Howdy folks,
Have some questions about shadowing. I was wondering what’s the proper way to do it, as in, am I suppose to keep a log of the number of hours I’m spending in the hospital and what exactly am I seeing or learning in a session?
I mean for me would make sense to have such a journal, so at least I remember what to mention in the resume when I’m going for the admission.
Would be nice to have a more elaborate answer, with examples, not just a yes or no on this one.
Thanks a bunch.
- lipiciu Said:
Howdy folks,
Have some questions about shadowing. I was wondering what's the proper way to do it, as in, am I suppose to keep a log of the number of hours I'm spending in the hospital and what exactly am I seeing or learning in a session?
I mean for me would make sense to have such a journal, so at least I remember what to mention in the resume when I'm going for the admission.
Would be nice to have a more elaborate answer, with examples, not just a yes or no on this one.
Thanks a bunch.
Have some questions about shadowing. I was wondering what's the proper way to do it, as in, am I suppose to keep a log of the number of hours I'm spending in the hospital and what exactly am I seeing or learning in a session?
I mean for me would make sense to have such a journal, so at least I remember what to mention in the resume when I'm going for the admission.
Would be nice to have a more elaborate answer, with examples, not just a yes or no on this one.
Thanks a bunch.
Shadowing a doctor is done for the "strategic" idea of finding out what practicing medicine is like but often is done for the "tactical" goal of getting an LOR.
Keeping a journal would make sense for at least 3 reasons that I can think of:
1) Having the dates, hours, and experiences noted can then be summarized if you later request from the doctor an LOR. When doing so, it is a good idea to send something like
I am requesting an LOR for my application to med school. You may recall that I spent approximately 100 hours from Jan 1 thru April 30 shadowing at etc... I found the observation of patient so and so or the shift in ER, etc
2) It provides you a record to draw from when adding experiences in the applications
3) It is also a place where you can explore feelings, impressions, thoughts, etc that later can be drawn upon for personal statements, secondary application essays, and interviews
I think it is an excellent idea to do so.
BTW, I am currently in Las Vegas and you are the second new OPMer from Las Vegas who has posted in the past week. One more and we can be a chapter!
I kind of agree with Gonnif. I am personally maintaining a journal with the interesting info. I’d also advise not to procrastinate and complete your log the same evening or the day after any shadowing session you had (to make sure things are still fresh in your mind).
I see the log as a written memory and as gonnif said, it can be used in various circumstances. I don’t think there is any dos or donts but I just jot whatever I can. It will be useful at the time of writing the essays and even to refresh my memory in the fortunate event of an interview.
Cool, looks like this is the way to go. I mean for a starter, I’ve seen some footage about a poor guy’s foot that doesn’t have any capillary circulation left under his right knee (MRI with contrast); or I’ve seen some pictures about how the heart’s veins are getting strangled and they’re ready to trigger stroke in the near future; I’ve learned about the SOAP protocol…
All these things are just the beginning from an endless ocean of details, they need to stay somewhere somehow.
The trouble is that I’m not sure that all the doctors will be so forthcoming and informative like the one I’m shadowing now. Will see how it goes.
gonnif: yeah man, I definitely think that Las Vegas deserves a chapter on its own! Are you living here in Vegas?
Speaking about chapters, I have an opportunity to join AED. Is it any professional gain if I do it?
And I guess because I’m seen here as a new guy, I’ll pop up at an undisclosed future date my introduction on this forum. Just so you know who you’re dealing with.
Cheers y’all, have fun and thanks a bunch for the ideas!
I definitely agree that keeping a journal is a great idea.
I’m not shadowing any physicians right now, but I have a volunteer research lab position for the summer at a university in Chicago, and was thinking about doing the same thing. Keeping track of my hours, what I’ve learned, what I’ve gotten to do, etc. It’ll come in handy if I ask for a LOR, and also when I list it on my CV (I can be more detailed and not have to wrack my brains about the important stuff). This discussion has pretty much confirmed that keeping a journal is what I ought to be doing. Thanks, guys!