MedicinePower Posted October 29, 2013 Share Posted October 29, 2013 I live in Boston, known for its many hospitals. It shouldn't be so hard to obtain shadowing experiences, right? The huge number of hospitals, 5 PA schools, and massive number of colleges/universities in the area should make it easy. Right? Wrong. So many of the hospitals/clinics have a blanket "NO SHADOWING" policy. Here's my shortlist: St Elizabeth- no shadowingCambridge Health Alliance (Cambridge Hosp & Somerville Hosp)- no shadowingMass General Hospital- no shadowingBrigham & Women's Hospital- 8 hours maxMt. Auburn Hospital- waiting to hear backTufts- waiting to hear backBeth Israel DMC- waiting to hear back All of these hospitals are "teaching hospitals" and pride themselves on educating the next generation of clinicians. I've been told by other sources at the last three (Mt. Auburn, Tufts, and BIDMC) similarly do not permit shadowing. My current option is to go out further and further. There is one hospital about 50 miles to the north that is willing to have PA shadows, but that seems crazy to have to go so far. All of the hospitals with a 'no shadowing' policy say "sorry" when asked where I might go. They acknowledge it's a problem (especially when one is applying to PA schools that require a certain number of PA shadowing hours). Unfortunately, nearly all of the doctors offices in this area are owned by the hospitals so it's not possible to ask them directly as they must abide by the hospital's policies. I am open to suggestions and ideas anyone might have. I am also interested in how people have navigated this problem in the past. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ceschlorff Posted October 29, 2013 Share Posted October 29, 2013 I am from the Chicago area and also found it hard to find a PA to shadow, but I ended up calling family owned practices until I found someone to say yes :-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MedicinePower Posted October 29, 2013 Author Share Posted October 29, 2013 I am from the Chicago area and also found it hard to find a PA to shadow, but I ended up calling family owned practices until I found someone to say yes :-) Where in Chicago are you from? I'm originally from there and my while family is there. I worked on an ambulance as an EMT for 5 years on the north side. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Will352ns Posted October 29, 2013 Share Posted October 29, 2013 Call the clinic at Hanscom AFB and see if there are any PA's assigned to the clinic (there should be). Ask if you could speak to one see if they would be willing to have you shadow. Military PAs tend to be very student friendly. Explain your situation....worst they can do is say no. Google the base site...call base operator for the number to Family Practice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ceschlorff Posted October 29, 2013 Share Posted October 29, 2013 I live in the suburbs now...Naperville, IL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skyblue3 Posted October 29, 2013 Share Posted October 29, 2013 I agree that finding PAs to shadow are difficult in bigger cities. Most of the large cities are within a large hospital system and tend to have strict policies. I found that going outside of my big city was successful and finding smaller, family owned clinics (as suggested above). Yes, it was a bit of a drive..maybe even up to an hour, but it proved fruitful. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MedicinePower Posted October 29, 2013 Author Share Posted October 29, 2013 Call the clinic at Hanscom AFB and see if there are any PA's assigned to the clinic (there should be). Ask if you could speak to one see if they would be willing to have you shadow. Military PAs tend to be very student friendly. Explain your situation....worst they can do is say no. Google the base site...call base operator for the number to Family Practice. Their main PA is on deployment and the 2 others they have are in their own period of shadowing/transition. According to the administrator they can't take any shadows until January 2014. Thank you, however, for the suggestion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crugg18 Posted October 29, 2013 Share Posted October 29, 2013 I live in Rhode Island, and have shadowed at a hospital and urgent care. I know it might be an hour drive for you, but might be worth a try! Good luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MedicinePower Posted October 29, 2013 Author Share Posted October 29, 2013 I live in Rhode Island, and have shadowed at a hospital and urgent care. I know it might be an hour drive for you, but might be worth a try! Good luck! Do you recall the names of the hospital and urgent care? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wet Dog Posted October 29, 2013 Share Posted October 29, 2013 I was in a similar situation when I was living in Mississippi. Down there, the hospitals were private I think so they didn't want you there shadowing because of liability issues. The only way you could shadow is if you were already part of a program (in which case, why the heck would you be shadowing??? I felt like asking) because then the program you were in was responsible for you if you got hurt. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MedicinePower Posted October 30, 2013 Author Share Posted October 30, 2013 I was in a similar situation when I was living in Mississippi. Down there, the hospitals were private I think so they didn't want you there shadowing because of liability issues. The only way you could shadow is if you were already part of a program (in which case, why the heck would you be shadowing??? I felt like asking) because then the program you were in was responsible for you if you got hurt. Exactly my point. Why would I seek out shadowing (as opposed to a supervised internship/clerkship) if I was already in a program? I've heard this so many times. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PM2PA Posted October 30, 2013 Share Posted October 30, 2013 OP, judging by your avatar, you frequent ERs I hope. You haven't befriended any PAs there? Most understand that shadowing/letters are just a formality. I had a PA I met write me a nice LoR even though I couldn't shadow him at his hospital (private hospitals are crap if you ask me). Try all your options and cold call doctors' offices if you have to. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WeBuyAndSellJunk Posted October 30, 2013 Share Posted October 30, 2013 Contact local PA programs and see if they can set you up with a former graduate to shadow. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MedicinePower Posted October 30, 2013 Author Share Posted October 30, 2013 OP, judging by your avatar, you frequent ERs I hope. You haven't befriended any PAs there? Most understand that shadowing/letters are just a formality. I had a PA I met write me a nice LoR even though I couldn't shadow him at his hospital (private hospitals are crap if you ask me). Try all your options and cold call doctors' offices if you have to. I have befriended them, but the hospitals have a blanket policy against shadowing unless you are already in a PA program, yet I need a certain number of PA shadowing hours in order to be accepted into those programs....catch 22. I've tried cold calling doctors' offices, but around here they are all owned by the hospital systems, which all have the no shadowing policy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MedicinePower Posted October 30, 2013 Author Share Posted October 30, 2013 Contact local PA programs and see if they can set you up with a former graduate to shadow. I've done exactly that and they all say they cannot give out that information or assist with shadowing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skyblue3 Posted October 30, 2013 Share Posted October 30, 2013 Bstone, are the programs that you are interested in require PA hours as a mandatory part of the application? At the time of my Caspa submission, I had 0 hours and I applied to 5 schools and all suggested shadowing and valued it. I interviewed at 2 of the 5 so far. Maybe you can spin the experiences around the PAs and MDs in the ER as a positive learning experience as opposed to focusing on the shadowing, if it is proving to be near impossible. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cinntsp Posted October 30, 2013 Share Posted October 30, 2013 Apply anyway. Explain your interactions with PAs and that you understand the role. I had 0 shadowing hours when I applied. Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MedicinePower Posted October 30, 2013 Author Share Posted October 30, 2013 Bstone, are the programs that you are interested in require PA hours as a mandatory part of the application? At the time of my Caspa submission, I had 0 hours and I applied to 5 schools and all suggested shadowing and valued it. I interviewed at 2 of the 5 so far. Maybe you can spin the experiences around the PAs and MDs in the ER as a positive learning experience as opposed to focusing on the shadowing, if it is proving to be near impossible. Yes, several of them have a required number of shadowing hours. Without the PAs you shadowed filling out forms and evaluations your application is considered incomplete. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
winterallsummer Posted October 31, 2013 Share Posted October 31, 2013 It took me about 8 months to find someone. What finally worked was emailing the PA organizations in my area every month. After three months of that I got an opportunity to shadow a PA in a private practice. Got to scrub in on surgeries and spent 40 hrs with this surgical PA. Drove 1.5 hr everyday and paid to park in a garage. At the end the PA wrote me a LOR and we still stay in touch. Bottom line is dont give up and be willing to travel even if its a hassle because the end result is worth it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jlumsden Posted November 1, 2013 Share Posted November 1, 2013 My shadowing experiences were typically in small offices or managed care clinics, and came via my personal network. One I obtained through work. Another was through a neighbor who is an MD (shadowing physicians is almost as valuable). I also put out a message on my Facebook account, asking for people to volunteer their connections. I never cold called a clinic or a hospital. Also, some hospitals may allow people who volunteer regularly to shadow their physician assistants. Check into that. It was offered to me when I was training to volunteer at a hospital here in Seattle. As a plus, the volunteer experience will bolster your application. Good luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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