<p>Hi. I really want to shadow a doctor this summer, but I'm not sure how to approach it. Should I just make a list of doctors that I'm interested in and e-mail them all? I'm afraid that they won't take me seriously or find the time to reply or even look at the e-mail. Please give me some tips/guidance on how to approach this. Thanks.</p>
<p>Start w/ your own PCP and network. Find ins. Cold-calling is probably better than cold-emailing but both are a bit laughable as effective strategies. Networking will always get you in faster. Think about it: you have a friend who’s dad’s a doc at the local hospital – your friend can send a text to his dad any time saying, “Hey dad, my friend wants to go into medicine, can he shadow you?” And chances are dad’s going to say, “Sure… I have some interesting procedures scheduled for Friday. Would that work?”</p>
<p>^ Just wondering, what does PCP mean? Thanks.</p>
<p>PCP=primary care provider</p>
<p>Thanks WOWMom :)</p>
<p>actually my dad’s a doctor, so i guess i’ll just shadow him or one of his colleagues. but just wondering, i know that shadowing doctors would be good for medical school admissions, but would college admissions be interested in this as well?</p>
<p>Hey rycot,</p>
<p>Don’t have time to write you an extensive list of suggestions, but feel free to search through my posts (you can do it by clicking on my name and working from there, I believe) or by searching through the other posts on this board (the “search” button is toward the top of the page, in the blue bar, just under the facebook logo). I know I’ve personally posted a few long posts about shadowing (pretty recently–within the past few months) and there’s a lot of other great advice floating around here too. Since your question’s pretty general, you should be able to find all the answers you’re looking for 
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<p>Good luck!
Kristin</p>