What to give a physician for letting you shadow them?

[HarveyCushing]

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I am currently shadowing a physician for a week and would like to give them something to say thanx for taking time out of their busy schedule and showing me what their job consist of. I am a poor college student, so I can't really affoard anything expensive. Would a card be to little?

 

[tigress]

I sent a nice card, and that seemed to be enough.

 

[DrBowtie]

Card is appropriate.

 

[crys20]

i sent the office a box of cookies from cheryl and co. the doctor also wrote me a letter in a really timely fashion, so i was extra appreciative. plus, some of the nurses and MA"s were very nice to me. 🙂

 

[jintonic5]

ditto on everything said above-- bake cookies or something esp. if you worked with the doctor AND their team 🙂

 

[tigress]

i sent the office a box of cookies from cheryl and co. the doctor also wrote me a letter in a really timely fashion, so i was extra appreciative. plus, some of the nurses and MA"s were very nice to me. 🙂

hey, box of cookies is a good idea! 👍

 

[Psycho Doctor]

In addition to a nice personal note, I've also ordered baskets of goodies, especially geared to what I knew they liked: sweets, cheese and crackers, fruit, etc. You can also do a mixed basket for a team. If funds are limited you can put together your own basket for a fraction of the cost.

 

[iraqiamerican]

does shadowing a resident considered 'shadowing a physicial' ??

 

[ddmo]

does shadowing a resident considered 'shadowing a physicial' ??

Not exactly. Typically you can be on a much friendlier level with a resident.

In terms of doing something for these people, an appreciative thank you is really all you need to do (card, email, etc). The way medicine works is that knowledge and experience is passed down the ranks. People passed stuff on to me, so I take the time to continue the tradition. Just let them know how much you appreciate it, and they will feel happy about it, I promise.

 

[45408]

I wrote a thank you note for one of the docs, but not the other four. So, uh, oops.

 

[CTSballer11]

I wrote a thank you note as well.

 

[JayQuah]

What's an appropriate thank you gift in this instance?

 

[sgopal2]

I am an ER physician and sometimes let students shadow me.

Do not send gifts - cookies, money, etc.

A handwritten note or card is probably the best. It would also not hurt to send a letter once you get into med school on where you're going (if you shadowed for an extensive period of time)

 

[Risa]

The doctor I shadowed for two weeks last summer had a small practice in which everyone was very welcoming to me. I wrote him and his four staff members each a thank you note, saying how I appreciated each of them, complete with personal anecdotes.

I was invited back for a full working externship this summer in the same practice. On the last day I brought in a cake on which I'd drawn, in different colors of icing, a really ghetto picture of the six of us holding hands. It was cheesy but they all loved it and each took home the part of the cake that had their portrait on it 🙂.

Basically, just be sincere.

 

[teedub]

a card's good. anything that says thank you (i think i stuck a gift certificate in mine...that can get expensive though if you shadow enough docs). most of them know that you give DOWN the chain in the whole mentor thing (somebody probably did the same for them), so i'm sure most of them appreciate anything they get.

 

[DrMike24]

I bought mine a large cappuccino...he really liked that.

 

[sgrnspc]

on my last day, i brought muffins for my "team" which included the attending i was following, his two residents, and two med students--it was really appreciated.
i also sent the attending a nice card too.
so food and a card go a long way 😛

 

[ezmoney1]

If they expect more than a card they're a bum

 

[45408]

I bought mine a large cappuccino...he really liked that.

ha, one of the docs I shadowed actually bought me lunch 👍 I pulled out my wallet and he was like "Nah, I got it."

 

[TheMightyAngus]

Leather stethoscope