When you shadow a doctor, what are you suppose to exactly do?

[uday28fb]

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Do you simply observe and ask questions, or do you carry a notebook and take notes? Basically what I'm asking is what are the expected etiquitte of a student shadowing a doctor?

 

[armybound]

depends what kind of doctor you'll be shadowing..
first and foremost, stay out of the way. don't interfere with patient care at all, like asking questions while the doctor's talking to the patient, giving your commentary unless asked for, etc. And if you're shadowing a surgeon, don't touch anything! If you're in the ER, don't stand in any doctor/nurse/tech's way. Sometimes it may just be necessary to leave the room and let them do their thing.
I wouldn't carry a notebook. the idea is to get some experience and see what a doctor does day in and day out.. the hours they work, the duties they have to perform, what type of patients they see, etc. You want to see if this is the kind of thing you see yourself doing for the rest of your life. Hopefully you don't need to write anything down to see if you get that feeling.
Some doctors will let you be more hands-on and may let you assist in some things. Some may want you to ask questions, some may ask questions of you. Some may just talk to you all the time, telling you what they're doing, what you're looking at (if it's a surgery, for example), or whatever else. You may want to have questions for them like if they like what they're doing, how many hours they work per week, what the toughest part of practicing medicine has been so far. Whatever you can think of.

 

[BigMDT]

haha, well. you should try and experience things you can talk about in a PS or an interview or both. you should get a good taste of what medicine is like so you can seem informed in the application process. and, even better, get a letter or rec from your physician to add to the academic letters med schools require.

this is thinking from an admissions perspective of course. otherwise just try and soak in as much as you can about how medicine is practiced.

 

[Crixivan]

armybound is right on.

Be professional, courteous, and attentive. Show interest but don't get in the way. If you have questions about the choice of therapy or how to diagnose something, do it away from the patient.

 

[Tensyle]

i shadowed in the OR, and at one point the patient was losing tons of blood and the surgeon turned around and asked me not to "just stand there" and to go to the OR desk and tell them that we need more blood. LOL I almost **** a brick.

In the ER, after major cases, I'd try to ask the attending and the resident some questions about each case, while they filled out their charts and ordered meds on the computer system. They patiently answered all my questions.

So try to stay out of the way, ask questions when you can, and dont crap your pants.

 

[Maxprime]

So try to stay out of the way, ask questions when you can, and dont crap your pants.

Summed up perfectly. To add - ask the nurses before doing something potentially stupid.

 

[elderjack21]

The best thing you can do is ask questions when there aren't patients around. And be quiet when there are.

If they ask you or invite you to do something, take the opportunity to do so.

I always carried either some notecards or a very small notebook in my pocket to write down questions I had, things I wanted to research more on my own etc. Of course, i would only pull it out to write things when I was left on my own.

Shadowing is a great time to get a feel for what the specific docs like and dislike about their field and get their advice on things. I always liked to find out why they chose the specific specialty, where they thought it was going in the future, etc.

 

[paranoid_eyes]

when doc is with patient, you need to shut up and watch/listen.

when you are alone with the doc, ask genuine questions (ie don't plan your questions before you go, it probably will sound pretty plastic)

 

[Skymastre]

I've shadowed a ton. Some situations lend themselves to carrying a notebook, and I don't think there is anything wrong w/ that. ex., you can't in the OR but in an ER/primary care setting it's fine...especially if you are allowed to wear a coat.

 

[UVAbme2009]

My two best experiences shadowing both gave me the chance to interact with the patient. One was a kidney clinic visit. I was able to speak with the patients and do little things (like using a stethoscope). The other was a mesenteric artery reconstruction. I was able to scrub in and be at the table. Not only that, but the surgeon allowed me to hold open the incision and help with stitching the patient back up (just clipping the ends of the stitches, but still more than I expected to do).

I definitely enjoyed those two far more than others, just because I was actually able to interact. I guess the point is to observe the doctor, but being able to feel like your helping out is nice too.

 

[MattD]

Summed up perfectly. To add - ask the nurses before doing something potentially stupid.

And before you ask, if you're doing anything you weren't specifically asked to do... yes, it's potentially stupid 🙂

 

[uday28fb]

My two best experiences shadowing both gave me the chance to interact with the patient. One was a kidney clinic visit. I was able to speak with the patients and do little things (like using a stethoscope). The other was a mesenteric artery reconstruction. I was able to scrub in and be at the table. Not only that, but the surgeon allowed me to hold open the incision and help with stitching the patient back up (just clipping the ends of the stitches, but still more than I expected to do).

I definitely enjoyed those two far more than others, just because I was actually able to interact. I guess the point is to observe the doctor, but being able to feel like your helping out is nice too.

How did you convince a surgeon to even let you be in the operatiing room. Almost all the physicians I've spoken to won't let me even come into the room with the patient let alone hold an incision for them.

 

[Maxprime]

How did you convince a surgeon to even let you be in the operatiing room. Almost all the physicians I've spoken to won't let me even come into the room with the patient let alone hold an incision for them.

That's because all you are right now is a HUGE liability. Think about it - patient dies of post-op sepsis, first thing the lawyer says is, "Why was this person with ZERO training on sterile technique in the OR?"

Often, they have to learn to trust you - that you won't freak out or screw up. Make sure they're aware that you'd like to be in the OR and give them time. Imagine you're a surgeon - getting up at 5am for rounds, worrying about getting sued, etc. - that kid shadowing who's name you can't remember isn't a big deal.

Every step of medical education is this way - make it clear that you want to be as involved as allowed, but don't be annoying.

*edit* After re-reading, sitting in with a patient is pretty private (when they're under they don't know you're there). As for "holding an incision", if you're in the US you will be hard-pressed to find a surgeon that will let you scrub if you don't have training or are a current med student.

 

[GoldShadow]

If you're not doing procedures and diagnosing patients by the end of the day, your shadowing experience has been a failure.

Seriously, I did some shadowing in high school, and by the end of my first day, I'd performed open heart surgery, inserted a chest tube, ran a code, and ordered blood work on a patient that needed a kidney transplant.

 

[xrevision]

I was able to shadow a family practice physician at a teaching hospital, and I was able to see a lot of different procedures during that time. I would also hold my questions until he was writing his progress notes.

 

[J1515]

🙄 Don't bring a notebook or notepad. You will look like a total tool.

The purpose of shadowing is to get experience as to what the field of medicine involves...not to learn the treatment for hyperglycemic hyperosmolar nonketotic syndrome. Even if you go home and look up the mechanism it won't make any sense to you (despite how smart pre-meds think they are) with regard to a patient's overall health.

Stay out of the way, don't ask stupid a**-kissing questions (the doctor most likely already knows you will be looking for a LOR), and do whatever the doctor, nurses, janitor, asks you to do.

 

[njbmd]

I wrote an essay on my blog sites about what I expect when premedical students are shadowing me. You may find some helpful info there as most of my colleagues expect the same thing. You want to get the most out of this experience and if you expect a LOR, you need to do more than just ask for one.

 

[BruinBear13]

Njbmd, do you have a link to that blog?

 

[Morsetlis]

Give vaccinations.

HAH!

 

[Bartemius]

All I know is if you're ever in a room with a single overhead light, and he's standing right under it? **** outta luck my friend.

 

[nisarg2010]

How did you convince a surgeon to even let you be in the operatiing room. Almost all the physicians I've spoken to won't let me even come into the room with the patient let alone hold an incision for them.

From my exprience, the older surgenons who are not worried about getting sued are much more lenient about what they let you do. I shadowed a dermatologiest (a skin cancer specialist) who was in his 70's and he let me use the scalpel 😱😱 for small initial cuts.

 

[45408]

That's because all you are right now is a HUGE liability. Think about it - patient dies of post-op sepsis, first thing the lawyer says is, "Why was this person with ZERO training on sterile technique in the OR?"

I'd love to see the incidence of deaths from sepsis resulting in breaks in sterile technique. Unless you spit on the mesh/graft you're about to sew in...

*edit* After re-reading, sitting in with a patient is pretty private (when they're under they don't know you're there). As for "holding an incision", if you're in the US you will be hard-pressed to find a surgeon that will let you scrub if you don't have training or are a current med student.

But this is the issue, because they'd have to get hospital approval to let you do it, and the hospital just won't give it.

 

[45408]

I've shadowed a ton. Some situations lend themselves to carrying a notebook, and I don't think there is anything wrong w/ that. ex., you can't in the OR but in an ER/primary care setting it's fine...especially if you are allowed to wear a coat.

Bring a camera if you're going in the OR.

 

[anegron519]

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