Shadowing Questions

[DoctorSaab]

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Sorry for posting in the Allopathic Section. I meant to post in the Pre-Allopathic. So if the moderator can move the thread there, that would be cool. And if you lot could reply to this post anyway that would be cooler 😀

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How the heck does anyone get to shadow doctors?

I called up the clinics and hospitals here in my town and all of them start crying about HIPA. This is getting extremely annoying.

The only volunteering opportunity I am getting at the hospital is sitting at the reception desk, which isn't good enough.

How do you guys get so many hours shadowing doctors?

What do medical schools think about applicants that really havent shadowed because they haven't ever been given the opporutunity?

 

[chameleonknight]

I did my volunteering in an ER setting. I think that I was supposed to be at a desk, for families or something like that. Needless to say, it took me about 5 seconds to get a pair of scrubs and get my butt back towards the action. Typically, I was a scutmonkey, but I also got to stand in on quite a few interesting cases.

I hate saying this, since it is so vague and unhelpful, but the buzzword is "proactive" You just have to be proactive and find someone who will let you do SOMETHING. Heck, getting a job as a CNA is not out of the question either.

Btw, one of the main reasons I got as much leeway as I did is that I volunteered for the night shift, where they were shorthanded at the time.

 

[azzarah]

I volunteered 4 hours a week for 2-3 months at a hospital and that was all the "clinical" experience I got if that helps. Those other kids must have connections or something.

 

[Febrifuge]

I volunteered 4 hours a week at the ED... and to do that, I had to be HIPAA-trained. I watched a video, signed a document, etc. And when I called offices to talk about shadowing, I mentioned this fact.

If you're not already under the HIPAA Cone of Silence, maybe you could talk to your volunteer program person, and see if there's a way to get you there?

 

[chameleonknight]

Yeah, I forgot to mention that I did that stupid video/quiz thingy as well.

 

[Pemulis]

Many Universities have a career development office that keeps in touch with a sample of alumni who have volunteered to share their career experiences with current students. Check to see if yours does. I was able to contact a number of physicians, PA's, nurses, etc. this way and arranged to shadow quite a few of them. Even the ones that I wasn't able to shadow at least were willing to talk to me via e-mail or whatever, which is another good way to find out more about whether medicine is for you or not.

 

[Biscuit799]

Sorry for posting in the Allopathic Section. I meant to post in the Pre-Allopathic. So if the moderator can move the thread there, that would be cool. And if you lot could reply to this post anyway that would be cooler 😀

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How the heck does anyone get to shadow doctors?

I called up the clinics and hospitals here in my town and all of them start crying about HIPA. This is getting extremely annoying.

The only volunteering opportunity I am getting at the hospital is sitting at the reception desk, which isn't good enough.

How do you guys get so many hours shadowing doctors?

What do medical schools think about applicants that really havent shadowed because they haven't ever been given the opporutunity?

Start smoking cigars. Then you can hang out in cigar bars, and there is always a doctor who is a regular at every cigar bar. Once you meet him, (s)he'll most likely offer to let you shadow, but don't hesitate to ask, especailly if you've spoken with them a few times. But don't forget to concentrate on the cigars as well becuase the doc will probably want to talk cigars for at least a short while during your shadowing!