What kind of notes should I take when shadowing a heart surgeon?

[AHossain]

What are some things I should be focused on to take notes on? Is it necessary to take notes?


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[EBTrailRunner]

Not unless he's going to quiz you later.

 

[sotto voce]

What are some things I should be focused on to take notes on? Is it necessary to take notes?


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Have a small notebook to put in the pocket of your dress shirt that you will wear to the observorship. It will also fit in the pocket of scrubs, if you change into those.

Try to write notes between patients, as you are not a medical student and therefore don't really know what the doctor will be talking about anyway.

Ask the doctor questions between patients. Don't feel the need to limit the discussion to the patients. Obviously, don't discuss deeply personal issues. But you can ask about work/life balance etc. Record anything that could spice up a personal statement.

Lastly, be grateful for this amazing experience. That vast majority of us won't get to shadow a heart surgeon.

 

[AHossain]

Have a small notebook to put in the pocket of your dress shirt that you will wear to the observorship. It will also fit in the pocket of scrubs, if you change into those.

Try to write notes between patients, as you are not a medical student and therefore don't really know what the doctor will be talking about anyway.

Ask the doctor questions between patients. Don't feel the need to limit the discussion to the patients. Obviously, don't discuss deeply personal issues. But you can ask about work/life balance etc. Record anything that could spice up a personal statement.

Lastly, be grateful for this amazing experience. That vast majority of us won't get to shadow a heart surgeon.

Thank you, and he is my fathers heart surgeon, and he works at Cornell, teaches there as well. I need to meet with him on monday to talk about shadowing this fall. Hopefully he will have some time. Wish me the best of luck.


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[sotto voce]

Thank you, and he is my fathers heart surgeon, and he works at Cornell, teaches there as well. I need to meet with him on monday to talk about shadowing this fall. Hopefully he will have some time. Wish me the best of luck.


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It's usually more burdensome for you to be in the OR with him. If he allows it, that's awesome. But you might offer to come on a clinic day and watch him in an office setting, interacting with referred patients, the office staff, other pts, etc.

 

[mmmcdowe]

Chances are better than even that he/she will tell you to put the pen and paper away and just listen.

 

[Aerus]

Don't take notes at all. You are not a medical student and aren't there to learn at all. Shadowing is to get a feel for the medical field. You should be asking this question to yourself all the time while shadowing: "Can I see myself doing this? Is this something I will enjoy doing for the rest of my life?"

Don't worry; you will have all the clinical experience once you get into medical school and residency. There's no need to learn anything right now.

 

[Nymphicus]

What kind of notes should I take when shadowing a heart surgeon?

The mental kind.

 

[RedSox10]

Don't take notes at all. You are not a medical student and aren't there to learn at all. Shadowing is to get a feel for the medical field. You should be asking this question to yourself all the time while shadowing: "Can I see myself doing this? Is this something I will enjoy doing for the rest of my life?"

Don't worry; you will have all the clinical experience once you get into medical school and residency. There's no need to learn anything right now.

Agreed. No notes, just watch, listen, and learn.

 

[TheGloaming]

Don't take notes at all. You are not a medical student and aren't there to learn at all. Shadowing is to get a feel for the medical field. You should be asking this question to yourself all the time while shadowing: "Can I see myself doing this? Is this something I will enjoy doing for the rest of my life?"

Don't worry; you will have all the clinical experience once you get into medical school and residency. There's no need to learn anything right now.

Also agreed. If I were the doctor, I would probably tell the shadower that taking notes was not necessary and to just enjoy the experience and ask questions (at appropriate times). What do you plan on doing with the notes later? Or is it and attempt to make yourself appear as if you are extremely diligent and interested in medicine?

 

[AHossain]

Alright so no notes then. And no it isnt to appear diligent and interested in medicine even though thats how I would like to appear lol, but it's because I've been reading up on shadowing in the premed forums and a lot of people mentioned that they took notes.


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[TheGloaming]

Alright so no notes then. And no it isnt to appear diligent and interested in medicine even though thats how I would like to appear lol, but it's because I've been reading up on shadowing in the premed forums and a lot of people mentioned that they took notes.


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I'm not saying you shouldn't appear as if you are interested in medicine (you should) but just don't be one of those people that goes out of their way and does unnecessary things to look interested (ex. the guy in classes who asks question JUST for the point of asking a question). It sounds as though this is not your plan. Anyway, pay attention as much as possible, be friendly, and ask questions about things you don't understand or things you are truly interested in.

 

[AHossain]

I'm not saying you shouldn't appear as if you are interested in medicine (you should) but just don't be one of those people that goes out of their way and does unnecessary things to look interested (ex. the guy in classes who asks question JUST for the point of asking a question). It sounds as though this is not your plan. Anyway, pay attention as much as possible, be friendly, and ask questions about things you don't understand or things you are truly interested in.

Alright thanks so much for your advice and thanks to everyone else as well.


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[dbeast]

Bring a notepad with you- just in case he says to write something down, you'll be ready for it. If he doesn't, then you shouldn't even take the notepad out of your pocket.

 

[TheGloaming]

Bring a notepad with you- just in case he says to write something down, you'll be ready for it. If he doesn't, then you shouldn't even take the notepad out of your pocket.

I'm not trying to argue but in what situation would a doctor ask you to do this? I would have been very surprised if any of the doctors I shadowed asked me to write anything down. I could see him asking you to note something non-medically or non-patient related (doctor's contact info, application process tips, future shadowing times) In any of these cases, there would almost certainly be paper available to use in the area and the doctor would not expect you to whip out a notepad from your pocket.

 

[AHossain]

If anything I have this app called Evernote on my phone, so I'll just use that if there comes a time where I need to take notes, which by the sound of it, I won't need to.


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[Neurosis]

...at first I read the title and just went like but after seeing people encouraging this I went . Well if anything I now know how serious some people take pre-med.

 

[willen101383]

Be sure to copy down all possible identifying information and then create a blog "for the benefit of premeds" in which you release said identifying information.


Notes at shadowing? No offense, but that is one of the weirdest things ive ever heard.

 

[willen101383]

...at first I read the title and just went like but after seeing people encouraging this I went . Well if anything I now know how serious some people take pre-med.

Its bizarre. Like wtf would you even do with said notes?

 

[Neurosis]

Its bizarre. Like wtf would you even do with said notes?

Obviously it's going to be brought up in the interviews 🙄; med schools want to know how much you know about a specific surgical speciality (lol, alliteration).

 

[willen101383]

Obviously it's going to be brought up in the interviews 🙄; med schools want to know how much you know about a specific surgical speciality (lol, alliteration).

haha. People need to chill out and not take **** so seriously.

 

[Sergeant D]

It's already been said, but for the love of god don't take notes. It's ridiculous. This reminds me of a funny story: I revisited a school post-interview a couple months ago to sit in on some classes and spend the day with the students. Another candidate was there and she took notes during the lectures...A LOT of notes. I told her to stop because she looked like an overzealous ass, but she just would not stop. The entire class found it quite amusing and she spent the rest of the day as the butt of everyone's jokes.

 

[dbeast]

I'm not trying to argue but in what situation would a doctor ask you to do this? I would have been very surprised if any of the doctors I shadowed asked me to write anything down. I could see him asking you to note something non-medically or non-patient related (doctor's contact info, application process tips, future shadowing times) In any of these cases, there would almost certainly be paper available to use in the area and the doctor would not expect you to whip out a notepad from your pocket.

Let me rephrase- if you're shadowing and you ask a question, to which the doctor responds, "let me draw it for you", it's a good thing to be prepared with a notepad. Without exception, this has happened every time I have shadowed, and especially for OP shadowing a cardiologist, that field naturally lends itself to diagrams and pictures. I'm not saying you should go back and look at those notes, but it's more of a way to show your preparedness to the doctor you're shadowing (who I'm presuming you're trying to impress).

 

[TheGloaming]

Let me rephrase- if you're shadowing and you ask a question, to which the doctor responds, "let me draw it for you", it's a good thing to be prepared with a notepad. Without exception, this has happened every time I have shadowed, and especially for OP shadowing a cardiologist, that field naturally lends itself to diagrams and pictures. I'm not saying you should go back and look at those notes, but it's more of a way to show your preparedness to the doctor you're shadowing (who I'm presuming you're trying to impress).

Well if the doctor says, "let me draw it for you", I would guess he would have something to draw on. If the doctor draws a pic for a shadower, he has probably drawn pics for patients in which case it's very likely there are notepads and pieces of paper around. I really doubt the shadower is going to whip out a notepad and the doc is going to think, "Wow, this guy is so prepared for shadowing."

 

[gettheleadout]

Well if the doctor says, "let me draw it for you", I would guess he would have something to draw on. If the doctor draws a pic for a shadower, he has probably drawn pics for patients in which case it's very likely there are notepads and pieces of paper around. I really doubt the shadower is going to whip out a notepad and the doc is going to think, "Wow, this guy is so prepared for shadowing."

I shadowed an EM doc that drew diagrams on the bed sheets for things he explained to the patients; he did the same thing explaining stuff to me. I thought it was pretty cool.

 

[dbeast]

Well if the doctor says, "let me draw it for you", I would guess he would have something to draw on. If the doctor draws a pic for a shadower, he has probably drawn pics for patients in which case it's very likely there are notepads and pieces of paper around. I really doubt the shadower is going to whip out a notepad and the doc is going to think, "Wow, this guy is so prepared for shadowing."

If it's *that* much of an inconvenience to carry a small notepad then don't do it. I personally feel silly scrambling for post-its if neither I nor the doctor have something to write on (which actually can happen). Different styles for different people, I'm just sharing what's worked for me.

 

[sotto voce]

Well I guess you can ignore my suggestion above. 🙂

For three of my shadowing experiences, there was also an osteopathic medical student present who was rotating with the doctor. They always had a small notepad in their shirt pocket. I don't think you should be furiously writing down everything the way maybe a med student would, but it's fine to have it there just in case. Or not, either way. And during uncomfortable situations it's nice to have something to do that *looks* constructive, rather than just twiddling your thumbs or checking your phone.