Anyone get accepted without shadowing?

[doctorbetty]

I've had over 3 years clinical experience but haven't shadowed. I'm just wondering if anyone out there has been accepted without shadowing?

[JewelLeigh]

I never shadowed and I know many many people who got in without shadowing. It's in no way a prerequisite.

What shadowing can give you that probably IS a prerequisite however, is an understanding of what you're getting yourself into - what life as a doctor is like. So if you feel you have a deeper understanding of the profession beyond what you see on Grey's Anatomy, it won't matter if you learned it by shadowing or some other means.

[The Law]

How would one get a chance to shadow a physician?

[JewelLeigh]

Ask one

[The Law]

Originally Posted by JewelLeigh

Ask one

Oh really? Are they usually willing to do it? I would think it would be tough.

[JewelLeigh]

I should add that shadowing from an applicant's point of view should be seen as something beneficial for the applicant only (i.e. don't count it as volunteering). In other words - it helps you gauge whether or not the career is for you (and perhaps as a result you'll have a better application). In the eyes of an admissions committee though, I would not consider shadowing to be equal to volunteering...the big difference being that the time you spend volunteering is helping others as opposed to something you are doing to help yourself. Not to say that shadowing is a bad idea...just remember that from an application standpoint, shadowing is something to do to boost your essay skills and give you more examples to draw on during an interview, not something that will make that much of a difference to your ECs/volunteer activities.

Just some food for thought

[JewelLeigh]

Originally Posted by The Law

Oh really? Are they usually willing to do it? I would think it would be tough.

I'm not sure how willing each doc would be to do it, but I can't think of another way if all you want to do is shadow. The worst they can say is no. Most doctors in my experience generally love what they are doing and thus they are more than happy to help someone out who is also interested in doing it. If they say no, I would imagine the main issue to be an insurance thing as opposed to a doctor motivation thing. (Though this seems to be less of an issue in smaller, non-academic settings.)

You could try to get around this often by shadowing doctors while volunteering or doing research. In these situations, it's pretty easy to unofficially "shadow" doctors you meet along the way.

[The Law]

Yeah that's interesting, I would love to do it!
I mean, you would really get a good understanding of what it's like. Do you think it would be feasible to email some doctors and see if they would mind me shadowing them a few hours/week over the summer?

[JewelLeigh]

I think it's more than feasible! Go for it
As I said...the worst that can happen is that they will say no.

[The Law]

Cool thanks for the help!