Undergrads referring to Shadowing as an "Internship"

[Rainstorm4]

two people I know from one of my undergrad classes last semester are shadowing different surgeons this summer and are referring to it as an "internship." They don't do anything other than follow the doctor around, and we are all only going to be sophomore undergrads in the fall. Isn't the internship year the first year of residency and not anything else???

I just think its confusing and misleading that they are labeling their shadowing experience as an internship... thoughts??

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[TipToad]

How often are they doing it? Full-time or was it just a one-time gig?

 

[samsunimomo]

two people I know from one of my undergrad classes last semester are shadowing different surgeons this summer and are referring to it as an "internship." They don't do anything other than follow the doctor around, and we are all only going to be sophomore undergrads in the fall. Isn't the internship year the first year of residency and not anything else???

I just think its confusing and misleading that they are labeling their shadowing experience as an internship... thoughts??

If they put it in their application, people in the know (aka adcoms) are going to notice it right away (and not in a good way).

But I've actually seen some shadowing programs mixed with health management internships. Kaiser Permanente does something very much like this in their fellowship/internship program. But this probably doesn't apply to them.

 

[Rainstorm4]

How often are they doing it? Full-time or was it just a one-time gig?

just periodically, maybe once a week or so at the most

 

[Rainstorm4]

If they put it in their application, people in the know (aka adcoms) are going to notice it right away (and not in a good way).

But I've actually seen some shadowing programs mixed with health management internships. Kaiser Permanente does something very much like this in their fellowship/internship program. But this probably doesn't apply to them.

interesting.. yeah what they did was just contact a surgeon at a local hospital and ask if they could shadow him over the summer, and then they got cleared by the department. I dont think it was through any formal program or anything

 

[Josh7]

An internship is usually a paid position with a company/corporation so they can make a good impression on you which may lead to you wanting to work for them once you graduate. An intern is also a term for the first year resident at a hospital. It has many meanings but they are not doing an internship by shadowing a doctor once a week.

Also why do you care what they're calling their shadowing anyways 😛

 

[BigBlueBear]

My school offers an "internship" (they actually call it an internship on the website) where you go to the hospital twice a week, once to volunteer (just like a normal volunteer) and once to shadow. It is unpaid and we don't really do anything when we shadow.

And yes, I still call it an internship since that's what it's called.

Case closed.

 

[Rainstorm4]

An internship is usually a paid position with a company/corporation so they can make a good impression on you which may lead to you wanting to work for them once you graduate. An intern is also a term for the first year resident at a hospital. It has many meanings but they are not doing an internship by shadowing a doctor once a week.

Also why do you care what they're calling their shadowing anyways 😛

haha they can call it whatever, I was just wondering if that was the correct terminology/if other people have heard shadowing referred to as this.

 

[NightGod]

It's a summer position where they are involved with following a professional and learning about the industry. I can see why they might call it an internship (though most internships are paid positions and a bit more formal), but you're right, that's not the generally accepted term for it. In the end it really doesn't matter, though they might appear silly the first time they use the word to an adcom.

 

[mehc012]

(though most internships are paid positions.

Wow, several people here have defined 'internship' by being paid. I always did the opposite...if you get paid it's a job, and if you're not it's an internship! I've at least found this true in research labs, legal positions, etc...like the dude in 'The Pursuit of Happyness'!

I agree, though...this doesn't sound at all like an internship, as there's no work involved!

 

[gettheleadout]

Yeah, I know a girl that has used the term this way too. I consider an internship, that is the act of being an intern, to involve some sort of training or skill development. Shadowing does not meet this requirement, and I agree I think it sounds weird and misleading when it is used in this way.


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[BadgerBadger]

I've always thought of a internship as having some sort of work requirement as well, focused on improving your skills in a certain area. Basically like a job, except you're also learning and gaining experience from it.

Let them list it as an internship on their AMCAS application though and see what happens.

 

[OCDOCDOCD]

First off an internship can be paid or unpaid. If anything they're unpaid more often than not. What differentiates an internship from shadowing is that in an internship you're actually working, albeit at greatly reduced compensation because the idea is that having the employer tolerate your inexperience and train you is compensation enough. Contrast this to shadowing where you merely observe someone else work.

 

[DokDakotaDok]

First off an internship can be paid or unpaid. If anything they're unpaid more often than not. What differentiates an internship from shadowing is that in an internship you're actually working, albeit at greatly reduced compensation because the idea is that having the employer tolerate your inexperience and train you is compensation enough. Contrast this to shadowing where you merely observe someone else work.

This.

If you're getting trained, it may be considered an internship. Blindly following isn't. Internships in medicine require that they be abroad, as in the US we have strict medical regulations for interns in medicine (medical students). Thus, they're pretty rare.

 

[dmf2682]

First off an internship can be paid or unpaid. If anything they're unpaid more often than not. What differentiates an internship from shadowing is that in an internship you're actually working, albeit at greatly reduced compensation because the idea is that having the employer tolerate your inexperience and train you is compensation enough. Contrast this to shadowing where you merely observe someone else work.

This. But really it's all semantics. An admissions person isn't going to say, how presumptuous of this applicant, for saying their shadowing is an internship when it's clearly not, in the medical sense.

 

[PreMedOrDead]

This. But really it's all semantics. An admissions person isn't going to say, how presumptuous of this applicant, for saying their shadowing is an internship when it's clearly not, in the medical sense.

I wouldn't put it past them to ask a question regarding it during an interview, however.

 

[gettheleadout]

I wouldn't put it past them to ask a question regarding it during an interview, however.

I would definitely ask a question about it.

 

[lobo.solo]

Yeah, I know a girl that has used the term this way too. I consider an internship, that is the act of being an intern, to involve some sort of training or skill development. Shadowing does not meet this requirement, and I agree I think it sounds weird and misleading when it is used in this way.


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This^. I don't think an internship has to be paid, I'd did an unpaid internship to get my phlebotomy license.

 

[Praefectus]

An internship is usually a paid position with a company/corporation so they can make a good impression on you which may lead to you wanting to work for them once you graduate. An intern is also a term for the first year resident at a hospital. It has many meanings but they are not doing an internship by shadowing a doctor once a week.

Also why do you care what they're calling their shadowing anyways 😛

Some places are stingy and offer these nifty things called "unpaid internships".

 

[PreMedOrDead]

I would definitely ask a question about it.

I hope they do. 🙂

 

[Haislip]

i always thought shadowing sounded cooler than internship

 

[IlDestriero]

I would definitely ask a question about it.

You would? seems like a waste of a question, and time. Unless you're trying to gauge if they understand the basic progression of training in medicine.
I did a research "fellowship" at the NIH. It was not a real fellowship in the true sense, but it is what they called it at the time. The research came up at my interviews, the semantics did not.
Though I guess I met these two definitions of fellow.
4 a obsolete : a person of one of the lower social classes b archaic : a worthless man or boy 😀
6 : a person appointed to a position granting a stipend and allowing for advanced study or research

Looking at their website, it looks like they call it an internship now, if it's the same program. It was a while ago.

 

[samsunimomo]

Looking at their website, it looks like they call it an internship now, if it's the same program. It was a while ago.

It's kind of confusing, actually. NIH SIP is an internship program, but on paper, we're still referred to as "fellows."