Shadowing!

This forum made possible through the generous support of SDN members, donors, and sponsors. Thank you.

ERaddict

New Member
7+ Year Member
Joined
Nov 21, 2013
Messages
1
Reaction score
0
Hi all!
I am shadowing at a local hospital in exactly one month, and the doc I'm shadowing said I need to come up with a list of 5 things I want to see in the hospital.

She wasn't anymore specific than that unfortunately, so I have come up with two things I want to see, but I don't know enough to know what else I want to see.

Right now I have:

1. Surgery! (preferably a traumatic surgery, but any surgery since I have never seen one)
2. Autopsy (if I am legally allowed to see that)
3.
4.
5.

I would request psychiatry, but funding dictated that the hospital cut that program unfortunately, and a lot of hospitals don't allow premed students into those visits due to the nature of the field anyway.

Any suggestions?? Every bit of help is appreciated.

🙂
 
I shadowed the ER once and was allowed to sit bed side for practically 5 resuscitation. It was a pretty intense day. Not saying it happens everyday, but you do get to see some pretty cool things!
 
If your hospital has outpatient clinics onsite, you may want to shadow a doc during one of those. There is more to medicine than surgery and ER, so you'll want to see what other physicians are doing on a daily basis.
 
+1 for ER. Chances are you'll get to see something unique and be exposed to a whole variety of medical procedures. Plus, I love seeing the attending place all gathered data from a patient together in order to figure out what is wrong with them. I can talk about reasons why I adore ER for hours, so I would definitely recommend you give it a go.
 
What kind of doctor are you shadowing? Are you sure this list isn't 5 things that this particular doctor might perform as part of their job? I agree you should shadow in the ED and rounding, as the idea is to get an idea for what the job is like (and not necessarily to see as many cool things as possible).
 
I would probably add physician-patient interaction on that list and then maybe also how patient records are managed.

Also, just wanted to share something on this thread related to shadowing. I've been shadowing a primary care physician for a couple months now. He recently has med students in there along with me because they are doing their primary care rotations. All of a sudden, I feel dumb because these medical students know so much. To make matters worse, the physician will turn around and quiz me + the medical student. The other day, he looks at me and goes: so it looks like the sodium is a false positive, why do you think? I stand there looking dumb and the medical student saves me by saying "because high glucose gives false sodium reading."

It's definitely a fun experience but all of a sudden it feels a lot more intense
 
Labor and delivery is a pretty awesome thing to shadow in if there is a couple that will allow you to come in. Also agree with ER shadowing. I think the most beneficial thing is to have a longer term relationship with a physician in a field so you can begin to understand their day to day, and also start to get an understanding of the common things they see and what they do with patients.
 
I would probably add physician-patient interaction on that list and then maybe also how patient records are managed.

Also, just wanted to share something on this thread related to shadowing. I've been shadowing a primary care physician for a couple months now. He recently has med students in there along with me because they are doing their primary care rotations. All of a sudden, I feel dumb because these medical students know so much. To make matters worse, the physician will turn around and quiz me + the medical student. The other day, he looks at me and goes: so it looks like the sodium is a false positive, why do you think? I stand there looking dumb and the medical student saves me by saying "because high glucose gives false sodium reading."

It's definitely a fun experience but all of a sudden it feels a lot more intense

I know the feeling. I've been observing surgeries for quite a while now, and during a mastectomy the physician turns to me and a med student and says "So, this one goes back to your course studies. See how I'm irrigating with water instead of saline, which we usually use? Why?" I was in the middle of studying for my MCAT at the time and just reviewed osmolarity, and wanted to shout "So the water goes into the cells!" But then the cells would die, so that sounded pretty stupid. The med student didn't know either, so the two of us stood dumbfounded staring at the surgeon. Definitely an interview-worthy moment. Anyways, turned out I was on the right track, since we were removing a tumor and wanted the surrounding cells to burst and die. So in moments like these, if you have an inkling, go with it! The worst thing that can happen is you're wrong, and you're not even in med school yet. It'll be okay 🙂

In response to OP, you can add rounds, though for my taste they can be rather boring (go surgery!). Try to see what physicians do in an in-patient unit when they're not rounding or having lunch. I haven't done ER shadowing, but from other's comments it seems engaging and very informative, so definitely try that if you can. If you want to observe something primary care-like but in the hospital, see if you can find a hospitalist.
 
I've been working at an ER for almost a year, and I have NEVER seen the docs shadowed by anyone other than med students. I sincerely doubt many ER docs would accept shadows. It's just too hectic of a place most of the time.

But if you can get someone to let you, take that opportunity. It's a fun place. 👍
 
I know the feeling. I've been observing surgeries for quite a while now, and during a mastectomy the physician turns to me and a med student and says "So, this one goes back to your course studies. See how I'm irrigating with water instead of saline, which we usually use? Why?" I was in the middle of studying for my MCAT at the time and just reviewed osmolarity, and wanted to shout "So the water goes into the cells!" But then the cells would die, so that sounded pretty stupid. The med student didn't know either, so the two of us stood dumbfounded staring at the surgeon. Definitely an interview-worthy moment. Anyways, turned out I was on the right track, since we were removing a tumor and wanted the surrounding cells to burst and die. So in moments like these, if you have an inkling, go with it! The worst thing that can happen is you're wrong, and you're not even in med school yet. It'll be okay 🙂

In response to OP, you can add rounds, though for my taste they can be rather boring (go surgery!). Try to see what physicians do in an in-patient unit when they're not rounding or having lunch. I haven't done ER shadowing, but from other's comments it seems engaging and very informative, so definitely try that if you can. If you want to observe something primary care-like but in the hospital, see if you can find a hospitalist.

Shadowing surgery is fun and definitely worthwhile. But it's not very educational for you. It's just cool. The main benefit of shadowing is observing patient interaction and experience, and you're not really getting that when the patient is unconscious under a sheet. When I've interviewed applicants I'm a little concerned if they only have surgery shadowing. Don't let the fear of being pimped stop you -- ask the doctor to teach you what you don't know, and realize that they shouldn't really expect more than interest from you.
 
I've been working at an ER for almost a year, and I have NEVER seen the docs shadowed by anyone other than med students. I sincerely doubt many ER docs would accept shadows. It's just too hectic of a place most of the time.

But if you can get someone to let you, take that opportunity. It's a fun place. 👍
This has not been my experience. Of the 30+ ED docs I've worked with, I can't think of many that wouldn't allow someone to shadow. Honestly, I think many students just don't bother asking them.
 
Shadowing surgery is fun and definitely worthwhile. But it's not very educational for you. It's just cool. The main benefit of shadowing is observing patient interaction and experience, and you're not really getting that when the patient is unconscious under a sheet. When I've interviewed applicants I'm a little concerned if they only have surgery shadowing. Don't let the fear of being pimped stop you -- ask the doctor to teach you what you don't know, and realize that they shouldn't really expect more than interest from you.

With all due respect, I'd disagree. In my understanding, medical schools want applicants to know what various doctors' day to day is like, so they know what they are getting themselves into. If you are interested in surgery, like I was, it's indispensable to have stood on your feet for 6 hours trying to follow what the physician is doing, as that is how you will be spending many of your work days. It's not always a "cool" trauma case, sometimes it's incredibly long and monotonous, and sometimes the patient doesn't make it. I'm not saying it's not useful to sit in at a few out-patient appointments, but why is that any more useful than observing patient treatment?

On the other hand, the patient interaction on in-patient units is virtually inexistent, reduced to rounds (though many are now done in a room, in a conversation between nurses and doctors) and the occasional time when a doctor drops by the room. Forgive me if I'm generalizing, I've only volunteered in two hospitals in a major city, perhaps (and most likely) other hospitals do things differently.

tl;dr: Different doctors have different levels of pt interaction, and observing one side of the spectrum is just as educational as observing the other.
 
I saw an autopsy because I had a connection with a pathologist, and I totally wish you could see one too. It really made me think about life, and death, and the human body, and the purpose of our lives.

I would see ER like other people said, since interesting stuff goes down. Pediatrics is always nice, and neonatal units are super interesting if your hospital has one.

Check out the fields you want - surgery for sure, pathology (beside autopsy, they do a lot of histology which means they look at slides of cells and diagnose from them - and that is a field that is easy to "get the feel for" in a day or two) and family medicine in general, since it has a little bit of everything.

What other fields are you interested in? There's cardiology, radiology, anesthesiology, sports medicine, orthopedics.

Enjoy!
 
This has not been my experience. Of the 30+ ED docs I've worked with, I can't think of many that wouldn't allow someone to shadow. Honestly, I think many students just don't bother asking them.

Oh, ER docs are GREAT! No question there. Really wonderful people. If you asked any of them, I'd bet they would say yes. I can only imagine there is some administrative regulation which prevents them from having shadows. I mean literally 0 shadowers in almost a year. That can't be coincidence.
 
With all due respect, I'd disagree. In my understanding, medical schools want applicants to know what various doctors' day to day is like, so they know what they are getting themselves into. If you are interested in surgery, like I was, it's indispensable to have stood on your feet for 6 hours trying to follow what the physician is doing, as that is how you will be spending many of your work days. It's not always a "cool" trauma case, sometimes it's incredibly long and monotonous, and sometimes the patient doesn't make it. I'm not saying it's not useful to sit in at a few out-patient appointments, but why is that any more useful than observing patient treatment?

On the other hand, the patient interaction on in-patient units is virtually inexistent, reduced to rounds (though many are now done in a room, in a conversation between nurses and doctors) and the occasional time when a doctor drops by the room. Forgive me if I'm generalizing, I've only volunteered in two hospitals in a major city, perhaps (and most likely) other hospitals do things differently.

tl;dr: Different doctors have different levels of pt interaction, and observing one side of the spectrum is just as educational as observing the other.

Yes. I agree with you. But in medical school -- at least the first two years -- your time in the hospital is going to be with patients, talking to them, learning how to soothe them when they are sad, angry, hurt. Seeing practiced professionals do it first helps.
 
Rounds on the ICU floor. Lots of variety, patient interaction, boring paperwork "job" stuff, watch doctors put patient puzzles together, see how the medical team is run and how those dynamics work. It's a cool place, I liked it.
 
Top