Valid Shadowing Experience

[Phoenixi]

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What constitutes valid shadowing experience? It has been difficult for me to find a doctor to shadow. I finally managed got permission from a doctor to shadow him at his low-income clinic. However, the past few days I've been there, the doctor is out and I have been shadowing his PAs (physician assistants). One of the PAs is a foreign medical school graduate so she said she is willing to share with me her experiences of working as a doctor abroad. But as PA here, she has limited capacity to diagnose patients. She did say, however, that she did pretty much the same work as the doctor I talked to.

Would you suggest I find another shadowing opportunity? Does it matter that if I stick to this, I will shadow a PA, even if that PA "does pretty much the same job" as the doctor?

 

[sassilysweet]

You can use the experience to explain why you are choosing medical school over PA school. I would NOT use it as my only shadowing experience, though. Are there other doctors at that hospital/clinic you could talk to or explain the situation to? Do you have a primary care doctor or a lifelong pediatrician that you could ask to shadow?

 

[Phoenixi]

I had a PCP in another state but not in my current state. I have been looking to get one through contacts but it's really hard.

 

[vanslix]

I had a PCP in another state but not in my current state. I have been looking to get one through contacts but it's really hard.

It was hard for me, too. The only way I got it was through docs that I had seen as a patient. If you get desperate, you may try just scheduling an appointment with a doc to get your foot in the door. That presumes you have a legitimate ailment (get your allergies assessed by an ENT if you've had them your life but never did anything about it, see an ortho about that aching knee you never did anything about, etc) and don't make something up.

Volunteer with Hospice. #1 - it's great experience for end of life issues. #2 - after you've done it a bit, you can try to hook up with the physician overseeing the patients, especially if it's in a nursing home situation. That could open up all sorts of contacts at that point.

 

[NTF]

Try here.
http://www.do-online.org/iLearn/index.cfm?pageid=ment_exchange&page=Exchange

 

[akinetopsia]

I set up my shadowing through contacts, not cold-calling. I think cold-calling would not be too successful, and in how I set mine up, I wanted to see different specialties, plus different practice types, and also compare a doc that is just starting out (looking for one at the moment) to someone that is mid-career (found one) to someone that is close to retirement (found one!), because I wanted different viewpoints, and to make sure I had some perspective.

I was fortunate that I had decent relationships with a lot of my parents' docs, and they were willing to let me shadow. Ask friends as well, I wanted to shadow a D.O. because I will be applying to M.D. & D.O., and it just happened my neighbor's PCP was a D.O. They asked him nicely, he agreed and we set it up.

 

[Catalystik]

What constitutes valid shadowing experience? It has been difficult for me to find a doctor to shadow. I finally managed got permission from a doctor to shadow him at his low-income clinic. However, the past few days I've been there, the doctor is out and I have been shadowing his PAs (physician assistants).

Be persistent. Eventually the physician will be there when you are (and maybe the receptionist can help you figure out a good time). Meanwhile, shadowing the PA is valuable too. Shadowing a PA who was educated as a physician is (really) physician shadowing and can give you useful perspectives on the differences.

You might consider volunteering to help out in the clinic, too, so it constitutes "clinical experience," as well.

 

[cabinbuilder]

It is very difficult to get experience these days due to HIPAA laws and the stickiness that has created. Best way is to talk with an office manager about shadowing possibilities. Also, it is much easier to get into a solo practictioners office than a big clinic - less red tape to go through. Don't be surprised if you have to take a HIPAA course by the clinic (I had to do this even as a medical student). Don't expect every patient to let you in the room - many won't. You can also try the hospital auxiliary/volunteer group to get some hospital experience.

I got experience with patients by becoming a CNA and just getting a patient care job. That way you skirt the HIPAA issues and get paid in the process. The CNA course isn't that long to do. Becoming a phlebotomist doesn't take that long either - many hospitals will train the right candidate. It's great patient interaction.

 

[Phoenixi]

Thanks everyone for your tips! I will continue to use my contacts and see if volunteering at a hospital can get me access to a doctor who I can then shadow.