Hi all,
Well, there’s a possibility that I may be working at Children’s Medical Center here in Dallas doing some admissions type of stuff. I’m assuming adcoms will look favorably on that, but how will that look towards the shadowing requirement? I’m really jazzed on this because it’s my first step towards a career in medicine. It’s kind of nerve wracking also in that it’s a final break with engineering and stepping out into the great unkown.
Anyone else go through this?
Quote:
Hi all,
Well, there’s a possibility that I may be working at Children’s Medical Center here in Dallas doing some admissions type of stuff. I’m assuming adcoms will look favorably on that, but how will that look towards the shadowing requirement? I’m really jazzed on this because it’s my first step towards a career in medicine. It’s kind of nerve wracking also in that it’s a final break with engineering and stepping out into the great unkown.
Anyone else go through this?
Hi there,
You should have no trouble doing the shadowing thing if you are working in a hospital. Most admissions committees want to be sure that you know what the "nuts and bolts’ of medicine are. Admissions work can involve patient contact or it can involve sitting in a cubicle and never getting any clinical contact.
As Dr. Renard has stated in many of her posts, you don’t have to spend hours and hours shadowing or even volunteering but you should have a solid experience that you can point to and explain. This does not have to anything elaborate or take weeks but it is something that should not be skipped or negated. Working in an admissions office is not the same as shadowing a physician.
Natalie
Hi,
You don’t have to shadow a doc to get into med school. You will need to shadow a DO or interview with one to get a LOR for some of the DO schools, but other than that, no school requires you shadow.
I shadowed a pediatric oncologist for 2 months, BUT I didn’t include this on my application. I really did it for my own curiousity. I was never asked at any interviews if I had shadowed a doc.
Is it a good thing to do…Yes.
If you can’t do it will that knock you out of an acceptance…No.
Getting a great EC is much more important. One that gives you lots of patient contact is what schools are looking for. You can start in one department at a hospital, get to know people and then see if you can move to an area that gives you more contact. I delievered drinks and snacks to patients receiving cancer treatments at the hospital. But the best place where I volunteered was the free health clinic where I came in weekly for 3 years. The patient contact I had there was awesome.
Congratulations Dave in getting a job that moves you closer to your goal. I am just starting to volunteer through Parkland and am very impressed with the caliber of people that I have met in the PMH/UTSW medical complex.
How did the shadowing opportunity turn out that you and I discussed? I think you were going through the Texas Osteopathic Medical Association. I have found great reluctance (i.e. no opportunities) from Doc’s due to HIPAA. One would think that signing a waver or confidentiality form would take care of the HIPAA hurdles.
Congratulations Dave on taking that first Big step towards medicine.