Virtual Shadowing: Is it worth it?

MEDHINI RAMESH – Shadowing represents a major requirement that every pre-medical student must fulfill to apply for medical school. Shadowing opportunities are difficult to find even in pre-pandemic climates, but during a pandemic, it is nearly impossible. Since the past year, many students have resorted to virtual programs as a last minute effort to check off their list. With this mindset, the major question becomes: does this opportunity count? 

Well, the short answer is yes…conditionally. Most medical schools are trying to consider virtual shadowing as a supplement to in-person shadowing. COVID has been an issue for only a year now, so they expect to see some in-person shadowing with virtual shadowing as an addition. Most university programs have calculated that COVID is affecting the overall chances of physically shadowing, ultimately concluding virtual shadowing offers better flexibility and adaptability in fulfilling the shadowing requirement.

Consequently, many professionals are advising that premeds choose their virtual opportunities wisely. Beneficial programs have modules containing quizzes with policies in place, ensuring pre-meds are actively attending their program. In these programs, hours actively attended will be tracked and available to access. That being said, these programs are meant to educate, and learning the material should be the focus of attending the sessions, not simply scoring hours. Some educational benefits of the programs include understanding basic anatomy, exploring different careers in medicine, and even learning useful study skills. They are amazing and interactive opportunities to ask professionals questions 

A simple google search will give dozens of results for shadowing, but here are some popular and free options:

HEAL Shadowing (Author’s Choice)

  • Link: https://www.clinicalshadowing.com 
  • Time: Free session every Wednesday: 8:00-9:00pm EST
  • Set up: A teacher presents and walks through real cases from ReelDX 
  • Highlight: Great for med school prep as well, they not only go into diagnostics and care, but often also the biology and biochemistry of the disease
  • Multiple paid sessions and courses available 
  • Certificate available every month to students who come to live sessions and complete the homework (submit the attendance form and complete the quiz with at least a 70%) 

Medschool HQ EShadowing

  • Link: https://medicalschoolhq.net/eshadowing/ 
  • Time: Live session on Mondays: 8:00-9:00pm EST (but the replay is available for the rest of the week for free as well)
  • Set up: Dr. Gray interviews a physician each week where they present their specialty and review a case or two. At the end, students can turn their mics on and ask the physician direct questions
  • Highlight: Medschool HQ has a ton of other premed/med school resources to check out like podcasts and prep
  • Certificate: Students can request a certificate once they need it. They must watch the video and take the quiz the next day to have the hours verifiable. 

Webshadowers (Most Amount of Free Hours)

  • Link: https://www.webshadowers.org 
  • Time: Varying → sessions occur Tuesdays-Fridays according to the physician’s availability
  • Set up: A physician presents 1-2 cases in their specialty and answers questions posted through YouTube Live. A google form is posted at the end of the session which must be filled out within 30 minutes after the livestream has concluded.
  • Highlight: Since there are four possible sessions a week (each with its own physician) there is the possibility of getting up to four hours per week instead of the usual one session. In addition, this platform has monthly “round ups” at the end of each month which allows participants to go back to previous unwatched sessions and earn certifiable hours.
  • Certificate: Participants must receive at least a 70% on the google form. No certificate is given, attendees are expected to record their hours on their own, but they have a process for medical schools to verify the hours that applicants submit.

No matter which platform one chooses, the main takeaway becomes to complete them with purpose and passion. Medical schools desire prospective students to genuinely care about medicine. A deep hunger to question and learn from experience is a well-defined characteristic of an excellent doctor that all pre-meds should have. All in all, learn, ask questions, connect with doctors, network with peers, document your experience, and most importantly have fun.

Copy Editor: Neha Kotike

Photography Source: Bianca Patel, https://www.prehealthshadowing.com/2020-12-28-launch-of-pre-health-shadowing/