<p>I've just finished my Freshman year, and I was wondering, when is the best time to start Shadowing? Is it okay to do it anytime as long as it's before the Application cycle?</p>
<p>I will be doing some next month hopefully, and probably doing it in the Summers afterward.
When did you guys fit in the shadowing?</p>
<p>I think some people start in high school. Start as soon as possible, as long as it won’t impact your grades. If for no other reason, the experience will benefit you! :)</p>
<p>Yeah. I’m doing it by emailing doctors who’ve worked with Undergrads before and stuff like that. IMO, a University hospital works pretty well</p>
<p>Over the next month, I’m going to try to do at least 1 day a week and fit it in with Summer classes.</p>
<p>I’m not really keeping track of the hours so it’s more of an approximation. I’m just looking into different specialties when I shadow. Is that alright?</p>
<p>My strategy was similar to yours–emailed docs at my university, got some friendly/favorable replies. I started during winter break of sophomore year and continued through graduation because I enjoyed it so much. I shadowed for two half days a week (two different docs) most weeks when school was in session. Since I had some great docs to work with, I found I often prioritized my shadowing over other things and didn’t find it to be a huge struggle to work it in. After all was said and done I had around 500h (400 split between those 2, 100 split between 4 others). In no way do you need this much shadowing; I’m confident a quarter of what I did would have been sufficient (and in line with my peers). It just worked out well I guess.</p>
<p>Do you use a planner or a calendar on your phone? If so, it’s so ridiculously easy to keep track of hours that there’s no reason you shouldn’t. Pretty much all you have to do is write down what time to be there, and if you remember, what time you finished. Piece of cake.</p>
<p>And sure, I’d say the purpose is to look into different specialties. You also want to get a feel for whether medicine is really the career you envision for yourself. What do you think about the job your doc does? Does he run his own practice? Does he teach fellows, residents, students? How does he balance family and work? Is he compensated well? Does he seem happy? Would you like to have his life if you could fast forward twenty years? Might take longer than an afternoon in a clinic to figure these things out, but I’m sure you’ll be satisfied if you do!</p>
<p>Just to clarify: Shadowing experience before entry into college will not be included in the medical school application, correct?</p>
<p>Generally not unless you continue on with the shadowing (same doc, same clinic or some other kind of continuity to make it more or less one activity) on into college.</p>