Should I ask to shadow physician in the family?

[futuredoctor201]

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For a while now I have been trying to find doctors to shadow. So far I only have eight. So I was wondering whether or not I should ask a family member of mine who is a family physician. The only problem is he lives about 2000 miles away so I would fly, which is no problem. The problem is I have only talked to him online, I have never actually met my cousin before and I am almost scared to ask if I could shadow him. He also owns his own practice. Any opinions? Thanks.

 

[MedPR]

For a while now I have been trying to find doctors to shadow. So far I only have eight. So I was wondering whether or not I should ask a family member of mine who is a family physician. The only problem is he lives about 2000 miles away so I would fly, which is no problem. The problem is I have only talked to him online, I have never actually met my cousin before and I am almost scared to ask if I could shadow him. He also owns his own practice. Any opinions? Thanks.

8 is more than enough.

 

[Barley426]

Yeah I only shadowed one physician, albeit many times, and I never had anyone at interviews say I should have shadowed more.

 

[pre med 2014]

Most people shadow one or two doctors. Shadowing a family member won't work.

 

[Doctor Strange]

For a while now I have been trying to find doctors to shadow. So far I only have eight. So I was wondering whether or not I should ask a family member of mine who is a family physician. The only problem is he lives about 2000 miles away so I would fly, which is no problem. The problem is I have only talked to him online, I have never actually met my cousin before and I am almost scared to ask if I could shadow him. He also owns his own practice. Any opinions? Thanks.

"Only eight" is fine. I only ever shadowed one doctor extensively. I shadowed two others, but those were only for one day, and I didn't even bother putting it on AMCAS. You're fine.

 

[SpecterGT260]

For a while now I have been trying to find doctors to shadow. So far I only have eight. So I was wondering whether or not I should ask a family member of mine who is a family physician. The only problem is he lives about 2000 miles away so I would fly, which is no problem. The problem is I have only talked to him online, I have never actually met my cousin before and I am almost scared to ask if I could shadow him. He also owns his own practice. Any opinions? Thanks.

You have more than enough. For other people, it is fine to shadow a family member if you are lacking things to talk about in interviews or essays, but a non family member is always better for an app. You could get by doing a family member and 1 other doc. I don't think I would list the family member in amcas though.

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[ShenanigansMD]

You could ask the family memeber to refer you to a friend doctor to shadow, which I'm sure he/she has many of.

 

[ChartaBona]

it took me half a year to get the opportunity to shadow an anesthesiologist for 4 hours/day for 2 days. That was the extent of my shadowing experience.

 

[Narmerguy]

Do you expect them to ask if the doctors you shadowed were family or something 😕 If you've got 8 already and just added another one to the list, it's not like it really matters who they were.

 

[Catalystik]

Shadowing a family member is perfectly acceptable, so long as they don't write you a letter of recommendation. But traveling 2000 miles for a shadowing experience would be a ridiculous expense. Why do you feel a need to add to the shadowing experience you already have?

 

[BabyDoc86]

If you need a rec letter because you didn't get one from the previous 8, or if you've taken time off from school/shadowing, then ask the family member if (s)he can direct you to someone who might be interested in taking on a shadow. Shadowing the family member would be fine, but I don't think you "need" it. However, flying 2000 miles is a bit ridiculous. I would look locally.

 

[xXIDaShizIXx]

8 is more than enough.

I shadowed 6 at 20-30 Hours a piece. Everyone is different.

 

[Anathema]

Why is everyone saying shadowing a family member is not acceptable (except for Cat)? I thought most of the stigma was with the letter of recommendation but if you're just shadowing, I don't see what negatives that signifies. If anything, it should show your family is involved in medicine and helped play a role in your decision to pursue it.

 

[Ismet]

Why is everyone saying shadowing a family member is not acceptable (except for Cat)?

Because everyone other than Cat is a pre-med who doesn't understand admission. Experience is experience, it doesn't matter if you shadow your dad, your dad's best friend, your cousin...like Cat said, the only thing they can't do is write a LOR. Often you'll get a better experience/more exposure when shadowing a family member than you will a random stranger.

 

[Jas1360]

Shadowing a family member is perfectly acceptable, so long as they don't write you a letter of recommendation. But traveling 2000 miles for a shadowing experience would be a ridiculous expense. Why do you feel a need to add to the shadowing experience you already have?

In response to the expense part:

Unless they live some place cool and you want us to justify why you have to go visit your uncle in Hawaii or Fiji, lol.

 

[futuredoctor201]

The reason I was thinking about flying 2000 miles to shadow a physician in the family is because I think I would be able to get a better shadowing experience and better overall view of medicine rather than shadowing a complete stranger. Also, since I have never been to the state where he lives, and it's not too far from the ocean, I was also think about making a mini vacation out of it too.

 

[Catalystik]

In response to the expense part:

Unless they live some place cool and you want us to justify why you have to go visit your uncle in Hawaii or Fiji, lol.

 

[pre med 2014]

The reason I was thinking about flying 2000 miles to shadow a physician in the family is because I think I would be able to get a better shadowing experience and better overall view of medicine rather than shadowing a complete stranger. Also, since I have never been to the state where he lives, and it's not too far from the ocean, I was also think about making a mini vacation out of it too.

Tell your family member you want to go on vacation and kill 2 birds with one stone. More than likely they will be able to connect you with a colleague to shadow during your stay

 

[AHossain]

That's actually a lot I think.

 

[amad01]

You will be more comfortable shadowing a family member, which will probably result in a better experience, easier to ask questions, get advice, etc... Green means go.