Clinical shadowing is a common practice in the medical system that allows students to gain useful insight and knowledge during their medical school years. If you would like to find out more about this topic and what it entails, read below for a few things you may not know about clinical shadowing.

– Clinical shadowing is an extracurricular activity any medical student can enroll in during his or her school years. It is one of the easiest ways for a student to realize early on if a career in the medical system would be suitable for them.

– Clinical shadowing does not offer any extra credit nor does it increase a student’s grade. However, it is an experience which helps him or her better prepare for the required internship at the end of three years of medical school.

– During clinical shadowing, a student will be opposed to a variety of clinical settings, which will enable them to more easily learn about various medical conditions, procedure, and interventions. In some cases, students may be allowed to take patient histories, write charts or perform minor procedures, such as measuring blood pressure or drawing blood. All of these activities help build self-confidence and experience, which are highly needed for anyone wishing to pursue a career in the medical system.

– In order to engage in clinical shadowing, students have various alternatives. Some medical schools have clinical shadowing programs already set in motion, and students can easily join them. Another option involves looking for a teaching hospital that offers this type of program. Lastly, if you happen to known someone in the medical system, you can ask them to be your mentor.

– Students are allowed to join a clinical shadowing program anytime they wish to and they can enroll in more than one throughout their three years of medical school. They can choose a different mentor and a different clinical setting each time so as to broaden their exposure to the health care system.

– During clinical shadowing, each student will be paired with a medical professional who will act as a mentor throughout the duration of the program. Students will be required to visit the hospital once a week or every fortnight and experience practicing medicine first hand.

– Students can choose to follow a primary care doctor, a surgeon, a physical therapist, a pharmacist, a veterinarian, a dentist, and so on. The choice is entirely up to the student and this experience can help them better plan out their future.

– For the duration of the program, the student will be able to ask his mentor as many questions as he wants to in order to find out more about what being a medical professional really entails.

These are the most important things anyone needs to know about clinical shadowing. Although this is not a mandatory requirement for medical students, the benefits of pursing clinical shadowing activities are undeniable and any student enrolled in a medical school or program should take it into consideration.

For more information, please visit our clinical shadowing website.

For more information, please visit our clinical shadowing website http://tulane.edu/advising/prehealth/resources/clinical-shadowing-opportunities.cfm

Author Bio: For more information, please visit our clinical shadowing website.

Category: Education
Keywords: clinical shadowing