Unsure how much time to shadow for?

[kelminak]

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Hi again!

Based on my previous thread here I was able to find someone to shadow who specializes in OMM in his own practice! How exciting! Only problem is, he specified two mornings that he's free and I haven't specified how much I want to shadow him/don't know what he's willing to do. Do people typically do it once or twice and then they're done, or do they come back every week? Depending on your thoughts, how would you go about asking for coming back more than one week? I don't want to sound like I'm asking for too much but at the same time I'm not sure how much time I even need. Any thoughts opinions/thoughts appreciated!

Thank you!

 

[Awesome Sauceome]

Go until it feels right. One guy I shadowed for like 3 months, like 3 hours a week. The other I shadowed like 3, 8 hours shifts and he was like, well soooo I suppose you have a pretty good idea of what I do, let me know if you need me to write you a letter. I would say just do your shift and then at the end go ahead and ask if you are welcome to keep shadowing for a while. It should become clear with time.

 

[kelminak]

Go until it feels right. One guy I shadowed for like 3 months, like 3 hours a week. The other I shadowed like 3, 8 hours shifts and he was like, well soooo I suppose you have a pretty good idea of what I do, let me know if you need me to write you a letter. I would say just do your shift and then at the end go ahead and ask if you are welcome to keep shadowing for a while. It should become clear with time.

Yeah that's a good point. There's no reason I can't just go for the two days that he suggested and then if I feel like I need more time I can ask then. If I had only shadowed for a couple of days, would that be enough for a letter of recommendation? I feel like I should spend more time with someone before they can really write a good letter, but maybe I'm wrong?

 

[Awesome Sauceome]

Yeah that's a good point. There's no reason I can't just go for the two days that he suggested and then if I feel like I need more time I can ask then. If I had only shadowed for a couple of days, would that be enough for a letter of recommendation? I feel like I should spend more time with someone before they can really write a good letter, but maybe I'm wrong?

It really depends on the doc. For some it is like pulling teeth even after months, others will write you one after a single time shadowing. Personally if it is not brought up by the doc, I know I would feel more comfortable asking after at least a few shifts and/or a couple weeks of shadowing.

 

[Drrrrrr. Celty]

I think if you can get about 50 hours you're more than fine. And Awesome's experience is an amazing one, but extremely rare. Very few physicians want people to come shadow them, and few will want a student to be in their office longer than they need.

 

[Awesome Sauceome]

I think if you can get about 50 hours you're more than fine. And Awesome's experience is an amazing one, but extremely rare. Very few physicians want people to come shadow them, and few will want a student to be in their office longer than they need.

I would agree... You definitely have to feel it out... The one doc I shadowed like 60-70 hours or whatever and it was truly like I was a shadow, a fly on the wall. There were times to ask questions and such but for the most time it was very much just following. So needless to say he was fine with this, its easy to have that kind of relationship. Another who I went just a couple shifts with was very attentive, he specifically took time to make sure I understood what he was doing and why. He gave like a solid hour over lunches to just chat. But after just the couple times shadowing he sort of called it, likely because it is a lot more work to provide that sort of teaching experience.

You just have to be willing to roll with it either way. Take what you can from the experience if its 8 hours or 80.

The way I looked at it, I just shadowed until I felt like I had enough to talk confidently during interviews. I shadowed fields I am genuinely interested in, and I ended up with like 100 hours total.





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[Drrrrrr. Celty]

Agreed, however I think in most cases medical schools need to be honest in accepting the reality that most shadowing experiences involve an applicant sitting in the corner doing paper work and being avoided by an extremely busy doctor who almost certainly understands that the only reason you're there is because of the lor requirement.

While I've had some solid shadowing experiences, I unfortunately believe that the vast majority are not great in any way or form.

 

[Awesome Sauceome]

Wow doing paper work? I would not have even gone back. Heck I would've just left in the beginning... The point is to get experience not just check a box. Heck even if and when I get accepted, I still plan on shadowing simply because I want to explore some other fields that are not traditionally on DO core rotations.

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