I'm a 28 year old lawyer who practices full-time. Before signing up for post-bacc classes and taking the MCAT, I would like to shadow and volunteer first. What options are available to me as a non-traditional applicant who has to work during the day? How do I find a shadowing position in NYC? I'm not sure where to begin.
Where to shadow as a non-traditional applicant?
- Thread starter remzremz
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It would be difficult to shadow in specialties that are 9am-5pm, since you work full time. But you could shadow surgeons, ER docs, etc, after 5pm or on weekends. The way I found a doctor to shadow was to ask my personal doctor if I could shadow him. So perhaps you could tell your doctor your interested in medicine and see if he/she knows anyone you can shadow that fits with your schedule!
Hey. I was a practicing lawyer too when I first started this journey (post bac done, applying 2nd time 🙁 this cycle). I volunteed in the ER at my local hospital on Saturday nights and Sunday afternoons. When I switched to part time legal work, I volunteered at a clinic once a week on a Friday. I'd start with the hospitals first since they run 24/7.
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Leverage what relationships you have with people in the healthcare field.
1. Start with your PCP, or other physicians you're a patient of.
2. Have any friends/family who work in hospitals ask around to see if any docs are open to shadowing.
3. If those fail, volunteer first & establish yourself; afterwards, approach docs about shadowing.
Finally, imo, cold-calling is not a worthwhile avenue to obtaining shadowing spots.
1. Start with your PCP, or other physicians you're a patient of.
2. Have any friends/family who work in hospitals ask around to see if any docs are open to shadowing.
3. If those fail, volunteer first & establish yourself; afterwards, approach docs about shadowing.
Finally, imo, cold-calling is not a worthwhile avenue to obtaining shadowing spots.
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Shadowing's pretty tough in NYC, in my experience. I didn't find anyone willing to take a shadow until after I had a recommendation from a pre-med advisor. It's the ol' "can't get a job without experience" problem.
Volunteering helped a lot. Here's a killer list of clinical volunteering centers to contact (I think it was written by advisors at Yeshiva.)
Oh, and if all else fails, good ol' NYCares has some wonderful opportunities in residencies for people living with HIV, and it's very easy to sign up. Shadowing or not, you can get some serious clinical exposure.
Volunteering helped a lot. Here's a killer list of clinical volunteering centers to contact (I think it was written by advisors at Yeshiva.)
Oh, and if all else fails, good ol' NYCares has some wonderful opportunities in residencies for people living with HIV, and it's very easy to sign up. Shadowing or not, you can get some serious clinical exposure.
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