Shadowing

[Mannix]

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Hi, I am a freshmen and everything has been going pretty well.. Grades, been volunteering, I want to start shadowing a doctor and I have the opportunity to shadow a friend of the family who has a OB/GYN clinic. I have a question:

If one of the main reasons to shadow is to get LOR then is it dumb to shadow freshmen year?

Thanks a lot for potential feedback

 

[UCLAMAN]

One of the reasons to shadow is to get an idea of what the medical field is like. I wouldn't ask a physician for a letter of rec if all I did was shadow him. He wouldn't be able to write much for me other than I was probably a great guy and that I shadowed him. Those letters are worthless. I think you should ask physicians for LORs if you actually did something cool like organize a blood drive at their clinic, or did clinical trial research with him, something more meaningful than simply shadowing. With that said, of course it is never too early to start collecting LORs IMO. Even if it is quite early, if they have already written you a letter you could always ask them to update it in the future.

 

[IlianaSedai]

I personally think the point of shadowing is to check out the clinical setting and see whether it's for you. So if you're shadowing out of curiosity and you're finding it interesting, then by all means keep shadowing! If you have to drag yourself out of bed to do it and you absolutely hate it, then you're probably putting yourself through unnecessary trouble.

Try it once and see whether you find it interesting... if so, then schedule more shadowing dates, and if not, then you don't have to. Remember the main point of shadowing is for you, not for your application. So if medicine in general, or OB/GYN in particular, interests you, just ask lots of questions, ask what the lifestyle of the job is like.

Get a general sense of what the job is like day in and day out. If you're following the physician around for a day and you see an exciting procedure, you'll probably be thrilled-- but don't stop there, actually ask what it's like to be going to this job every day of your working life. That will give you a clearer sense of what the work is like, especially since your work day isn't all fireworks. 🙂

 

[UCLAMAN]

Oh yeah, I don't think its a "dumb" thing to shadow a physician. I consider it a great opportunity to gain some insight into what being a physician is all about.

 

[SilverAngel1110]

i agree with the above posters... do it for the experience, not for the lor's. i shadowed a doc in oncology this summer, and it was by far the most incredible experience i've ever had. i learned so much about medicine just by watching and talking to patients, etc etc. i didn't ask my doc for a lor, because i didn't feel like he knew anything about me besides that i was nice, polite, and interested in medicine. however, this experience really finalized my decision to become a doctor, and has given me so much to talk about in my interviews. i think that when i bring it up, interviewers see that my decision to become a doctor is an educated one. having experienced the hospital setting and talked to the doctor i shadowed a great deal about the benefits and problems of a career in healthcare, i have a decent (albeit still incomplete) idea of what it's like out there.

 

[Woots32]

I shadowed a OB/GYN and it was an AWESOME experience. I had to buy a white coat, and he introduced me as a med student - guess he forgot the "pre" part. 😉 By the end of the week I was finding the heartbeat, measuring the uterus and taking histories. (Don't worry, he always double-checked everything. 🙂 ) It made me sooooo excited to get started, especially because the nurses kept trying to recruit me to join the practice when his partner retires in about 8 years. 😀

 

[jtheater]

I totally agree with people on this one. Shadowing was a great experience for me when I was a freshman. I don't think I would be going to medical school if it weren't for it. I HATED O-Chem and almost dropped out of the whole process. Shadowing gave me the motivation to keep up with the requirements that didn't interest me.

As for LORs, again I agree with others... don't get one from them unless you've done something much more than just watch them or take pulses. If you're mentors are part of a university, see if you can get invovled with some of their research. If you do it early, you might be able to have your own project when you're a senior. I did clinical research and had to take call in the ER at night to recruit patients and meet with the doctors and nurses about the porject. I think research is also a great way to contribute to medicine and improve patient care before you are a physician.