Shadowing while in post bacc

[jules0328]

Okay, here is my dilemma. I am currently doing a full time post bacc and already have a Masters degree in Exercise Physiology. I worked at a hospital for 2 years as a Clinical Exercise Physiology under many doctors and have tons of experience with one-on-one patient care and treatment. I was still thinking about shadowing this semester, but I was thinking about shadowing a DO. I may go the DO route and feel that I will have covered my bases if I shadow a DO now.

My question is, should I shadow at all? I have hospital experience and can get an excellent letter of recommendation from my prior director, while he is not an MD, he does possess a PhD in Applied Physiology and Anatomy and is a professor. I also have research experience and will have my name on a couple of papers that will be coming out in the next few years.

I guess to sum things up, with all of my hospital experience and research background, should I shadow???And if so, should I shadow an MD or a DO? I cannot do both, I dont think i will have the time to do that.

Any advice or recommendations would be appreciated.

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[Proprietary]

Here's my two cents . . . It couldn't hurt. You can meet someone who can become a great friend or mentor to you through shadowing, you might decide what specialty you want, and you may have the decision to become a doctor solidfied in your mind. As long as you have enough time, I say go ahead and do it!

 

[jules0328]

Thanks for the advice....I need some more though. I plan on taking the April 2005 MCATs and want to start studying soon.....I noticed that there is a lot of time devoted, not just studying, but also attending the Princeton Review classes I will most likely attend. Here is my schedule for this semester:

Mondays two classes, one in the am and one in the pm

Tuesday: totally packed, from 9:35 until 5:45pm all day, no break

Wednesday: same like Monday

Thursday: totally packed, same like Tues

Friday: one class at 11am.

Before I commit to shadowing someone, I need to make sure that it fits in my schedule, and then I must take into consideration the MCATs and how much studying I will be putting into them throughout these next couple of months.

What do you guys think? Thanks.

 

[jeanne]

Thanks for the advice....I need some more though. I plan on taking the April 2005 MCATs and want to start studying soon.....I noticed that there is a lot of time devoted, not just studying, but also attending the Princeton Review classes I will most likely attend. Here is my schedule for this semester:

Mondays two classes, one in the am and one in the pm

Tuesday: totally packed, from 9:35 until 5:45pm all day, no break

Wednesday: same like Monday

Thursday: totally packed, same like Tues

Friday: one class at 11am.

Before I commit to shadowing someone, I need to make sure that it fits in my schedule, and then I must take into consideration the MCATs and how much studying I will be putting into them throughout these next couple of months.

What do you guys think? Thanks.

Personally, I'd commit to rocking your classes and MCAT right now. You don't need to shadow to demonstrate you understand what you're getting into etc. Only shadow if you truly want to, otherwise you may end up just wishing you could be somewhere else while following the doc around--thinking you should be studying and not getting everything out of your time w/ the doc like you could be. just my $.02

 

[sidewalkman]

I think most DO schools require a LOR from a DO, but MD schools don't require the MD letter. So, if you're thinking DO, then shadowing a DO is a must!! You could shadow one for a few hours every Saturday morning or something, or wait until breaks.

Also, are you still researching? If so, is that in your schedule already? That should be factored in, too.

All in all, I agree with previous posters - max out your time committed to classwork.

 

[jules0328]

Here's your 2 cents back. B/c thats 2 cents too many. Your wrong, very wrong. A big knock on my application at one school was that I did not have enough clinical experience "and that I might know what I was getting myself into". I volunteered and shadowed as an ugrad, but I did not shadow a profession I am interested in.

Peterock: Your 2 cents are very much appreciated. However, as far as I go, I personally, do not know what specialty I want to be in as an MD (that is, if I ever get there in the first place) and therefore, if I do plan on shadowing, I would pick something random. As fas as having clinical experience, I have 2 full time years of one on one patient care and treatment. I interacted with doctors on a daily basis and ran full length pulmonary function tests, stress tests, metabolic tests, worked with cardiac patients, quads and paraplegic patients, and all different populations. I am 26 and I am at the point in my life where undergraduate experience is completely under the rug. I agree with the prior poster about shadowing a DO, yes, it is necessary because most DO interviews will wonder why DO in the first place.

I may take the advice of the other posters and maybe shadow during breaks or on a Saturday morning. But, most MCAT classes are the the AM so I would be cutting myself short on that end. As far as research, no I am no longer doing research, so that is off of my plate for now. Right now, I just started classes and my load is not as bad, but I am sure once classes really pick up, taking bio, chem and physics, I will be swamped. Plus, I believe MCAT classes start in November.

I want to thank all of you for your .02cents. It is appreciated. I am still toying with this shadowing idea. No matter what, shadowing is beneficial, but my time is what is at stake here. Thanks.

 

[Trismegistus4]

Here's your 2 cents back. B/c thats 2 cents too many. Your wrong, very wrong. A big knock on my application at one school was that I did not have enough clinical experience "and that I might know what I was getting myself into". I volunteered and shadowed as an ugrad, but I did not shadow a profession I am interested in.

I've been looking into medicine for close to a year now and I still don't understand this, especially since the doctors I've talked to seem to think volunteering and shadowing is a waste of time. How can one not know what one is getting oneself into? Doesn't everyone know that med school is hard, that residency involves being on call and working through the night every few nights, that medicine involves dealing with bodily fluids and being around sick people? How can a school look at someone who has done volunteering and shadowing, and claim that that person STILL doesn't know enough to be making an informed decision?

 

[Febrifuge]

I almost have to wonder if saying "you should go get [more/ a different kind of/ more recent] experience" might be the adcom version of "it's not you; it's me." You know, the all-purpose way of saying "you're not quite what we want... but we don't want to crush your spirits completely."

I'm sorry if that seems presumptuous. It's just that there are a lot of intangibles too, and what works for one person won't work for another. Whatever the 'magic' number of experiences or the total time spent shadowing is for you, I guess they're saying they don't think you're there yet.

I think the best advice (for everybody) is to do what YOU think will make you the best student, and eventually the best doctor. As long as you can say you did whatever you did because that was your goal, I gotta believe you have an advantage.

 

[jeanne]

Here's your 2 cents back. B/c thats 2 cents too many. Your wrong, very wrong. A big knock on my application at one school was that I did not have enough clinical experience "and that I might know what I was getting myself into". I volunteered and shadowed as an ugrad, but I did not shadow a profession I am interested in.

Just want to clarify my above point, being that the op does not have to shadow to demonstrate they know what they are getting into as they have 2 years clinical experience. I do think that in general, yes, you need some exposure to justify your decision to pursue medicine.

 

[jules0328]

Sort of. I read the interviewer review, she gave me a 9 out of a 10 overall and the only even slightly negative thing I could find was that she thought I might need more clinical experience in the specialty she worked in... that I said I was primarily interested in (remember, I volunteered in a hospital in HS and college and shadowed in college). I've had this happen to other friends as well (I don't know if they read their reviews though). Of course, I've had other friends who have done next to nothing clinical wise and gotten in, but their numbers are usually badass. You guys should cover all bases, right?

Wait, I need to make sure I am getting this. The interviewer gave you a score of 9 because she thought you needed more clinical experience in her field, in other words, the interviewers?????? Huh...wait, how is that even possible? I mean, one cannot possibly work in every single medical specialty there is, I mean....that is all you could do with your time, would be shadow doctors day in and day out. How is that not seen as biased?

Maybe I am reading this the wrong way. But, could you clarify that? It's almost like saying, well, you are too old for the medical field so I give you an 8. Anyone else finding this strange to believe? And I am not doubting you at all, but could you just explain what you mean by this.