<p>So I finally got a response from one the doctors I emailed about shadowing. My main reason for shadowing is to see what it's like in the medicine field (I'm not entirely sure if I want to become a doctor yet), but I would like to know if I can put this experience on my med school applications if I do decide to apply. Do only long shadowing experiences count (like shadowing for over a month)? I'm not really sure what the application process is like and if mentioning a one-day experience helps or not.</p>
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<p>Yes you can, and its pretty much expected that you will have done shadowing or something else to give you exposure to the day to day life of a practicing physician. But as you alluded to, your mail goal is to decide if medicine is right for you, not as a resume booster. Shadowing as an activity has very rapidly diminishing returns (i.e. you dont’ get much more out of 200 hours of shadowing than you do out of 50), so I wouldn’t plan on making this a long-term thing.</p>
<p>I’d disagree with Icarus about the diminishing returns thing. </p>
<p>I spent about…350h split between 2 physicians over 2 years shadowing, and I think it’s made a huge difference. I just started early and went one afternoon a week to each of them. It’s fascinating to watch how they work, how they interact with others, how the develop treatment plans, what their lives are like. Once I got to know them well they definitely became mentors for me, and I have really appreciated all their insight and advice. I’d pretty much figured out their day-to-day lives and how their clinics were run after maybe 200h total (so 100 with each) but the hours beyond that were priceless because it’s when we really got to know each other on a more than just cordial level–I became comfortable in their clinics, they let me talk with patients, I would present cases to the attendings (I’d sit in with the resident, he’d do all the work, I’d report, and he’d fill in what I missed). Sometimes I’d spend afternoons shadowing residents or fellows or even med students. Huge eye opener to the medical world, and I’m reasonably sure it has to do with the quantity of hours I spent there. </p>
<p>Perhaps my shadowing experience was more unique than I give it credit for though. I think a big part of it was that I found docs who were willing to take me under their wing almost indefinitely. And even if they didn’t initially plan on a long-term commitment to me, they’d always offer for me to return next week…and I always took them up on it. Perhaps they weren’t expecting it, but neither has ever complained. </p>
<p>I wouldn’t be surprised if theirs were two of my strongest recommendation letters!</p>
<p>Good luck!</p>
<p>I think Icarus was primarily referring to the value of putting x number of shadowing hours on your resume vs 2x, not the potential for personal growth etc. You also had the value of being a very fortunate shadow. Most experiences do not allow you to be so involved.</p>
<p>Yep. The way most shadowing experiences are depicted on here and sdn is much different than kristin’s or my D’s. They got very lucky…or could it be that they made (edit: or helped make) their own luck?
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<p>Perhaps to some extent, but things like a pre-medical student presenting to attendings is a rather bizarre occurrence and is a pretty big indulgence on the resident’s/attending’s part. Further, most people get their meaningful experiences via volunteering and other experiences besides shadowing. If I wasn’t doing those things maybe I would have been more inclined to delve into shadowing experiences more. As it was, I used it to see fields that I was not experiencing in my volunteering.</p>
<p>Yeah, it was my big exposure to health care. I decided not to volunteer in a hospital or work in one–I got my volunteer fix other places.</p>
<p>I think the reason they allowed me to present was 1) the team consisted of Resident + Attending (no one else) with me shadowing occasionally 2) both knew me well after approx 9mos 3) the set up was that resident would interview patient (I was present) then the three of us would sit around and the attending and the resident would discuss the patient, so once it got to a certain point, I was able to present the general info to the attending with the resident’s help</p>
<p>My trick: a great attending, or two in my case, and going to a teaching hospital where they love to teach. I could have tried to shadow at the community hospital (where many premeds volunteer and work as techs and phlebotomists etc) but I doubt I would have gotten to do or see as much as I did!</p>
<p>For most premeds, the valuable learning is going to stop at between 8 and 24 hrs into shadowing a given person and, really, the learning isn’t likely to be much different between physicians once you’ve shadowed at least 1 guy in internal med clinical, 1 in family practice, 1 in the ED, 1 on a floor, and 1 in surgery. As a rule, it’s safe to say that anything more than 40 hrs is generally unnecessary and anything over 100 hrs is simply superfluous. Getting out and volunteering is a much better use of one’s time, as is actually working in a clinical setting or doing research.</p>