Day of Shadowing

Here is an outline for the day of shadowing, and any resources you may need along the way:

1. Take JHMI down to the Medical Campus (JHMI) (Note this JHMI ride can take up to 35 minutes, so plan accordingly).

   • JHMI Schedule

2. Walk into the Johns Hopkins Hospital, and use a map to navigate to your meeting place.

   • Map of Johns Hopkins Hospital

   • Contact your SHARE Shadowing Coordinator beforehand if you have questions about how to get to your location.

   • Locations of the ORs are under the doctor's profile in the list of physicians.

   • If there is a last-minute change such as a location change or cancellation, we will try to contact you as soon as possible

3. Meet your doctor

   • Take the elevator up to the floor where the doctor operates

   • Use your yellow JHMI ID badge to enter the OR area, or ask the person at the front desk to let you in

   • There is usually a long hallway and then a set of sliding doors to enter the ORs. A charge nurse will be sitting at a desk at the front.

   • Ask the charge nurse to tell you what room the doctor will be operating in that day and obtain your scrubs.

   • Be prepared to talk about SHARE: our mission, what we do as undergrads to volunteer, where we send supplies, etc.

     • • These things are mentioned in our Orientation Slides (which are available to access on this website)

4. Change into scrubs

5. Shadow in the OR!

   • The operating room staff are typically there at 7:30-8:00 as the patient is brought in and sedated

   • The actual surgical procedure will typically not start until closer to around 9:00 AM. 

   • In the case that the doctor shows up late, be patient and wait for the doctor to arrive unless we have notified you that the operation is cancelled.

   • Surgeries can last for an hour up to several hours, depending on the procedure's complexity. 

   • Students observing in the OR are typically allowed to leave to use the bathroom or take breaks, but they must make sure to sanitize when leaving and re-entering.

   • Talk to your doctor or the other OR staff beforehand to remind them whether you will have to leave at a certain time.