# US Observership



## arghal

Today was my first day observing a nephrologist at his clinic. I know its to early to post this thread but i will try my best to update on a daily basis so anyone who plans on doing the same can have a thorough idea about it. 

Process: Mine was hap hazard, no formal paper work as such so i was not able to go to the rounds in the hospital. I did shadow the doctor in his clinics, which i must say was fairly exciting. Hopefully my clearance from the hospital comes in a few days. You have to email the doctor and then the hospital to. If your doctor is nice enough He will get you the clearance otherwise you will have to go and do it yourself, prepare for the latter.

Preparation: If you are shadowing a specialist for a particular field then make sure you read up on that particular subject. You dont often get asked questions but its better to know what is going on around you instead of standing there dumb. It doesnt matter if you are a first year medical student or a forth year, anyone can do this as the doctor will only ask you what he expects you to know, which is very little. Wear formal clothes, and keep as quite as possible until addressed by the doctor, ask questions once the doctor is out of the patients room. 

more on it later.


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## arghal

Experience: 
My observership ended this week. I must say i came out more educated then i went in. I shadowed 2 doctors. One, who owned the practice and another one working at the same clinic. At first i wasn't to happy about the idea but have the perspective of two top notch doctors on the same topic teaches you how you can approach a problem. Another thing i learned was bed side manners. As far as the patient he doesnt always hope for good news when seeing a doctor but he expects you have great manners, and many patients have told me to in person at the clinic. Luckily the doctor i was working with also used to teach at Washington University St.Louis, he was nice enough to actually teach me on a powerpoint like a small lecture, as intimidating that was and no thanks to my random blank outs it taught me some important stuff and clarified some older concepts. 
Last but not least, be nice to your doctors because seriously as busy as they are they dont need us and its we who need them. Later you end up making contacts and doctors are always connected to other doctors so they can very easily help you out if they feel your worth their time.


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## doc_jmd

nice posts,very informative.i was wondering if you are a medical student then why didnt you opt for electives.and can medical students do observership because i thought observership is offered once you graduate from your medical school.


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## arghal

Thank you for appreciating. Yes i am a med student the thing is it was in a rush. for electives you have to apply atleast 2-3 months before but to assure yourself a spot 6 months is more like it. I know people who apply a year before because good places like john's hoppkins run out of spots. Observership is with a doctor at a hospital. It can be any and most hospitals will let you observe if the doctor is ok with it. Some paper work still needs to be filled out. For me i needed this because i wanted to see how patient care is given in the states and learned a great deal in bed side manners. If your doctor is good he or she will even get you to see some surgery. I was even offered and i did attend a seminar on stroke and its care which for the staff. like i said get to know your doctors and his or her colleagues. They all are very helpful there and will see to it you get a good learning experience. 
Ill be happy to answer any further questions. 




doc_jmd said:


> nice posts,very informative.i was wondering if you are a medical student then why didnt you opt for electives.and can medical students do observership because i thought observership is offered once you graduate from your medical school.


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