Shadowing

Shadowing is a great way to experience the medical field from the perspective of a doctor! It allows you to see different practitioners' approaches to patient interactions, diagnosis, and treatment. You can also shadow multiple people in various specialties, giving you the chance to figure out what fields attract you the most.

There is no set guideline for how many shadowing hours you should aim to attain. Check with the medical school you hope to attend and your advisors at school, and keep in mind that more is generally considered better (as long as you don't spread yourself too thin or stress yourself out over this).

At PARSE, we recommend a minimum of 100 hours spent shadowing.

• Observerships

  • Observerships are formal programs to gain shadowing experience. Their formats range among hospitals, but at my local hospital, you can reach out to a doctor and ask to complete an observership under them. 

  • My local hospital limits the duration of the observership to 100 hours, but these are great opportunities to spend more substantial periods of time shadowing a doctor!

• Single-day shadowing experiences

  • Shadowing involves, essentially, watching a doctor "do their thing" for a few hours or for a day. You essentially sit as a fly on the wall while they work!

  • I have really enjoyed shadowing surgeons

    • A day shadowing a surgeon involves wearing putting on the relevant PPE and standing in an OR to watch the surgery. In my experience, a nurse, perfusionist, anesthesiologist, or other medical professional in the OR will typically make themselves available for you to ask questions to.

    • If you choose to shadow a surgeon, here are some tips for the day-of

      • Eat a big breakfast and stay hydrated to minimize your risk of fainting 

      • If you do feel like fainting, move to a wall and/or sit down. To quote a surgeon, the OR staff don't want to "have to step over your body" 

      • Stay at least 2 feet away from anything draped in blue (that means the equipment is sterile and you shouldn't touch it

      • Ask questions during downtime!! All the OR staff I've interacted with have been incredibly kind, willing to teach, and fun (they might even try to joke around with you)