How do I find a doctor who would be willing to let me shadow them?

[IC54]

I am a freshman pre-medical student attending school at the University of Central Florida. I recently began volunteering at the Nemours Children's Hospital in the surgical unit as I hope to become a pediatric surgeon or neurosurgeon.
Based on the advice of my counselor, I was hoping I would have some form of interaction with the surgeons and perhaps be able to ask them to allow me to shadow them. However, I rarely see surgeons where I volunteer (post-op recovery) and there aren't any other areas that would allow me more access to them.
I don't know any surgeons or doctors I can shadow in my area. I am really worried about gaining a competitive amount of shadowing hours before I apply to medical schools.
Do you have any suggestions on how to find a doctor that would be willing to let me shadow them? Do they require certain classes to be taken before shadowing? How would be the best way to approach them?
Any help would be greatly appreciated!

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[candbgirl]

You only need about 50 hours and some of it should be with a primary care doc. See if the Hospital has a program for premeds that provides opportunities for shadowing. Ask your own doc if you can shadow him/her and then ask that doc to refer you to another doc. You could also just call offices and ask or send a letter describing what you need and say you’ll call to follow up. It really isn’t necessary to shadow a peds surgeon. Most med students change their mind once they start clinical rotations.

 

[Goro]

1) Ask your own doc
2) Ask your mom/dad's doc
3) Network with the clinicians where you shadow.
4) How far are you from the UCF School of Medicine? If nearby, perhaps contact one of thier clinical faculty to see if you can shadow them Be prepared to do a lot of cold calling.

 

[puahate]

Why do you want to work with kids? They have no money. Also NS is hard to get into so dont gun for that.

You should go to your family doctor and ask them.

 

[curbsideconsult]

Can you get a volunteer position in the patient family waiting area? Most surgeons will go into that area after the surgery to talk to the families. You could probably approach a surgeon there. Or is there a volunteer post by a coffee stand? Doctors love coffee. You could probably ambush one there too. Kidding. Sort of.

 

[ChymeofPassion]

Look around to see if hospitals have an email directory for their researchers.

Cross reference those names with Google to find clinicians.

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