Cant Shadow a physician. Any Better Volunteering options ?

[tennisball80]

I asked all of the hospitals and surgeons in my town which is in Canada and non of them said ok because due to the confidentiality. In addition, some of the other clinical setting volunteer opportunities are not avaliable because of the word "confidentiality". I tried almost every place in my town and phoned everywhere I could find on yellow page.

Do you guys have better ideas to get clinical exposure experiences ? Any kinds of comments would be appreciated.

I want to get clinical exposure experiences but there is no place !!!

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[Depakote]

I asked all of the hospitals and surgeons in my town which is in Canada and non of them said ok because due to the confidentiality. In addition, some of the other clinical setting volunteer opportunities are not avaliable because of the word "confidentiality". I tried almost every place in my town and phoned everywhere I could find on yellow page.

Do you guys have better ideas to get clinical exposure experiences ? Any kinds of comments would be appreciated.

I want to get clinical exposure experiences but there is no place !!!

hmm. I'm not sure how it works in Canada, in the US, most places will let you volunteer after you've had some level of HIPAA training. (HIPAA is our confidentiality protection law)

In general, the best way to set up a clinical experience is to talk to someone you know... Places are a lot more receptive to letting people in if they know who it is (or there's at least some connection). Talk to family friends or your family doctor and see if you can't set something up. (edit: My first clinical experience in HS was set up through my dad with a doctor he met through work)

Also, I know this sounds trivial, but there's an important difference in the lingo that you need to use. Don't call it "volunteering". Call it "shadowing". "Volunteering" implies that you'll be doing something that you could mess up... that makes healthcare workers inherently uneasy. When you're shadowing, all you do is follow the doctor around and watch. You only do something when the doctor lets you, all responsiblity is assumed by the doctor. So you're not going to have an office manager worried that you're going to mess up her charts.

Persistence is a virtue, keep trying. Good luck.

 

[cavalier329]

have you looked into EMS? Becoming an EMT?


As always though, DON'T BECOME AN EMT JUST FOR MEDICAL SCHOOL!

This is a baaaaaaaad idea. Especially if you come across someone like myself who may be your supervisor and who is able to figure out someones true motivation relatively quickly. And if its because you just want to get into medical school, your time will not be pleasant.


But if you are interested in EMS, its a great learning experience on both a professional and personal level.

 

[futuredo32]

If you live near a medical school, contact one of the faculty and see if they will allow you to shadow them. If you don't live near a medical school, try a teaching hospital. I know that my base hospital allows students to shadow in the ER. If a local college has a pre-med club, they might be able to point you in the right direction as well. Good luck to you.

 

[Nikki2002]

yes, as the other posters said, you need some connections. All of my shadowing experiences were set up through connections.

Do you volunteer at a hospital? If so, just go to the volunteer office and ask if there's anyway they can help you find a doctor in that hosptial who would be willing to let a student shadow.

Or, as another poster said, try to find out who runs the pre-med club at a local undergraduate university. Email or call this person to see if they can help.

Is there a certain field that you are interested in? If so, let us know so maybe we can help you further.

 

[tennisball80]

Thanks for your replies.

There is not even a university or pre-med club in my town. Our town is very small.

My teacher and counsellor used their connections to introduce me some physicians but all of them rejected the offers.

 

[pingouin]

What about talking to your own physician? That's pretty common in setting up shadowing opportunities. Remember, you don't have to get in ALL of these experiences now. Usually applications start listing experience from college forward, so if you wait to shadow when you get to a bigger town with a university, you will not be at a disadvantage.

Also agree with trying to get your foot in the door volunteering at a local hospital. Ask about what types of experiences they offer. If they have pediatric inpatients, they'll need people to play with the kids. Adults? Someone to go in and keep some of the elderly company. It may not get you the exposure to physicians that you want, but it will get you lots of interaction with people.

 

[futuredo32]

Adults? Someone to go in and keep some of the elderly company. It may not get you the exposure to physicians that you want, but it will get you lots of interaction with people.

Volunteering at a nursing home is an awesome idea!!!!! Some of those patients don't ever get any visitors and spending time with them could really make their day and it will also look good on your med school application too!

I agree that you don't need to feel pressured to start shadowing right now. However, I did find this on the AOA site. http://www.osteopathic.org/YOM/Mentor_main.htm
I don't know if the AMA has a similar organization, I'm guessing they do(but it's just a guess.)

 

[Doodledog]

Volunteering at a nursing home is an awesome idea!!!!! Some of those patients don't ever get any visitors and spending time with them could really make their day and it will also look good on your med school application too!

I strongly agree with this. It's great to volunteer with kids but that's "easy" in that it's an age group you're comfortable with. When we see h.s. students who've spent real time working with the elderly, it's impressive because we know that's harder to do. I would love to see this become more common. Also, once you become familiar with the place, lots of medical things happen in nursing homes or you could even go with some of the people there to see their doctors - worthwhile to see how medicine looks from the eyes of the elderly.

 

[Caesar]

I strongly agree with this. It's great to volunteer with kids but that's "easy" in that it's an age group you're comfortable with. When we see h.s. students who've spent real time working with the elderly, it's impressive because we know that's harder to do. I would love to see this become more common. Also, once you become familiar with the place, lots of medical things happen in nursing homes or you could even go with some of the people there to see their doctors - worthwhile to see how medicine looks from the eyes of the elderly.

I agree but want to say to be careful. In general, people in nursing homes are not always in the best of health. It will be a great experience for you, but it will be novel. Also some of the medical things that happen in nursing homes don't always have the best outcomes. Be prepared for that. I hope I didn't scare this idea out of you now, I think it is a great one, I just remember my first time being around medicine and thinking "Whoa, these are real people, someone should have warned me"

 

[cavalier329]

Agreed, also, nursing homes can easily discourage a lot of people from medicine.

Many of the ones I respond to while working are in poor shape and I often wonder how, if you love a person, you can put them here. The nurses don't care and the patients are in poor condition.

But thats not in all of them, obviously. Some are outstanding and provide excellent medical care. The patients are extremely happy and its just and overall positive environment for everyone.

Do research, if you think youd be happy if your mother was a patient there, then I think its a good place....but thats if you love your mother. In that case, pick someone you love haha.

 

[creativedentist]

Does your school have a mentorship program?
I'm interested in dentistry, and our school's mentorship coordinator set me up with an orthodontist who I will soon shadow.

I agree with the whole "ask your physician" idea. I've asked a few dental clinics; some rejected me, because it was small and they didn't feel they needed any (hahaha), and some took my name and number, but haven't called back. The lesson I learned: You have to be persistent. I find myself lucky to have such an opportunity; as time passes, I'm sure you will find a great opportunity as well!

Good luck!

 

[tennisball80]

Does your school have a mentorship program?
I'm interested in dentistry, and our school's mentorship coordinator set me up with an orthodontist who I will soon shadow.

I agree with the whole "ask your physician" idea. I've asked a few dental clinics; some rejected me, because it was small and they didn't feel they needed any (hahaha), and some took my name and number, but haven't called back. The lesson I learned: You have to be persistent. I find myself lucky to have such an opportunity; as time passes, I'm sure you will find a great opportunity as well!

Good luck!

My school does not have a mentor ship idea. My counsellor said they can not put me working in the the general hospital due to word "confidentiality".

I have been working in Nursing home with elderly and it's ok. Though sometimes It's kinda sad to see the people get really sick and the ambulance comes. Which made me want to help them more deeply..

 

[HumidBeing]

Tennisball, try talking directly to some doctors. Sometimes things can be arranged at a personal level that can't through a system. There are many areas in the U.S. where it is difficult for students, even college students, to shadow because of local interpretations of confidentiality laws. (Here they are called HIPAA.)

 

[tennisball80]

Tennisball, try talking directly to some doctors. Sometimes things can be arranged at a personal level that can't through a system. There are many areas in the U.S. where it is difficult for students, even college students, to shadow because of local interpretations of confidentiality laws. (Here they are called HIPAA.)

Thanks for your advice. Once I get back to Canada, I will talk directly to some doctors.

I won't give up !!!!

 

[Ender]

have you looked into EMS? Becoming an EMT?


As always though, DON'T BECOME AN EMT JUST FOR MEDICAL SCHOOL!

This is a baaaaaaaad idea. Especially if you come across someone like myself who may be your supervisor and who is able to figure out someones true motivation relatively quickly. And if its because you just want to get into medical school, your time will not be pleasant.


But if you are interested in EMS, its a great learning experience on both a professional and personal level.

To cavalier:
Dude, what's with the attitude? I became an EMT and never planned on actually practicing as a EMT-basic. When asked, I made it clear that I wanted to go to medical school. No one ever had a problem with that. The instructor was very supportive (a very experienced paramedic/flight medic, not a premed with an attitude).

"your time will not be pleasant." What does that mean?

Do not think of yourself as the Pre-med/EMT Avenger. It's not cool.

TO THE OP:
Did being and EMT actually help with getting into med school? I do not know, because I had also done a fair amount of shadowing, 2 years of basic science research, and 2 years of volunteering 4 hrs per week at the local ER. But it definately did not hurt.

The EMT course was a great exerience. You will learn some good basic life saving knowledge.

Ender

 

[cavalier329]

No attitude...if you decide to use your cert and you don't actually have a sincere motivation to do that work, then problems come up.

Ask any seasoned EMS professional to pick out the premeds in a crowd of EMTs. They can do it fairly easily. Im not making a sweeping generalization that ALL premeds who become EMTs for medical school are not sincere, but it is true that many arent.

You are working with people's lives. You are in charge of their safety for 10-30 minutes. Things you do (or dont do) have the potential to seriously harm a person. If you are on a truck because you want to be able to put it on a paper application, then theres reason for me to believe that your head isnt in the game 100% of the time.

EMT work IS NOT being a doctor. Much of the time you are helping an elderly person get up or calming someone who really doesnt have anything wrong with them. For someone who has some incorrect idealistic vision of medicine, this can be a bore and therefore they will slack off with their duties. However, its when you slack off and lose focus that the old woman who says she fell this morning and feels weak now *raps out in front of you while doing a routine transport. Then, when you are supposed to remember your proper CPR technique and how to handle these situations, you freeze because you didn't take your EMT education seriously because you figured as soon as you got it, it can go on your application.

Does this happen. Yes, Ive witnessed it. This person was later fired for inability to handle the job appropriately. Does it happen to everyone....no, and I didnt say it did. Im just saying, consider what the job is before you enter it. Have respect for the field and the people you come across in it. Dont do it for the application only. I promise you that this will be noted and you will not be well received by your crew or your co-workers who do have a passion for it.

Also, like I said, your time won't be pleasant because in many (NOT ALL) states, EMT courses cost money. Unless you pick up the cost yourself, or do it through school, some agency will probably be paying to train you. If you don't use this certification, that agency just wasted money on you and your training. This is not a good thing.

Call me what you what, but Ive had quite a few experiences in my 7 years on that warrant my comments. When you experience some of the same things about EMS and EMT training, then come back and have an appropriate, well informed conversation with me

 

[Druggernaut]

The people who don't take their jobs seriously as an EMT shouldn't be doctors, either, since they don't take patient care seriously. I find the notion that pre-med EMTs are typically worse than those who aren't pre-med. At the service I work at, the pre-med and pre-PA people aren't the ones you have to worry about not being polite to patients, trying to have fun at the patient's expense, and not knowing their stuff. It's the person who's settled into a semester long EMT-B certification as a career because they only have to work 8 days a month.

Some people in EMS will initially view you with skepticism, but all that I've run into will let that go if you know your business. If they don't, they're children, and who cares what they think?

If I wasn't working with patients, I don't know that I'd be able to keep on track. And most dangerously, I wouldn't know that it's what I wanted to do, so if I did stick to it and make it all the way into residency, I might end up finding out I hated it and had wasted lots of money and lots of time. It's not being a doctor, but it's good experience.

 

[cavalier329]

Bottom line: If you are gonna work as an EMT and it comes out you are premed...do your job right and no one will get on your case.

 

[Ender]

Bottom line: If you are gonna work as an EMT and it comes out you are premed...do your job right and no one will get on your case.

Bottom line: If you are going to take on any job (vocational, volunteer work, research) do you job right and no one will get on your case.

Obviously you like to single out premedical students. You should reevaluate this tendency to stereotype people. It especially does not sit well if you are in a supervisory role.

Ender

 

[DrJosephKim]

You may have a chance to volunteer in smaller private practice offices. You may not do anything clinical, but you can help with the front desk, registration, paperwork, etc.

 

[tennisball80]

You may have a chance to volunteer in smaller private practice offices. You may not do anything clinical, but you can help with the front desk, registration, paperwork, etc.

Does that count as clinical exposure experience ?

 

[pingouin]

Does that count as clinical exposure experience ?

It may not be clinical, but it could develop into some shadowing. But the other thing it could do- and this is what a lot of pre-meds don't have- is provide a deeper understanding of practice issues in medicine: the billing, the scheduling, the nice patients, the impatient patients, the sheer volume of phone calls, etc. It also would provide some experience in customer service (non-retail setting) which is becoming more and more important within the healthcare industry.

 

[malfee]

It may not be clinical, but it could develop into some shadowing. But the other thing it could do- and this is what a lot of pre-meds don't have- is provide a deeper understanding of practice issues in medicine: the billing, the scheduling, the nice patients, the impatient patients, the sheer volume of phone calls, etc. It also would provide some experience in customer service (non-retail setting) which is becoming more and more important within the healthcare industry.

I was thinking about doing this myself. Right now I'm still seeing my life-long pediatrician, so his private practice is run by his colleague and himself with at most a handful of secretaries/assistants that take calls, schedule appointments, etc. During my next visit I may ask my doctor a few questions about his career thusfar and see if he can offer me any pointers or insight. Who knows, maybe he can set me up with real clinical experience at a hospital.

 

[tennisball80]

I was thinking about doing this myself. Right now I'm still seeing my life-long pediatrician, so his private practice is run by his colleague and himself with at most a handful of secretaries/assistants that take calls, schedule appointments, etc. During my next visit I may ask my doctor a few questions about his career thusfar and see if he can offer me any pointers or insight. Who knows, maybe he can set me up with real clinical experience at a hospital.

That sounds very interesting.

I gonna give a shot when I get back to my small town.

Good luck

 

[malfee]

That sounds very interesting.

I gonna give a shot when I get back to my small town.

Good luck

Thanks, and good luck to you as well.

I was also looking at my local hospital's website and found that they do offer volunteer positions. I might look into those during the school year if I think I can somehow manage them (probably not), but perhaps next summer before I go off to college.