<p>I have read through countless CC question/chance threads by students interested in premed. A good number of them mention that they job shadow extensively (120 hours+) the doctors in their field of interest (e.g. observing open heart surgery).</p>
<p>I have sent my cover letter and resume to doctors and they all said no, on account of liability issues. </p>
<p>So how did other people on CC manage to get those opportunities? Is it because they have special connections through their doctor parents? Something else? I can use some suggestions.</p>
<p>I don’t know about shadowing, but I know a hospital near my house allows internships for high school students. However, it has like a 3 year waiting-list Yours may not though.</p>
<p>A different hospital near me welcomes interns at any point, though the internship is not as “legit.” Call your local hospitals and simply ask. You’d be surprised how much is available when you are willing to work for free. GL :)</p>
<p>I have always wondered a few things about shadowing doctors.</p>
<ol>
<li><p>What can you get out of 120 hours of shadowing a doctor that you couldn’t get out of 10 or 20? </p></li>
<li><p>Why on earth would any patient let some high-school student, or even some undergraduate, sit in on a medical visit? I certainly wouldn’t.</p></li>
<li><p>Why does anybody think shadowing a doctor has anything at all to do with getting into college?</p></li>
</ol>
<p>In HS, D1 needed to take a second sem of Health, so she chose to take a class on Health Occupations. Then she decided to follow up with Health Occupations Intern as an elective and shadowed a neurologist at a local clinic. </p>
<p>She was interesting in getting exposure to different careers because she was interested in several fields, including a discipline which would have precluded doing premed courses in college.</p>
<p>Hi,
I recently had an operation done by a surgeon near my house. After talking with the guy for a couple days, I asked for an internship with him. Unfortunately I was unable to due to"patient confidentially". Later I began to volunteer at the same hospital that I had my operation at and the same hospital which the doctor performed surgeries. I made sure to schedule my volunteer days and hours very similar to his. During a day of volunteer work, I stumbled upon him in the med student lounge at the hospital. We soon began to talk and he invited me to watch a double knee replacement surgery. That was how I got to watch a surgery/ shadow a doctor. Hopefully that helps. I guess all you need is to find the right guy/girl. Also, how would I be able to put that on the common app? Should it be done through the essays? Is watching surgery really that outstanding that it can be mentioned on an application.</p>
<p>I don’t think it’s necessary to shadow a doctor for 120 hours, but this may be spread over several doctors/specialties. I’m going into a counseling profession that is pretty small and new, so shadowing was a Big Deal when I applied (when I interviewed, I was told that if I didn’t get in, it was because I didn’t shadow a counselor). Shadowing typically lets students see if a profession is something that they would like to do, and some schools (as was in my case) want to see that students know what they’re getting into. When I shadowed, it was pretty much exactly what I thought it was going to be, so I didn’t feel like it was necessary in my case but it may be more important for others. Do I think you need to shadow a doctor to get into a college for your undergraduate degree? Certainly not, but I think it can be helpful if you’re seriously considering being a doctor to see what different doctors do on a regular basis (and get a chance to talk to them about the profession).</p>
<p>When I was shadowing counselors, every patient said it was okay for me to sit in on the session, but I’ve heard of others who weren’t okay with it. Many patients are okay with it (or they just instinctively say yes, even if they are), but many seemed very friendly about it and would ask me questions and chat. It may depend on the patient and the setting, though.</p>
Yours may not though.</p>