Shadowing surgeons

[HessExpress]

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I just started volunteering at a hospital and was interested in shadowing surgeons in the OR. Has anyone done this as an undergrad, and is it hard to get all the consent and what-not for it?

 

[WendsJ]

I have shadowed in the OR and am currently doing it for the third summer in a row, and it did not require anything extra.

 

[HessExpress]

ah cool cool...how often were you able to shadow in the OR? Do you still, if before, intend on a career as a surgeon? Thanks!

 

[lady bug]

If you wanna see some really amazing procedures, shadow a plastic/reconstructive surgeon. I did that for a few months, and was very intrigued by the things I saw. It gave me a whole new appreciation for medicine (especially the reconstructive cases).

 

[HessExpress]

Thanks...I'll defintely check into that.

 

[mh2002ny]

How do you go about shadowing a surgeon? I mean, how do you find one who wants students to shadow him or her? It's definitely something I'm interested in doing.

Thanks.

 

[~EnnI~]

Originally posted by mh2002ny
How do you go about shadowing a surgeon? I mean, how do you find one who wants students to shadow him or her? It's definitely something I'm interested in doing.

Thanks.

my question exactly. but on a side note, shadowing an ER doc's pretty darn cool too. you get to see some serious things. that really opened up my eyes to what it's like being a doctor...

 

[mh2002ny]

Originally posted by ~EnnI~
my question exactly. but on a side note, shadowing an ER doc's pretty darn cool too. you get to see some serious things. that really opened up my eyes to what it's like being a doctor...

Shadowing an ER doc would be cool too, but how do you find one to shadow?

Thanks.

 

[dancer7]

you should also check to see if your undergrad has any shadowing programs. i shadowed an ortho surgeon for 8 hours a week, took a health care management seminar and got class credit! it was great, and very easy.🙂

 

[~EnnI~]

Originally posted by mh2002ny
Shadowing an ER doc would be cool too, but how do you find one to shadow?

Thanks.

well in my case, i got lucky. i have a friend who works in the ER. he helped me to get the shadowing position...i'm very fortunate about that.

do you volunteer anywhere? you can try building a relationship with a physician who works where you volunteer. you an also try asking your physician or a friend of the family who is a physician. i'm currently trying to shadow my dad's cardiologist. try to broaden your horizons and shadow any physician willing. it won't ever hurt to have alot of shadowing under your belt.

other than that, you can try cold-calling. just make phone calls to physicians or their secretaries who you don't even know, and ask if that physician would be willing to let you shadow for like an hour per week...

 

[HessExpress]

I'm already volunteering at my local hospital, so all I did was contact the volunteer dept. head and she's gonna set it up...

 

[Trajan]

If you want to see some surgeries, work as a scrub tech.

I did the year between college and medical school. Scrubbed (i.e. set up the sterile field, mayo stand, and passed instruments to surgeon(s)) for about 400 cases this year. Saw lots of urology (radical prostatectomies, nephrectomies, ilial conduits, endo cases), general surgery(whipples, hernias, to name a few), ophthalmology, pediatric surgery, and a bit of plastic and vascular. Of course some of the surgeons aren't always nice to you when you are working as a tech (a few were horrible) as opposed to shadowing as a premed, so be warned.

A great experience, but I doubt I'll become a surgeon.

 

[mute360_CO]

Trajan, did you need to be certified to work as a scrub tech? I worked as an orderly in an OR and those techs certainly needed a certificate and proof of graduating from an accredited ST program.

If you have any spare time and want to make a couple of bucks, I'd definitely recommend getting a job as an orderly. The experiences were phenomenal! Everything from patient contact to being in the middle of a trauma case. I would stay late after my shift was done to see craniotomies and other cool stuff. I got a really good idea about how important *everyone* is who works in the OR.

I found that the docs (surgeons and especially the anesthesiologists) were really nice. Most were happy to teach a little (and quiz me) about what was going on in the case. It was the nurses that I had to worry about. 🙄

My charge nurse never would let me bring in anybody to watch cases. I guess every hospital is different with their red tape regarding liability etc... A friend of mine knew a surgeon and she was allowed to come in and watch him. Sometimes if the patient and doc say its OK, you're good to go.

 

[VienneseWaltz]

If you want to shadow, network. Many pre-med offices know about shadowing programs. If you or your family knows a doctor, ask if you can shadow her. If you mention to her that you are also interested in x, y, and z specialties, she probably has friends in those specialties who would be happy to let you follow them around. Many hospital volunteer offices run shadowing programs, and even if not, as someone mentioned earlier, just by volunteering, you can meet doctors who are happy to let you shadow them once they realize you are pre-med. If you do research that is in any way clinically related, ask whether you can shadow someone on the team. I have shadowed using all of these methods. It's a great experience.

Most of my shadowing was done pre-HIPAA Privacy Rule, but generally I was introduced (usually as a "student doctor") to the patient by the physician, who asked whether it was OK for me to observe. The patient almost never said no.