Physician shadowing is an important part of the pre-medical education and the quality of your shadowing experience can strengthen your overall application as well as help you decide if a career in medicine is really what you want. When shadowing, you will mainly follow the physician as they engage in their typical daily routine. You’ll get a sense of how they interact with other members of the healthcare team as well as their patients. You’ll see the rewarding and not-so rewarding aspects of medicine and healthcare in general.
It can be difficult to find shadowing opportunities, especially during this age of COVID-19. When I was seeking a physician to shadow, I emailed and/or cold called 300 physicians nationwide. I wasn’t having any luck finding a physician that was local to Chandler, AZ so I decided to think outside of the box and reach out to physicians outside of my local area. I eventually found two family medicine physicians, both located in California, and one pediatrician in Lake Havasu, AZ, who invited me to shadow. I don’t think that it particularly matters what specialty you shadow; most admissions committees want to see that you have some idea of what the day-to-day life of a physician is like. Though physicians may have different specialties and have to deal with different daily stressors, there are certain commonalities that all physicians share and these will be the valuable things to make note of.
When you contact physicians to request a shadowing opportunity, be brief in your email. I always attached a CV and my personal statement with my email. You should be prepared with an unofficial copy of your transcript and/or MCAT scores (if available) as I had one physician ask for these. If the physician says that you can come shadow, make sure that you are dressed business casual, unless you shadow an ED doc or surgeon; they may want you to wear scrubs. Do not wear loud scents or jewelry. Make sure that you are punctual; when I shadowed, my goal was to arrive at the clinic 10-15 minutes early in the event that I had to get a parking pass, visitor guest badge, or complete any paperwork.
Bring a notebook and pen to jot down any interesting observations. Keep track of the day, time, and number of hours as you will need this information later for your primary medical school applications (i.e., AACOMAS, AMCAS, and TMDAS). If you are in the presence of a patient with the doctor, don’t ask questions unless you are invited to, try to stand in such a way that you do not impede the physicians work, and if the patient doesn’t want you to be present, leave. You’ll have a time to ask questions but if things are busy, just be patient. Be respectful to all of the staff that you meet.
When you finish the shadowing opportunity, be sure to thank the physician and office staff. I sent an Edible Arrangement after my shadowing opportunities. Also, be prepared to ask for your letter of recommendation; make sure that you have your personal statement, CV, and instructions as to where the LOR should be sent (i.e., Interfolio, your schools pre-health office, etc.) In terms of the number of hours that would be good, that will depend on the physician, but if you can shadow for five days, 5 to 8 hours daily, that is a decent number. I shadowed one of my physicians for 80 hours over two weeks and the other two, I shadowed 40 hours each over a week each. Make sure you have good contact information for the physician in case you need to reach them again at a later date.
Last thing, make sure that you are aware of HIPAA. This is important; patients have a right to privacy. Do NOT talk about what you see unless it is with the physician that you are shadowing. Don’t take pictures with your cell phone (in fact, put your cell phone away while you are shadowing) and don’t discuss any patient details with anyone. It’s OK to discuss generalities about the experience but please respect the patient’s right to privacy.
