Shadowing

Started by redj
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redj

redj

Full Member
7+ Year Member
I recently started shadowing a DO and will be for the rest of the semester. I should be around 40 or so hrs then. Is there a roundabout number that's schools look at for that? The MD in the office has said I can also shadow him down the road if I would like to so if I need more hours I can get them.
Thanks in advance
 
redj said:
I recently started shadowing a DO and will be for the rest of the semester. I should be around 40 or so hrs then. Is there a roundabout number that's schools look at for that? The MD in the office has said I can also shadow him down the road if I would like to so if I need more hours I can get them.
Thanks in advance
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You've shadowed enough if you can answer interview questions dealing with the positive and negative realities of practicing medicine in the US: patient advocacy, cultural sensitivity, malpractice, medical ethics, current healthcare policy, difficult patients, insurance companies, professionalism, etc. And if you can get a decent LOR from the DO if you plan to apply to osteopathic med schools.
 
Ok awesome thanks! I havent asked yet but I'm pretty sure I can get one from him. I Plan on applying mostly DO an 1-2 MD. Would a md school not really care for a do lor?
 
Catalystik said:
You've shadowed enough if you can answer interview questions dealing with the positive and negative realities of practicing medicine in the US: patient advocacy, cultural sensitivity, malpractice, medical ethics, current healthcare policy, difficult patients, insurance companies, professionalism, etc. And if you can get a decent LOR from the DO if you plan to apply to osteopathic med schools.
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You really need shadowing to answer all those? I just did it for casual observation, and found the rest by reading newspapers and exploring other experiences.
 
Lawpy said:
You really need shadowing to answer all those? I just did it for casual observation, and found the rest by reading newspapers and exploring other experiences.
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Whatever works. But concrete examples are nice to have when you're asked common questions like, "If a patient says they want to try XXX alternative therapy before trying your prescription/remedy, how could this best be approached?"
 
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How in depth would an interviewer expect an answer to be for those types of questions? Just enough to answer the question drawing from shadowing/reading or more than that?
 
redj said:
How in depth would an interviewer expect an answer to be for those types of questions? Just enough to answer the question drawing from shadowing/reading or more than that?
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Your mileage will vary based on your interviewer, but no one will expect perfection. A mix of 1) in-depth responses, 2) "I don't know," and 3) what you've learned from your experiences is likely to be fine.

Definitely don't be that guy who claims 300 Shadowing hours and can't answer ANY related questions.
 
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