Your shadowing experience can turn into something so much more than you ever imagined.
- Shadowing is when you observe a physician in the clinic, hospital, O.R., or wherever the physician works.
- You are the physician’s shadow. You’re like a fly on the wall, observing as the physician goes through a typical day.
- Sometimes the physician will let you do a patient exam, listen to the patient’s lungs, and so on.
- You can ask questions and learn from what you see the doctor doing.
- Shadowing gives you first-hand knowledge to see what life is really like as a physician.
- Shadowing allows you to build relationships with physicians who can write you letters of recommendation for medical school.
Reasons for Shadowing as a Premed
Shadowing will help you:
- Gain first-hand, tangible knowledge of what it’s like to practice as a physician
- Get a sense of what the perks are of being a physician as well as the rewards and challenges
- See how much paperwork is involved in the day-to-day life of a physician
- Build relationships and a strong network of people you know in health care
- Get a unique one-on-one opportunity to learn actively from a physician
- Help the health care team and the patients while you’re there
- See if you would enjoy the life of a physician
- Get exposed to different specialties and figure out what area of medicine you might be interested in
