What will med schools think if I shadow a PT

[About28]

Hi everybody, I have a great opportunity to shadow a physical therapist. He owns his own physical therapy clinic and he is more than willing to let me shadow him/ write me a LOR if I want. Will medical schools think this is a stupid EC because it's physical therapy and I'm going for MD or is it a worthwhile shadowing experience?

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[Ezio]

i mean, it is better than not shadowing anyone

 

[Oso]

I mean, it's not a waste of time if you're interested in it. You could definitely learn a lot. But this isn't going to count as shadowing for medical school. The point of shadowing is to explore medicine to see if you're into it, as well as show schools that you've witnessed the life and duties of physicians and are serious about committing to it. You cannot gain these insights by shadowing a PT, nor can a PT really write a strong letter that talks about why you'd be a great physician.

If you have the opportunity and the time to shadow a PT, I'd say go for it. It may 1. confirm your desire to do med and not PT or 2. pique your interest in PT and maybe you'll choose this field instead.

 

[Cmdr_Shepard]

I disagree. I think shadowing a PT is good experience, and depending on how you describe it in your application, could be a good addition to your app. Yes, the point of shadowing is to gain some insight into the working life of physicians, but it's also to gain experience with the healthcare system as a whole and to gain experience with patients if possible.

Go for it.

(I shadowed a doc and a nurse)

 

[darkjedi]

It sounds like it would be a neat experience. Just make sure you have physician shadowing experience as well.

 

[Catalystik]

It's perfectly fine if your journey toward deciding that medicine is right for you includes exploring other careers in healthcare. As Cmdr Shepard points out, it's good to have an understanding of how other providers in the healthcare system work together to help your patients. I shadowed a PT after having practiced for years and it was very helpful to know how they perform assessments, what they feel their strengths are, what they counsel and teach, what their handouts look like, what the followup is like, etc. The experience definitely fostered a stronger working relationship with another professional. And it was fun.

 

[ThisCouldBeYou]

There are certain parts that will be helpful, but how many hours do you think you'll spend there? It's not an ECs, since all you're doing is watching, not leading others, or giving any input. I do not recommend he give you a LoR since what can he say about your skills? That you watched really well? That you stayed quiet and didn't interrupt?

 

[Cmdr_Shepard]

He could talk about your character. He could attest to your motivations for pursuing med. He could talk about your relationship with his patients, and your comfort level with people with varied backgrounds. There's so much that can be said.

 

[About28]

There are certain parts that will be helpful, but how many hours do you think you'll spend there? It's not an ECs, since all you're doing is watching, not leading others, or giving any input. I do not recommend he give you a LoR since what can he say about your skills? That you watched really well? That you stayed quiet and didn't interrupt?

Thanks for all your input guys! I could have as many hours as I'd like either shadowing or doing other things around the clinic.

 

[Catalystik]

I could have as many hours as I'd like either shadowing or doing other things around the clinic.

If you could transition this into a clinical volunteer (or paid) opportunity where you interact with the patients and perform a service for them, then a resulting letter would be much stronger than if you are only passively observing. And who knows, if you get to know the PT well, he might be willing to refer you for additional shadowing to an orthopedic or sport doc.