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Pre-med students all need shadowing experience to get into medical school. In this article, I’ll talk about what shadowing is, how to find a doctor to shadow, and how to get the most out of the experience.
Shadowing means accompanying a doctor to experience what a day in the life of a practicing physician is like. It helps pre-med students understand what medicine is like and is a basic requirement of a strong medical school application.
Note: Shadowing is only considered “clinical experience” if it involves getting hands-on with patients and caring for them directly. It is not clinical experience if you are simply an observer, but non-clinical shadowing can still bolster your med school application.
Dr. Harvey Katzen is an oncologist, MedSchoolCoach advisor, professor at George Washington University Medical School, and experienced admissions officer. We sat down with him to ask him what pre-medical students should know about shadowing a physician. Keep reading to hear his tips and secrets!
Need help finding pre-med experiences to enhance your candidacy for med school? MedSchoolCoach offers 1-on-1 pre-med coaching with former admissions committee members. Schedule a free info session with our enrollment team to find out more!
Who and How to Ask a Doctor if You Can Shadow Them
Approaching a doctor and requesting to shadow them can be intimidating and nerve-wracking, but it doesn’t have to be.
Below are some tips on finding a doctor to ask and asking them:
- Identify your goals and interests.
- Research your ideal specialty, then research specific doctors within that specialty.
- Utilize your network, including faculty, family, fellow alumni, and other colleagues.
- Draft a professional email from a template, but put your own flair on it.
- Highlight your background and your motivations.
- Always show gratitude and respect.
- Craft a killer résumé to attach to an email or print off.
- If you ask in person, schedule a meeting or phone call ahead of time.
- Don’t wait until junior year — start early to relieve stress and get ahead. You can even get shadowing experience as a high school student!
Learn More: Who And How to Ask to Shadow a Doctor: A Comprehensive Guide
I personally don’t think all your shadowing should be done in the last year of college. Instead, demonstrate a long-term commitment… You like to see somebody who has long-term experience over a number of semesters.
Benefits of Shadowing for Pre-Meds
Why shadow? Here are some common benefits of shadowing as a pre-med:
- It will strengthen your med school application, demonstrating essential skills that all pre-meds should have.
- You get a better understanding of what to expect from the day-to-day life of a doctor.
- Asking questions may be more encouraged than when you’re volunteering at a clinic.
- You get to see doctors interacting with patients, learning bedside manners in real life.
- Shadowing can lead to beneficial mentorships and expanded professional networks.
- If you shadow doctors in multiple specialties, you can begin to find which area resonates most with you.
If you’re a non-traditional medical school applicant, learn more about the process here.
Dr. Katzen describes the sorts of things you can learn while shadowing a doctor:
An observant student watches how the physician enters the room, how they conduct themselves in the room. Do they walk in the room and formally address the patient or formally introduce themselves? When they ask questions, how do they actively listen? Do they allow the patient to talk? What is their method of questioning? What is their method of obtaining information? That is very important.
How Many Hours You Need
You should aim for at least 40 hours to make your application competitive though there’s no strict minimum amount of time required for shadowing.
It’s also beneficial to spread your shadowing hours across multiple specialties. Admissions committees would prefer you shadow four different specialties for 10 hours each rather than one specialty for 40 hours.
Well over 90% of matriculating medical students have completed at least some shadowing (according to a 2023 AAMC survey).
As with other extracurricular activities, aim for quality over quantity.
Once you’re over 100 hours, more shadowing probably won’t make you a more competitive applicant. By the 100-hour mark, you’ve shown admissions committees that you’re committed to medicine and that you know what you’re getting yourself into. At that point, consider investing more time in actual clinical or research experience to strengthen your application.
5 Tips for Getting the Most from Your Experience
I talked with Dr. Katzen about some tips concerning physician shadowing. With our combined experiences, the guide below should help you get the most out of shadowing a doctor.
#1: Choose a Specialty You’re Interested In
When you’re researching shadowing opportunities, think about which specialties interest you most. Let your interests guide your search while keeping an open mind.
Common medical specialties include:
- Internal medicine
- Family medicine
- Pediatrics
Common surgical specialties include:
- General surgery
- Ophthalmology
- Otolaryngology
It’s great to have ideas about what specialties interest you, but you won’t make the final decision until your third year of medical school. Shadowing before that third year can help you learn about each specialty, but you won’t choose your specialty until you complete rotations as a medical student.
Dr. Katzen recommends that pre-meds remain versatile before entering med school.
I don’t think it’s appropriate when we hear a fourth-year college student say, ‘I am going to be an orthopedic surgeon.’ I think that shows a very narrow-minded approach. That is not the type of student we want to be admitted into our medical school.
We want someone who has an open mind to learn and see something that piques their interest once they see it in more depth. To me, anyone entering medical school should be entering it with an open mind and not with a preconceived notion as to what their final destination will be.
#2: Find the Right Opportunity
Now it’s time to find shadowing opportunities in the specialties you’ve decided you’re interested in. Here are your options for finding the right opportunity:
- Do your own research into local doctors of particular specialties. A good initial strategy is to send as many emails to local physicians as possible — shoot for 20-30 if possible. Of those, perhaps four or five will allow you to shadow or will be able to connect you to other physicians open to shadowing.
- Utilize any family connections to get in touch with a doctor you want to shadow. You could ask close friends or colleagues, too. Are you close to anyone who is a practicing doctor or in a position to connect you with a physician?
- Contact your pre-med office or alumni network. Is there any way your school or alma mater can help you find shadowing opportunities? Typically, yes, because they want their students and alumni to be successful. (It makes them look good.)
- Consider your peers who are currently in medical school. They may be able to refer you to physicians who they shadowed as pre-med students.
- Look into virtual shadowing. It can be difficult to accumulate the shadowing hours needed to get accepted into medical school, especially in a variety of specializations. So we collaborated with 25+ of the world’s best doctors to give you a behind-the-scenes look at almost every specialty. Learn about MedSchoolCoach’s virtual shadowing here.
- Go through an organization for shadowing opportunities. Think about joining an organization like Global Medical Brigades to shadow a physician in a foreign country. This might be a fantastic opportunity if you’re interested in public health or want a better understanding of medicine in very different places from where you live. Alternatively, places like the Mayo Clinic and Cleveland Clinic have shadowing programs you can apply for.
Is it okay to shadow your own doctor? If you remain professional, yes, it is okay to shadow your own doctor. You can also ask your doctor for recommendations on doctors to shadow.
Looking for extracurricular hours beyond shadowing? Check out our Pre-Med Extracurricular Portal, an all-in-one resource that allows you to browse and apply to volunteering, clinical, and research opportunities across the country.
#3: Reach Out
Contact physicians directly — unless your school is handling this step. Their contact information should be readily available. Below are mine and Dr. Katzen’s tips on reaching out in the most effective way:
- Send an email first. You may cold call a few days later if they haven’t responded.
- Write formally. Address the physician by their last name. Use formal greetings, like “Dear Dr. Patel” or “Hello Dr. Schwartz.”
- Introduce yourself confidently and honestly. Include your stage of training, where you’re enrolled, your résumé, who referred or recommended you, and your goals or interests pertaining to this shadowing.
- Directly ask to shadow this doctor. Don’t beat around the bush and leave it up to interpretation.
A lot of physicians welcome the opportunity to share their knowledge and experiences with future medical professionals.
If they agree to let you shadow them, confirm important details like the location of the clinic, hospital, or medical center, as well as the duration of this shadowing opportunity. There may be paperwork involved.
#4: Get the Most From Your Experience
Now you’ve secured a shadowing opportunity. It’s time to make the most of the experience. In order to get the most out of in-person shadowing, here are some pointers:
- Be punctual. Get there early, and give yourself plenty of time to find parking.
- Be respectful in all your interactions with patients and staff.
- Show your enthusiasm. When you’re clearly positive and interested, everyone will want to work with you more.
- Wear professional attire, including comfortable, closed-toe shoes. Men should wear a tie.
- Do not share information about any patients you encounter during shadowing rotations with anyone other than the physician with whom you’re working. Remember you are bound by HIPAA confidentiality.
- Bring a notebook and a pencil or pen to take notes. However, don’t write down confidential patient info. Try not to write notes in front of patients — it may make them nervous. Avoid taking these notes on a mobile phone, as this may be perceived as rude.
- Ask plenty of questions. You may need to write down questions and ask them later at a more appropriate time.
- Ask the doctor how you should refer to yourself during patient interactions and around other healthcare provider coworkers. We want to avoid confusing patients or colleagues.
- Mentally prepare to be asked to leave. Some patients may not feel comfortable with you in the room, and it is their right to request that you leave.
- Confirm where you can obtain scrubs when necessary.
- Thank the doctor and other colleagues when the shadowing is finished.
Read More: Questions to Ask a Doctor When Shadowing
Dr. Harvey Katzen has this specific advice to offer:
First of all, you should look at how the patients are brought into the room, whether it is or is not by the physician. You should spend some time with either the medical assistant or the nurse and get a better understanding of the preparation before the physician goes into the room. It could be something as simple as weighing and taking vital signs.
When shadowing a doctor examining a patient, observe how they do a proper physical exam. In particular, observe the basic courtesies and manners that one should have as a physician. Observe how the doctor respects whether it’s a male-to-male, male-to-female, female-to-female, or female-to-male examination. They have appropriate chaperones, and they make proper allowances to respect the patients’ modesty and so forth.
#5: Don’t Stop at One
You may get away with one shadowing experience, but medical school admissions committees are looking for dedicated students who demonstrate holistic learning.
Try to do a few shadowing sessions a year as a freshman, sophomore, and junior. If you can get ~20 hours per year, that will be enough to make you competitive for med school. If you wait too long to get enough shadowing hours, you can get more shadowing done during gap years before med school.
Dr. Katzen has some simple advice
Show a long-term commitment.
It is rarely effective to all of a sudden wake up and feel like you want to pursue the medical field. I personally get more confidence in demonstrations of commitment. When I see that somebody has multiple experiences, I think it exhibits commitment but also exposure to different aspects.
What to Do After Shadowing
First of all, always send a thank-you card or email to the doctor you shadowed.
Also, you might want to write down any formative or memorable experiences that you can mention in your AMCAS Personal Statement or Work & Activities Section.
In terms of letters of recommendation, asking doctors you’ve shadowed probably isn’t your best bet (unless you worked with them in some other capacity – on research, say, or as a clinical volunteer). Shadowing is helpful, but it is still probably the least important aspect of your medical school application. Instead, AdComs will be looking for letters from people you’ve worked with, whether in a clinical, volunteering, or research setting.
Get Virtual Shadowing Across 30+ Specialties
Shadowing is a necessary part of your pre-medical career path. High-quality shadowing opportunities make you a competitive med school applicant. Fortunately, MedSchoolCoach makes it easier than ever to find great shadowing opportunities, all from the convenience of your couch.
Get shadowing hours from your couch! Register for our FREE Virtual Clinical Education resource to shadow over 20 physicians from various specialties. You’ll even get a certificate for your shadowing hours.
Sahil Mehta MD
Dr. Mehta is the founder of MedSchoolCoach and has guided thousands of successful medical school applicants. He is also a practicing physician in Boston where he specializes in vascular and interventional radiology.
