeping but what can you do).

However I just got offered a job which would allow me to see a new area of health care and probably look a little better application-wise than my current job, but it's daytime. I'd like to be back on a normal person schedule, but then what about the shadowing?

They said they could be a little flexible for classes, but as for shadowing, I really don't know how much time off I would need for it -- not sure what to tell them. I've seen some people on here shadowed every week for multiple years with a doc and others did just one half-day and that's it... a gigantic range!

So what do you guys think: slightly less impressive/interesting job but days free to do more shadowing, or slightly more impressive/interesting job that allows little schedule availability for shadowing? If you'd vote for the new job, how much time off should I tell them I'll need to get a minimum amount of it done? Thanks in advance 🙂

So let's reconsider this in terms of ADCOM's POV. What they like to see is not only personal insight of understanding what you are getting yourself into, but also the intensity of involvement which would be a testament of genuine commitment. If you are able to parse your new working experiences into points you can elaborate on in your secondary/interview, then it is a worthwhile thing to go for. On the other hand, even if you have had 200 hours of shadowing but cannot spin the experience into something of actual substance, then it won't be of much help. If you do find a few hours here and there to shadow, make good use of it by asking many questions, take careful note of the names of OMT techniques, bombard OMS3/4 with school specific questions and go out to any local COM open houses.

 

[arc5005]

Does anyone know the format of putting in hours for shadowing?

It is like:

Dr. X, Family Medicine, Contact info, 50 hours
Dr. Y, Peds, Contact info, 25 hours
Dr. Z, Gen Surgery,, contact info, 30 hours

 

[sisko]

Take the job that you think is better. I'm sure you can take sick days or personal days to shadow here and there. Physicians also work evenings/weekends/nights...so that leaves you options to shadow when you are not at work as well.

Yeah I think I'm gonna take the day job, I think it'll be better and if I have to take vacation/sick days for shadowing then so be it.

 

[OrdinaryDO]

I would just shadow weekends.. Or shadow once every now and then by scheduling days off that fit into your shadowing schedule. I sometimes shadowed 3 days in a row while on break from school, I worked full time as well. Shadowing does an excellent job of helping you see what it is that doctors do as a whole, rather than what they do with just the patient. Doctors have loads of work they do behind the scenes and the majority of the doctors, if not ALL, have said the beHind the scenes stuff like billing, coding, scheduling, etc. is what really stinks about their medical career. So, I think it is always a good idea to get a sense of the good and the "bad" just to see if it is worth it in the end. You don't have to have a thousand shadowing hours to look impressive, just do what you can WHEN YOU CAN and make it count while you're there.

 

[123456123456]

Personally, I would take the job and try to squeeze in shadowing like weekends or other days you may have off (if you get 50 hours that is more than enough, you could probably make do with 20-30 but I would aim for 50). A lot of specialties like hospitalists and emergency medicine and surgeons work on weekends or even late shifts if you wanted to go shadow a few hours after work. If you shadowed 3 hours after work Monday-Friday you would only need to do that a few weeks.

 

[sisko]

Personally, I would take the job and try to squeeze in shadowing like weekends or other days you may have off (if you get 50 hours that is more than enough, you could probably make do with 20-30 but I would aim for 50). A lot of specialties like hospitalists and emergency medicine and surgeons work on weekends or even late shifts if you wanted to go shadow a few hours after work. If you shadowed 3 hours after work Monday-Friday you would only need to do that a few weeks.

That's a good idea, I will look into shadowing EM docs and hospitalists where I work... they will be working non 9 to 5 hours.

 

[123456123456]

Glad I could help!

 

[Johnny Appleseed]

Take the day job. You can get all the shadowing hours you need in a short amount of time. I took a week off at my job and shadowed a doctor for the full week and all of a sudden I had 40+ hours of shadowing. The hardest part is finding docs to let you shadow them...