I'm not sure that was all that unique. Just of the bullet points you mentioned, I am reminded of some of my own.
I've see multiple surgeries (mostly plastics related although I watched an IUD insertion as well as well), dialysis, an EMG, multiple EEGs, and watched patients faint, have seizures, and code.
I've seen at least one patient threaten to sue. Actually, that was the same patient who tried to attack me and I was just a shadow. Ironically, also at a nephrologist. For the most part, I've never heard so many patients compliment their doctors though! You would think most of the doctors I shadowed won "World's Best Doctor" (which of course has only been won by Oscar London)
So far I haven't seen any of the doctors cry yet, but I've been with so many crying families that it isn't funny. I've also seen a *lot* of yelling and fights between doctors and patients. I've also seen an older woman whose kidneys were obviously not long for this world, refuse to go to the hospital and then she threw up and passed out in the bathroom. I saw another woman refuse to go to the hospital for another very serious situation, even to get a simple blood test done. The neuro I was shadowing and another doctor got together via phone and eventually she at least did the blood test at another office. They were going to have the police force her to go to the hospital. She needed immediate surgery.
I sat in on several meetings and lunches (primarily funded via drug reps). I've also been a bit of a smart a** to some drug reps and shook one up badly. The doctor was pleased. 🙂
I didn't write out a script, but I helped identify drugs (yay epocrates!) and do some searching to find out what the proper dose was. I alerted one doctor to an herb as the cause of his patient's "new complaints," even though she'd been taking it for a while. I was taught how to read at a really, really basic level EEGs, perform a neurological exam, analyse a neurological history and tie a knot to close (no, I didn't do it on the patient). I've also been the one to calm down some really nervous patients so the doctor could perform an exam. I also helped with a few dictations. I've felt babies kick, felt abdominal aortic aneurysms, and felt some strange click in someone's arm (I can't remember what it was). Yes, some of my doctors were very hands on. I was given some advice on how to run a practice, avoid getting sued, how to continue to do research part time.
I've also been pimped within an inch of my life by two attendings. The other doctors I've shadowed refused to pimp me since I obviously wasn't a medical student yet. Although when medical students were around and they were drilled, my plastics attending purposefully only asked them although if they didn't know, I was allowed to make a guess but I would be given it in multiple choice.
I love small talk with the doctors and to a lesser extent with the staff! Some of my best information came out of small talk. Also, I learned that different specialties really do have different personalities that tend to go into them. The jokes you are going to get out of a neurologist are very different than out of plastic surgeon and family doctors have their own weird sense of humour.
I don't know if you can tell but by far shadowing was much more useful to me than the medical volunteering I did. I'm definitely going to allow students to shadow me. I gained so much from these experiences. Every day I wake up and count down the days until my next shadowing day (about 20 days before another round of general IM).
