Shadowing...

[Yutis]

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[armybound]

A lot of people use family connections to do it. You could be bold and just go to the hospital, find one who looks nice and flat out ask. You could also call the hospital and see if there's a person or department that sets those kinds of things up.

I'd wear something nice, like slacks and a button down shirt.

As far as what you do.. follow them. Ask questions if you need to (not in front of patients). Just observe and see what they do. Maybe the doc will be nice and actually let you do something.

 

[szhao]

being bold definitely gets a 10 in my book

 

[leahmaria]

i had a connection which set up my shadowing experience (and i think that if you search, you should be able to find some good threads on the topic of setting it up).

as for what i did, i shadowed at an ophthalmolgist's office. I had the opportunity to shadow two doctors as they saw patients and during surgery days at the hospital. i was called into see procedures in the office as well, like work on the eyelids and macugen (??) injections. i also got to follow their techs and a few of them taught me how to perform parts of the intake for a patient. whenever they saw something interesting, they would let me look and explain to me and the patient what was going on. often patients explained to me what was going on themselves. i learned so much about the different instruments and a lot about the eye, it was really an excellent experience.

i wore scrubs at the dr's request (all white to begin with, i was kind of rediculous looking) and then i followed suit of the techs and i wore a solid colored shirt with scrub bottoms. just ask, and they should be able to tell you what to wear. when i shadowed surgeries in the hospital, i had to change into hospital scrubs.

have fun with your experience, mine was really excellent!

 

[baylormed]

I have read a lot about shadowing physicians and I'm curious how do you find/ask a physician if you can shadow them? and when you shadow what do you wear/do?

Thanks A Lot!

- Yutis

To find shadowing opportunities:
Try with physicians you know. If none, try cold calling (it worked for me, anyway).

What to wear:
Ask the physician you are shadowing. I was told to wear scrubs like all the MA's and they taught me how to do a lot of cool stuff.

What you do:
You mostly watch. If your doctor's nice, he might let you try a few diagnosing techniques with his patients and teach you a few tricks.

 

[Hurricane95]

A lot of physicians are very receptive to having interested students follow them around. Some may not be, but you'll never know if you don't ask. As mentioned by other posters, a good way of finding a doc is through family/friend connection. You can also try the premed club (such as alpha epsilon delta) at your school or your premed advising office. These sometimes have contact info for participating docs. Or you can just be brave (and courteous) and kindly ask a doc in a specialty you are interested in.

When you go, make sure to dress professionally. Ask the doc, just in case he wishes you wear scrubs instead of clinical dress. If you are seeing patients in-office, usually slacks and a button down shirt are good (or skirt for ladies). If you are in the OR or around the hospital, you will have to go to the locker room and change into hospital scrubs. You will also sign in if you are attending the OR.

As for what you will do, it will usually consist of watching and talking. The doc will explain the things he does and you can interact with the patient and learn how to interview. I highly doubt that as an undergrad you will be allowed to do anything that involves touching the patient. Remember, the doc is being nice enough to let you follow him around and whatever happens is on his watch. You are a liability while you are in his office or especially in the OR. Ask before you do/touch anything, and if you are in the OR do NOT touch anything blue. Use common sense and have fun. Shadowing is, in my opinion, a very rewarding experience and a hell of a lot better than simple volunteering. The potential to learn is much higher.

I found that almost all patients are very receptive to having a student present, even in fields that might surprise you. I shadowed an ob/gyn for over two years and had no problems. Just be mature and respectful, and have fun!

 

[bwonger06]

A lot of physicians are very receptive to having interested students follow them around. Some may not be, but you'll never know if you don't ask. As mentioned by other posters, a good way of finding a doc is through family/friend connection. You can also try the premed club (such as alpha epsilon delta) at your school or your premed advising office. These sometimes have contact info for participating docs. Or you can just be brave (and courteous) and kindly ask a doc in a specialty you are interested in.

When you go, make sure to dress professionally. Ask the doc, just in case he wishes you wear scrubs instead of clinical dress. If you are seeing patients in-office, usually slacks and a button down shirt are good (or skirt for ladies). If you are in the OR or around the hospital, you will have to go to the locker room and change into hospital scrubs. You will also sign in if you are attending the OR.

As for what you will do, it will usually consist of watching and talking. The doc will explain the things he does and you can interact with the patient and learn how to interview. I highly doubt that as an undergrad you will be allowed to do anything that involves touching the patient. Remember, the doc is being nice enough to let you follow him around and whatever happens is on his watch. You are a liability while you are in his office or especially in the OR. Ask before you do/touch anything, and if you are in the OR do NOT touch anything blue. Use common sense and have fun. Shadowing is, in my opinion, a very rewarding experience and a hell of a lot better than simple volunteering. The potential to learn is much higher.

I found that almost all patients are very receptive to having a student present, even in fields that might surprise you. I shadowed an ob/gyn for over two years and had no problems. Just be mature and respectful, and have fun!

yeah make sure to touch nothing blue, which was one of my biggest mistakes. i accidentally tripped over an IV poll which had the blue tarp that seperates the head and the rest of the body clamped to it. luckily it did not fall down, but man was i saying my prayers extremley fast.

 

[GALPRI]

I was able to shadow a physican for two months in the summer. I was able to to do this through a medical program that I am involved in. I also agree with random calling different clinics to volunteer. You'll have more chances of them taking you in to volunteer, this could open great oppurtunities for you. Get to know the physicians.

When I would go I would dress in navy blue scrubs (I heard they are the most proffesional looking ones) with nice white shoes. I made sure that my hair was combed to give a good presentation. Also I would dress in Sunday Best and in comfortable shoes. I was advised to always dress nice because appearances matter.

 

[arcin]

I called my ENT and asked if I could shadow him for a couple of days. He said yes and even wanted me to watch him while in Surgery. I am currently watching him during most of his surgeries while I am out of school. It has been an AMAZING experience.

 

[spicedmanna]

A good source of information can come from your FP. Tell him (or her) about what you are looking for, and see if he (or she) has colleagues who might be open to it; FP's know a lot of people because one of their primary roles is to refer out to specialists. If you are close with your FP, you might even shadow him or her.

Be proactive within the limits of your capability and healthcare certification level. While shadowing is mostly observing, it doesn't need to be passive. Get involved, see if the doc will let you obtain some histories, check vitals, and perform some primary assessments under his supervision (for example, you might ask, "if you there are any cool lung, or heart, sounds, may I hear it?"). If you are shadowing a doctor at an academic medical center, the doctors and patients are used to students being around.

And don't just stick around for the direct patient care, either, see the behind-the-scenes stuff, too. Watch as the doctors present and manage the patient and family, run through their differential diagnosis, order certain studies, scrub the database (or patient chart) for information about the patient, read labs and nucmed reports, write their patient care reports and narratives, etc. Take call with a doctor if you can. You'll learn so much.

 

[bwonger06]

And don't just stick around for the direct patient care, either, see the behind-the-scenes stuff, too. Watch as the doctors present and manage the patient and family, run through their differential diagnosis, order certain studies, scrub the database (or patient chart) for information about the patient, read labs and nucmed reports, write their patient care reports and narratives, etc. Take call with a doctor if you can. You'll learn so much.

and the intense amounts of paper work FPs have.😴

 

[NiteOwl]

Start out with your family doctor. Thats what I did, one day I just asked if I could shadow him and he was fine with it. I get to go out to his office between semesters now for a few days here and there. Some doctors let you observe, and some are really cool like mine and let you do stuff. I get to listen to the heart and lungs, check the ears and nose sometimes, and a couple of times I got to do a straight leg lift test on patients with back pain. One time I was allowed to help with a proceedure to remove a small cyst.

As for what to wear. Just something nice, unless they tell you to wear scrubs or something otherwise. Don't wear jeans. I typically wear khakis (if you are a girl, you can wear a skirt if you prefer, I just hate-actually abhore-skirts....so uncomfortable! but slacks or skirt is fine whichever you want.) or slacks, and a button up shirt, with black lace up shoes.

 

[calvinahhh88]

does anyone know how should i call the hospital if i want to shadow surgeons? because i dont know any personally but that what i want to pursuit later on so i though it be nice if i can shadow them instead of priviate physician, but i have nothing against that either.

 

[JennyB]

does anyone know how should i call the hospital if i want to shadow surgeons? because i dont know any personally but that what i want to pursuit later on so i though it be nice if i can shadow them instead of priviate physician, but i have nothing against that either.

I'm in the same boat as you...I'm just going to go through the surgery department's website and look for people that are doing what I want to do. I'm also going to look through the directory. Then, I'm going to e-mail them a nice letter saying how they are really awesome and inspirational and that I want to follow them around for the day. 😳

 

[bwonger06]

I'm in the same boat as you...I'm just going to go through the surgery department's website and look for people that are doing what I want to do. I'm also going to look through the directory. Then, I'm going to e-mail them a nice letter saying how they are really awesome and inspirational and that I want to follow them around for the day. 😳

you can also ask a volunteer cordinator to volunteer in the OR. Usually you'll make some blood runs or go to pathology lab, but when theres nothing to do(often), ask the OR secretary or a scrub tech/nurse if you can go in and watch a surgery. Also, i know the hospital im at, someone from the OR has to go to the trama room when there is a trama coming in to make sure the patient doesnt need surgery, ask if you can go along and you can see some pretty sick stuff.

 

[Heyheyhey123]

I had to pull teeth to get a physician to let me shadow. I just picked a specialty I was interested in and looked through the phonebook. I left a million messages, and finally ONE called me back. It was a dermatologist and I just followed him around, watched during exams and stuff.

You could also ask the hospital in your area if they let students shadow. The hospital in my area has a program set up specifically to let people that are interested. At my hospital, I have followed a doctor during inpatient visits and actually got to shadow in the OR (which was really cool).

So basicaly, it's not really hard to get hooked up, you just have to be persistent and ask a bunch of people. Also, ask people you go to school with who they have shadowed and you might get some ideas.