If you aspire to become a doctor, physician assistant, nurse, or anything else in the medical field, I strongly encourage that you shadow someone who has the same occupation that you strive for. Even if you are 100 percent certain that you want to become a doctor, for example, follow one around for the day. I also advise that when you shadow a physician, you follow them around work for the entire day if they allow you to. Usually, when scheduling to shadow a doctor, the office manager will ask if you would like to stay for a few hours or the full day. Do not be discouraged if the physician’s full work day is twelve hours or more. If you are going to get a taste of what your future profession is like, you might as well put yourself in the shoes that you hope to fill one day. Shadowing a doctor for only four or five hours might mean that you miss an experience that can convince or deter you from continuing on that career path. Most importantly, do not be discouraged if the first few physicians who you contact do not allow students to shadow. Keep trying! At the end of the day, you do not want to waste your time and money taking classes to prepare you for the MCAT when you might not need to take it if you change your mind on what you want to do with the rest of your life. That is why I shadowed my pediatrician, as I aspire to be one someday.
It was June 3 of this year when I shadowed my pediatrician. I followed her around the office from 8:00 in the morning until 5:00 in the afternoon. You know how adults say, “If you love your job you will never work a day in your life?” Well, this statement is true! During the nine hours when I shadowed my pediatrician, time flew by. I went into every meeting that she had, every examination room, and read over medical notes with her about her patients' recent ER visits. We went from one examination room to another consistently, without sitting down, for the first two hours. I saw countless children from a wide range of age groups, which helped me observe how my pediatrician acts around children of different ages. Each patient’s case was different, which I found enjoyable because I do not particularly fancy a lot of repetition in my day. After my shadowing experience, I realized a lot about myself.
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I learned that exposing myself to new things and always moving on my feet keeps me interested in different activities. While examining a patient, the doctor would take the time to explain to me the condition that the child had or why she was choosing one diagnosis or prescription over another. It also confirmed my career choice. After interacting with the young patients and their guardians, it was evident to me that pediatrics suited me best. Thankfully, both the patients and guardians reacted extremely well to me being in the room. What I enjoyed the most was seeing my pediatrician go above and beyond for families and their children. As she was talking to a patient or family member, I realized where she sat is where I want to sit one day. I want to examine patients and use my knowledge to help children's health as well as the to give the parents peace of mind.
During our lunch break, I bombarded my pediatrician with multiple questions. I asked her about her undergraduate experience, what it took for her to get into medical school, her experiences during residency, why she chose to be a pediatrician instead of selecting a different specialty, and how she opened her own practice. What I thought was imperative to ask her was what she liked and disliked about her job. It seemed that what she disliked the most about her job was the fact that she couldn't truly practice medicine because of the restrictions that insurance puts on physicians. It seems that insurance dictates whether she can prescribe her first choice of medication, second, third, or so on. Nonetheless, what she likes about her job is that because she owns her own practice, she is the boss. She controls her business. So, when she visits patients, no one tells her to do a certain examination before another. She uses her skills and knowledge to do her job the best way possible.
What I appreciated the most from this experience was how truthful my pediatrician was when answering my questions. She did not sugarcoat the medical student experience and what becoming a doctor entails. What she described was surely a long road ahead that I still plan to pursue, but also a significant weight known as “debt” that comes along with it. Even after everything she said, which might typically discourage another pre-medical student, it did not phase me. In fact, I felt more prepared and motivated than ever to enter the medical field. If I had not picked up the phone four weeks before June 3 and scheduled this experience with my pediatrician, I might have had second thoughts about going into medicine.
