shadowing

[rose13]

Hi all,

I have been accepted to optometry school. I am eager to go, but with the world situation as it is, we just received confirmation that my husband's job will not allow the anticipated transfer (we have to move to another state) and we both agreed that if I pursued a medical education, we would have to be within a few hours of each other by car, if not physically together (We were 18 hours by car away from each other when I was in graduate school, and this lasted about 2 years). So, with that in mind, I am now seriously considering DO school (it has always been in the back of my mind, but now it has moved to the forefront). Because of my career changing status, I feel that a DO education would be more conducive to my career goals (primary care medicine). So, my question is, how much shadowing time would be an acceptable qualification for DO school? If anyone has anymore suggestions that would help me to make myself a more competitive canditate, I would appreciate the advice. I am planning to apply for the class starting in the fall of 2004.

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[ez073323]

rose13,

I don't know that there is a defined "qualification" with respect to shadowing time.. The DO school that I hope to get into requires a letter of recommendation from a physician, but does not require it to be from a DO, although it is recommended. How does one score a letter of rec from a doc??? Shadowing, right? But is it the only way?

I think the objective should be to acquire experiences that affirm that osteopathy is right for you, and that you are able to adequately defend/explain yourself when you are asked the unavoidable question, "Why Osteopathic Medicine?" Personally, I never shadowed a DO in the classical sense, so much as I have worked along side them in the field. In fact, I have worked with many more MDs, but I have chosen osteopathy because its philosophies are more congruent with mine, I am really interested in OMM, if given the choice between a DO and an MD as a PCP, I would want a DO, and because I have so many personal contacts that are DOs and have had such an awesome experience so far. I know I didn't give you a very concrete answer, but I don't think there is a concrete answer to the question you have posed.

Extra-curriculars and the such will never replace a great GPA and MCAT score though! (I learned that the hard way....)

Good luck in all your endeavors and keep the questions coming!!

Brian Enriquez
[email protected]

 

[rose13]

Thanks for the response, ez073323. I was just curious about shadowing time because I am trying to figure out how much time I would need to spend with a DO to prove that I know what I am getting into. I worked in a medical research lab under a MD (clinical trials) and we did see patients. Also, I did volunteer work as a phone counselor for an STD hotline and assisted terminal patients at a hospice. Also, I have studied the DO philisophy off and on for the past 4 years because I have considered it and I know why it is more "me;" I am only interested in primary and preventive care (absolutely no surgery) and the DO education tends to stress this training for its physicians; I also think that OMM is interesting because I truly believe that medications are not always the best remedy, so I would like to learn more about that as well. I have not taken the MCAT yet, but I plan to do so this year. I found a DO who is willing to let me shadow her and I plan to ask her how much time she suggests I spend doing so. Are you in or have been accepted to DO school? Also, if you, or anyone else have anymore advice, feel free to share it with me. I really appreciate it. Thanks.

 

[ez073323]

rose13,

First of all, I never congratulated you on your acceptance to optometry school... That is no small task and it speaks very well on your behalf. Way to go! I have contemplated becoming an OD, but for now, I am aiming for DO, eventhough I know that if I get into Touro I will be explaining for the rest of my life that I am a physician, not an optometrist I have been seeing my optometrist for a long time, and i hope i am as comforting and helpful to my patients as he has been to me...

Secondly, I assume that your husband is in the military... Please shake his hand and thank him for me for his service to your country. I pray that your family remains unaffected by the current state of events.

No, I haven't gotten into school yet, and that fact should be highlighted, since all the advice I give may all be for naught... I have seen a lot of my fraternity brothers and a lot of my friends successfully defeat the beast that is the medical school application process, and I feel somewhat well informed about it...I graduated from UC Davis with a double major in psych and physio in 2000, worked as an EMT for an ambulance company in the bay area and as a CPR instructor for a while, and I currently work as a helicopter dispatcher... all along the way i was doing extra stuff with the directive of polishing my application, but I wish I just applied straight out of college... I have every faith in myself that I will be serving the public as a physician some day in addition to the things I do now, but the route I have chosen to take has been two years longer than it could have been and I can't wait to begin the next stage of my journey. Looking back, I think I waited so long to apply secondary to the fear of rejection, but getting waitlisted at Western didn't hurt has bad as I thought it would. UC Davis might say "no thanks" to me anyday now, and I don't think I will die if I don't get in, but it will hurt a lot. I will be crushed if I don't get into TUCOM, but should that horrific malady occur, I will have no choice but to get up, dust myself off, ask Touro's (and Western's) ad com what my weaknesses were, and make those weaknesses my strengths. (wow, did I use the pronoun "I" enough or what?)


Back to your subject of how much time one "needs" to spend shadowing... I still stand by my previous post, that you only "need" to do enough to make it sercure in your mind and heart and in the eyes of an admissions commitee that you have a grasp of what you are getting into (although I watched Hopkins 24/7 last night, and one of the docs on the show said that very very very few people who apply to medical school really know what they are getting into, and I have to agree). Of course more is better, but just remeber there are so many factors that go into the decision making of the application process... Just follow your heart and do what you know is right and you should be safe.

Score some strong letters of rec that hopefully have the sentence "and when rose13 is a physician, i would have no problem being her patient..." Get a 45 on the MCAT... Find a cure for cancer and AIDS... Eliminate Osama... and you just might get a secondary application

I hope everyone had a great president's day!

Please email me or hit me on AIM if you need anything!

Brian Enriquez
[email protected]
AIM : ez073323

oh... the two best songs that keep me going through this application garbage are : "The Middle" by Jimmy Eat World and "Beautiful" by my girlfriend Christina Aguilera... but "Lose Yourself" by Eminem can be enjoyable at times....

(I talk too much)