<p>Ok so here's the deal... I want and need to get some shadow time in and I was thinking of shadowing my cousin who is a radiologist. Is this a good idea?</p>
<p>It’s a fine idea. But don’t put it on your medical school application.</p>
<p>Sure, just don’t get a LOR from him.</p>
<p>Thanks for the advice. BDM I am a little confused though. Why wouldn’t I want to put it on my app? I understand not getting a LOR but why not show the experience?</p>
<p>You can put it on your app. Maybe he is saying don’t put that he is your cousin in the app. You can definitely put the experience on there.</p>
<p>would he be able to try to get a letter from him if they didn’t have the same last name? and if the cousin had a different last name from both parents?</p>
<p>Actually cometstarg that’s what brought about this whole dilema. We share the same last name. Perhaps I should’ve mentioned it earlier but oh well.</p>
<p>First of all, a letter from someone you shadowed is worthless, whether he’s your cousin or not.</p>
<p>Secondly, on the AMCAS, if you write this as an experience, there is a space for you to put down who you shadowed so they will see the physician’s name.</p>
<p>norcalguy I undesrand that they will see his name, hence the original question. If they wouldn’t see his name then it wouldn’t matter if he was my cousin, brother, father or a complete stranger. As for the LOR that wasn’t my goal anyway, I simply want the experience.</p>
<p>I personally think it’s best to just shadow and not put it down.</p>
<p>Premeds are somewhat preoccupied with getting credit for every little thing that they do. I’ve seen people put 3 hour volunteering experiences on their AMCAS. It’s okay to shadow someone for a week or to volunteer at a soup kitchen for a couple of times and not put it on the application.</p>
<p>Shadowing is always a great idea, and quite vital for you to truly see what life is like as a physician. It weighs little on your application, however, so don’t do it in hopes that it will add anything to your competitiveness - but don’t not do it simply because of this, shadowing is a very good thing to do.</p>