Still no shadowing...

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DocMcMommy

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I'm hoping to apply this cycle, but I still don't have any shadowing experience.

I have been volunteering with hospice for two years, though. I'm just worried I won't be able to find any specific shadowing opportunity before application season.

I've cold called a lot of offices and they either don't allow or don't have room. I tried to talk with my volunteer coordinator for hospice and she reached out for me as well, but nothing came of it.

I have one "maybe" for the summer.

If I don't find any opportunity, will I still be okay to go through with my application?

:(

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I remember experiencing the same problem. Here's a couple things that worked for me:

1. I asked the premed advisor at my school. Honestly, the advisor was horrible but did know a few contacts for shadowing.

2. I asked my PI's. One was a physician, the other was not. However, both had contacts who were more than willing to let me shadow.

3. Try volunteering in a hospital. Some volunteer offices say you can't shadow so your experience may vary. I was able to shadow a few doctors after volunteering there for a long time.
 
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Honestly shadowing isn't that important for you application. It's just an easy way to get clinical experience, which is essential. If you have been volunteering in hospice for 2 years you should have plenty of clinical experience. It still might be best to get a view of multiple fields - maybe try working in a free clinic or in the ER of a hospital. If you start before the application process you can list your planned hours. Both of these experiences should not be too difficult to get
 
Shadowing is crucial for your application...

If shadowing is crucial, it would be impossible for anyone with zero shadowing hours to get into medical school. And yet, that's not the case as seen repeatedly in this cycle and the past.

Shadowing only has one purpose: to see whether you know what a physician does on a daily basis. But this can be done without shadowing, such as in clinical employment, scribing, research, working at private practice etc.
 
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If shadowing is crucial, it would be impossible for anyone with zero shadowing hours to get into medical school. And yet, that's not the case as seen repeatedly in this cycle and the past.

Shadowing only has one purpose: to see whether you know what a physician does on a daily basis. But this can be done without shadowing, such as in clinical employment, scribing, research, working at private practice etc.

Hm I thought with 0 shadowing hours you would be denied instantly.

I guess I'm wrong then.
 
Shadowing is crucial for your application... Shadowing and clinical experience are two different things. When you shadow, in almost all cases you do not have interactions with the patient. When you have clinical experience I.E clinical volunteering, then you interact with the patient.

Have you had an adcomm verify that shadowing is both crucial and distinct from clinical experience? I did fine in my app cycle with plenty of the latter and no truly formal shadowing, though I unofficially shadowed a lot in my volunteering. I'm wondering whether that's an acceptable path to take or if I'm just an outlier.
 
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You must have some shadowing. It doesn't need to be a lot, I had about 40 hours. Maybe try contacting some family medicine residency programs in your area to see if they'll let you shadow. I bet they will. That's how I got involved, thru a family med residency program.

But you must have some shadowing.
 
I have been volunteering at the ER for a year now and I talk to doctors and nurses directly and learn from them. I see exactly what they do and sometimes they let me look at the charts, stand next to them while they perform mini-surgeries, and teach me some awesome medical-related skills . This pretty much solidified that I wanted to become a physician. I think this is better than shadowing in one place since I can interact with all kinds of doctors and nurses!

But I am still trying to find a doctor to shadow and I am applying this cycle as well..so take it with a grain of salt :laugh:
Oh yeah, go directly to the Chief Medical Officer if you are volunteering at a hospital, he hooked me up with a doctor and that doctor hooked me up with so many other doctors. Just go to the top of the pyramid lol
 
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Shadow your GP.

The absolute best way to get shadowing is to get the contact information of the actual doctor. Receptionists, services, medical assistants, etc, will not even know what shadowing is (I had a person call me a pervert when I called in asking for shadowing). Your own Doctor(s) are the best.

In my case: I contacted 4 primary care doctors on my list (although I had never even seen any of them). All 4 responded with a "Yes", and I only followed up with 2.
 
If shadowing is crucial, it would be impossible for anyone with zero shadowing hours to get into medical school. And yet, that's not the case as seen repeatedly in this cycle and the past.

Shadowing only has one purpose: to see whether you know what a physician does on a daily basis. But this can be done without shadowing, such as in clinical employment, scribing, research, working at private practice etc.

It could also be that the person gets into a local state school that is very mission focused that the applicant is a perfect fit for, so the school overlooks the fact that the applicant has no shadowing?

In any case, I think have 0 shadowing hours AND not having some sort of shadowing substitute is lethal
 
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This is what I did to get shadowing w/no connections.

Look for hospitals associated with a medical school.

Go to 'find a doctor'.

Find a doctor you would like to shadow.

If their profile doesnt immediately show their email, google their name and the medical schools name. You should be able to find contact info because many physicians are also 'associate professors' at that school.

I emailed two doctors every few days. I included a short summary of myself tailored to why I was interested in them and attached my CV.

What they say is true, you'll get a lot of no's and no reply before you get a 'yes'.

If you're not getting a reply, maybe change the specialty you're trying to shadow. I found some specialties to be more responsive than others.

Hope this helps you!
 
I'm hoping to apply this cycle, but I still don't have any shadowing experience.

I have been volunteering with hospice for two years, though. I'm just worried I won't be able to find any specific shadowing opportunity before application season.

I've cold called a lot of offices and they either don't allow or don't have room. I tried to talk with my volunteer coordinator for hospice and she reached out for me as well, but nothing came of it.

I have one "maybe" for the summer.

If I don't find any opportunity, will I still be okay to go through with my application?

:(
Ask your general practitioner if they would let you shadow them. You don't need many hours - just enough to show you know what it entails to be a doctor. Some people don't have separate shadowing experiences because their clinical activities require interacting with physicians. I do not think volunteering at a hospice is sufficient to show that you know what being a doctor entails
 
1. Become a scribe and it's essentially a paid shadowing job where you take notes for the physician and help them out with clerical tasks.

2. Ask your GP/PCP; he or she may be able to be shadowed or refer you to others who can be shadowed.

3. Go to your local university hospital and ask for shadowing

4. Ask your pre-health advisor, especially if you are currently living in the same area as your undergrad
 
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I had the most luck finding docs to shadow by contacting recruitment/HR people in large healthcare orgs. You can often find these people's emails online. I simply introduced myself, said I am interested in shadowing A and B specialties, and could they put me in contact with any physicians willing to let a student observe? They were super responsive and put me in contact with office managers of clinics known to have shadowing-friendly physicians. I followed at least three different individuals using this method.
 
as long as you have clinical experience shadowing isn't required, but it depends on what some schools define as clinical experience. and it needs to be patient centered clinical experience. i found out the hard way. during my first cycle i didn't have what was considered patient centered clinical experience and only got 1 II and an alternate list. i fixed some stuff up, got 200 hrs of patient centered clinical experience ended up with 8 II, 6 attended. 4 A and 2 WL. so it matters though not if you already have clinical experience
 
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