Guest ikaj Posted August 25, 2003 Report Share Posted August 25, 2003 Hi, I would like to shadow a doctor at the university hospital. Do any of you know of any doctors (preferably a woman doctor) that would allow a premed student shadow them? thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest summervirus Posted August 25, 2003 Report Share Posted August 25, 2003 Hi there, It will be quite difficult to find a doctor that will allow you to shadow him/her. As a premed student, you're not insured by the College of Physicians and Surgeons so the doctor will have to be willing to take full responsibility for anything that will go wrong. He/she will also have to get explicit patient consent before each patient contact because you're not a med student yet and there are certain ethical issues that need to be addressed. However, I do know that there are doctors that still welcome premed students to shadow them despite this. (I was able to shadow one at the UofC as a premed student). Unfortunately, I don't know of anyone at the UofA that is willing to take on premed students at the moment. If you're truly interested, you should go to the faculty homepage and email or phone someone in a department you're interested in, asking politely if he/she knows of people that are interested in allowing you to shadow them. I hope this helps! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest fox Posted August 25, 2003 Report Share Posted August 25, 2003 Do you have a family doctor? I have had the opportunity to shadow a few docs just by asking them when I was there for a check-up. I had to see a sports MD a few times when I wrecked my knee (at the Glen Sather Sports Medicine Clinic) and he let me shadow him (Dr. John Clarke). I was even allowed to give patients *advice* based on my personal experience with knee injuries. It was really exciting! Also, my family doctor invited me to shadow her anytime (she is the nicest person I think I have ever met), but this may be because I am starting med school in a week. I work in emerg and have met many physicians who allow me to watch procedures and follow them around, I just can't actually participate, yet. I'm not sure what your current situation is, but if you can find a job in a hospital, you will make a lot of contacts that will come in handy for the future. If you work as a casual employee, you only have to work once every six months to stay on payroll (not that they appreciate that sort of commitment, but if you're busy with school it means you can work on occassion and at your convenience). I cannot even begin to explain how much I have learned from this job (I've seen and learned way more than I did when volunteering)..... I am certain it helped me get into med school. These are, of course, just my opinion, but stuff you can try. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest EMHC Posted August 25, 2003 Report Share Posted August 25, 2003 Is it okay to shadow a doctor if you're volunteering in the ER? That is ofcourse with the explicit consent of both the doctor who you're shadowing and any their patient? It's like this, I've shadowed a doctor a few times and the last time I shadowed him, the head nurse comes and says, you're intruding into the patients privacy. Well, given the consent of both the doctor and the patient, I don't really see an intrusion of privacy anywhere. Am I right? EMHC Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest fox Posted August 25, 2003 Report Share Posted August 25, 2003 If the doctor and the patient consent then there really shouldn't be an issue of whether or not you're allowed to shadow the physician (at least I've never had a problem). However, some hospitals/departments may have their own "rules" that may forbid non-med students from shadowing. At U of A emerg, one of the physicians is in charge of the undergrad program and the doctor I wanted to shadow said it was fine with him, just run it by this other doctor (who was fine with it, as well). It's a lot easier when you know everyone in a department, though. Perhaps the nurse was worried about confidentiality.... But, ultimately, from what I know about the charge nurse's responsibilities and the physician's responsibilties, if there is consent from all parties, it shouldn't be a problem. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest ikaj Posted August 25, 2003 Report Share Posted August 25, 2003 Thanks everyone. Fox, just curious, what type of work did you do in emergency? I have a few family friends who are doing their residencies at the uofa hospital. Is it possible to shadow them? I am hesitating to ask them because they may feel obligated to say yes even if they are uncomfortable with someone shadowing them. Also, how long do you guys suppose I should shadow a doctor? I know of someone who has been shadowing one doc for a couple of months now. He is just a premed like me. But the guy is very competetive so he does not like to help others out when it comes to academics etc. He wouldn't tell anyone the doc's name! I guess the doc who this guy is shadowing must have to get consent from each and everyone of his patients before hand! Is it just a matter of asking the patient before the student can enter? Or is there paper work involved? thanks:) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest fox Posted August 26, 2003 Report Share Posted August 26, 2003 I don't know if it would be a great idea to ask a resident if you can shadow them. They are extremely busy and probably wouldn't have that much time to explain things fully (and I'm not sure if they are even allowed to have a non-medical student shadow them). As for consent, when I shadowed the sports doctor he would go in before his examination and ask each patient if they would mind if I sat in. He explained to them I was interested in medicine, and nobody refused. The consent was just done verbally. As for the length of time you should shadow a doctor for, I wouldn't worry about the amount of time you spend doing it. If you can find someone to follow around even once, it is a good experience. Unless you are really close to someone, I doubt they would want someone following them around every week (I could be wrong, but getting consent from every patient would be laboursome, as would explaining everything). Besides, I found in most interviews I was never asked how often or how long I did something for. I think what is more important is what you take from the experience. For example, I volunteered for a few years in the hospital and it was quite boring and I really didn't learn a lot. Then when I got my job in emerg I stopped volunteering because it was so much more rewarding to be working and learning than putting in time so I could beef up my resume. By the way, I am a clerk in emerg. Clerks have a lot of responsibility- ordering tests, req'ing blood work, urine tests, x-rays, organizing transport, paging docs, etc, etc. Basically we do anything the nurses or doctors ask you to do. I also work as an aide sometimes, as well, and that involves transporting patients to the floor and to various areas of the hospital, as well as stocking. I hope this helps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest EMHC Posted August 26, 2003 Report Share Posted August 26, 2003 fox: what do you need to be a clerk? i remember in one of your previous posts that you only worked a few shifts over the course of 6 months or something? just curious that's all. EMHC Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest fox Posted August 26, 2003 Report Share Posted August 26, 2003 You only need a grade 12 diploma to be a clerk, and some departments require a medical terminology course (I didn't have one, but for the first job I had in the hospital I had to take a "test"). I actually have a part-time position, but if you are hired as a casual, you just pick up shifts when you're available and they need someone. So, what I was saying was that you need to work one shift every six months to maintain your casual status (at U of A). Being casual is great if you're in school and sometimes have really busy weeks (when you wouldn't want to work) and sometimes have slow weeks where you could pick up shifts. If you're interested, try out the capital health website to see all the job postings in the capital health region: cha.ab.ca Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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