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[kingkobra123]

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[IndianVercetti]

Don't take this the wrong way, but how do you know you're so interested in surgery? I'm a junior in college, and I have no idea what exactly each field of medicine entails, and I am not the least concerned - since I know that these bridges/decisions will be crossed when it's time to do clinical rotations in 3rd and 4th year of medical school.

I know you're enthusiastic about the career and all, but you're a sophomore in high school, and right now, you're already doing what you should be doing - learning how the hospital environment in the ER functions, and researching your career of interest. If I were you, I would hone my basic science skills right now (physics, chemisty, biology) - as they will surely help you in college and in 1st and 2nd year of medical school.

Sure, it might be 'cool' to shadow a surgeon in the OR, but having this 'clinical' advantage won't really affect your career progress in anyway - so there's no need to feel at a loss if you're not able to find a surgeon to shadow.

 

[Terpskins99]

Don't take this the wrong way, but how do you know you're so interested in surgery? I'm a junior in college, and I have no idea what exactly each field of medicine entails, and I am not the least concerned - since I know that these bridges/decisions will be crossed when it's time to do clinical rotations in 3rd and 4th year of medical school.

I know you're enthusiastic about the career and all, but you're a sophomore in high school, and right now, you're already doing what you should be doing - learning how the hospital environment in the ER functions, and researching your career of interest. If I were you, I would hone my basic science skills right now (physics, chemisty, biology) - as they will surely help you in college and in 1st and 2nd year of medical school.

Sure, it might be 'cool' to shadow a surgeon in the OR, but having this 'clinical' advantage won't really affect your career progress in anyway - so there's no need to feel at a loss if you're not able to find a surgeon to shadow.

No offense, but I disagree with this.

I wholeheartedly encourage any high school student to shadow any specialist they can. Our hospital has a program where they allow local high school students shadow surgeons in the OR and I think its a wonderful idea. What better time to encourage enthusiasm and learn more about the various fields of medicine?

Embracing science is important, but not nearly as important as having a passion for medicine itself.

 

[Winged Scapula]

Bear in mind that not all hospitals allow non-clinical personnel in the OR.

I had trouble getting a first year medical student into the OR with me; there are liability issues if you fall and hurt yourself, privacy issues, etc. Support staff do not want to worry about you. Its much harder to do than it used to be (when you could practically bring anyone in).

The non-response from your local surgeons may be a recognition that their hospitals may not allow it.

 

[schrizto]

Don't take this the wrong way, but how do you know you're so interested in surgery?

Um, one way to find out is to shadow a surgeon?

I'm a junior in college, and I have no idea what exactly each field of medicine entails, and I am not the least concerned - since I know that these bridges/decisions will be crossed when it's time to do clinical rotations in 3rd and 4th year of medical school.

So you're a pre-med junior in college and you've never shadowed anyone? Shadowing is most definitely not reserved for only third and fourth year medical students.

I know you're enthusiastic about the career and all, but you're a sophomore in high school, and right now, you're already doing what you should be doing - learning how the hospital environment in the ER functions, and researching your career of interest. If I were you, I would hone my basic science skills right now (physics, chemisty, biology) - as they will surely help you in college and in 1st and 2nd year of medical school.

One of the best ways to learn how the hospital environment functions and to research a career of interest is job shadowing.

Sure, it might be 'cool' to shadow a surgeon in the OR, but having this 'clinical' advantage won't really affect your career progress in anyway - so there's no need to feel at a loss if you're not able to find a surgeon to shadow.

Anyways, the OP made this thread to ask if anyone knows a surgeon to shadow, not whether or not others think a hs sophomore should shadow. Hopefully the OP gets the information he's looking for.

 

[FutureCTDoc]

It is difficult to shadow a Gen Surg in the OR. A better bet is to find someone who operates out of an ASC and to shadow them. Also surgery is broad and can mean different things. Moh's microsurgery is certainly different from a lap choley. My advice is to find a physician who does mainly elective surgery. I'd recommend ophthalmology, particularly vitreoretinal because the usual set up in the OR is an operating microscope with a screen you can view the case on. Podiatry dependent on state can be good, especially rearfoot work. Orthopedic and general would probably be less receptive i.e. longer cases and less elective depending on surgeon, more likely to be inpatient. Urology is difficult to get PT consent on, same with OB/GYN. ENT is great, a variety of cases including cochlear implants, rhinoplasty, blepheroplasty. Neurological surgery is unlikely for several reasons. Hand surgery and some plastics work may be possible the same is true for Moh's microsurgery, that is derm usually.

 

[YouNeverKnow22]

you're probably getting turned down because you're in high school. wait until you're in college to shadow in the OR. I know some hospitals have rules that don't allow people under 18 in the OR.

 

[YouNeverKnow22]

hmm well keep trying, I've been pretty lucky finding docs to shadow. and no offense but I think the reason you aren't getting responses is because you're so young...maybe if you explain you're interested in BA/MD you'll get more responses.

 

[Aaja]

Like schrizto said, I don't know for sure that I want to be a surgeon --> that being the whole purpose of shadowing one. The fact that you don't know what you're getting into yet shows that you're probably not as passionate about the field as others may be. But I'll leave that open for interpretation...

I just recently finished my internship doing the same work first year residents do in all of the main branches of medicine and I still don't know what residency i want to do. It's not unheard of tales of people that choose a residency because they couldn't get into their dream residency (lack of available slots, not high enough grades..) or they choose a random specialty the very day of the residency exam (in Mexico you must do an insanely difficult exam to earn a residency slot). It's most likely the specialty you wanted to do entering med school is NOT what you will end up doing after graduating. I've only known 1 case of someone that seriously did the specialty they dreamt about doing from the start.

Maybe you're right...science skills are paramount and should be my primary focus. But the multitude of doctors that I've encountered really have a passion for utilizing their holistic medical knowledge to save lives...not necessarily a passion limited to science. What I've learned in the ER is that medicine involves much more than physics, chemistry, and biology, and that ultimately, it's about the people.

You know what? You're right, medicine isn't about acing that insanely hard calculus problem some nasty teacher put in the final exam. Most doctors that graduated med school over 10 years, if asked to do a biochemistry exam they'd probably do poorly on it because the actual job for the most part doesn't need that kind of knowledge. I'm not thinking about the Krebs cycle everytime I vaccinate a baby. It is however important to learn what the Krebs cycle is as a foundation to understanding the pathology of many human diseases. Most of the first two years of med school are foundation knowledge from textbooks to understand diseases and the mechanism of how they occured. Medicine ins't a cookbook to give a pill for x set of symptoms, it's to understand WHY these pills and not some other treatment.

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If you can't get a surgeon to let you shadow with, the easiest thing would be to at least shadow a pediatrician because you're still underage. Ask your own pediatrician if you can shadow him/her. Once you get to be a bit more known, ask your doctor if he/she has close friends from other specialties to start shadowing. This is usually the easiest way to start shadowing. It's different to be the patient of x buddy than to be some unknown highschool kid nobody has heard of before calling a busy doctor on the phonebook out of the blue. You could also possibly get lucky shadowing the OR if you meet a friendly anesthesiologist.

 

[Gigantron]

OP: Like you, I am also in highschool. Like you, I am also interested in BS/MD or BS/DO programs. Like you, I want to be a surgeon as well, and have been contacting many doctors for shadowing opportunities. You being in highschool does not limit any type of shadowing experience you can receive. I may be a junior, but I have so far been able to shadow an Anesthesiologist for a good while, which requires scrubbing in and going into the operating room. I recently started to look for more doctors to shadow, as the Anesthesiologist I shadow hasn't had much time for me to shadow him (with the school year going on and everything, it's hard to schedule, but it's still not as often as I would like...it's manageable though).

However, since you seem to be having a hard time finding doctors to shadow, I'd recommend using this site: http://www.do-online.org/iLearn/home.cfm

It's a D.O. mentoring site. Here you'll find doctors to shadow in your area. Any name you find on there is somebody who agreed to put their name up there and is also willing to let you shadow him/her. I emailed about 15 different physicians from this site, and two have been able to reply so far: a PCP that I will shadow during the summer, and a cardiologist who works near NYCOM. It's not a guarantee that each person you request will reply to you, which is why I've emailed a lot...because I know not every single one of them will be replying. The two physicians that replied may not be surgeons, but it's good to get shadowing experience with a wide variety of medical specialties, as it can expose you to what medicine really is on several fronts. Hell it excites me that I get to shadow a physician at all, as well as getting a lot of opportunities that my fellow "pre-med" high school classmates don't seem to be thinking of.

 

[schrizto]

Gigantron, that site looks like a really great resource!

 

[Gigantron]

I agree. I'm guessing you live in the New York area: as you may know, almost every high-school pre-med kid that I know on Long Island is focused on science research and making sure they get as much research in as possible. Almost no fellow pre-med high-schooler who I've spoken to has had any clinical experience; and thus, has virtually no knowledge of the actual field of medicine itself. I feel that the hospital-based clinical experience is far more beneficial and practical than research would ever be if we're going to be doctors who work for the people...like I said before, medicine involves much more than physics, chemistry, and biology, and ultimately, it's about the people.

That's definitely the right attitude. You have a good idea with what you're getting yourself into. It helps that you volunteer in the Emergency Department/Emergency Room, but it adds on to the experience when you get to put those scrubs on and watch an Anesthesiologist intubate somebody, while also getting to watch an orthopedic surgery right afterwards (in my case). Any clinical experience is a plus. Of course it isn't a bad thing in itself to have some research, but I'm not too crazy about research...I actually hate it. I'm more of a hands-on clinical type of person, which is why I only volunteer at the Emergency Department in my hospital, instead of filing papers and answering phones.

To schritzo: Thank the Pre-Osteo/Osteopathic board. I found the link in one of the threads there.

 

[chrslbrt]

I'd have to agree with the first response to this post who said you're too young to be stressing out over this. There is a plethora of different fields with even more sub specialties.

You do rounds during your Junior and Senior year of medical school. You get a taste of each major category to see what you like and don't like. As long as you can accept the idea of being a doctor, and apply yourself, you'll be fine.

The advice that I get from a lot of doctors is not to stress out over it. They usually say, stay focused on grades in college, but to enjoy yourself. High School and College are the best years of your life, don't get burnt out before you get to med school.