You found a PA to shadow. Now what do you actually do when you show up?

This one is all about shadowing etiquette, because how you behave in that office matters more than the number of hours you log. Shadowing is observation. You're there to watch how a PA thinks, how they talk to patients, and how they fit into the team. You are not there to do anything hands-on.

I go through what to wear, what to bring, when to ask questions and when to stay quiet, and how to leave a good enough impression that they'd be willing to write you a letter later.

What I cover:

What shadowing actually is and what it isn't

What to wear and what to bring with you

How to introduce yourself to patients and staff

When to ask questions without interrupting patient care

Patient privacy and the lines you can't cross

How to track your hours as you go

Turning a shadowing contact into a letter of recommendation

Resources:

Free application timeline so you can plan your hours around deadlines: https://www.thepaplatform.com/services/free-application-timeline

See shadowing requirements program by program with the PA Program Map: https://www.thepaplatform.com/pa-platform-map

Want a second set of eyes on your whole application plan? Book a pre-PA counseling session: https://www.thepaplatform.com/services/pre-pa-counseling

Welcome to the Pre PA Club Podcast.

If you want to learn how to become a physician assistant, you're in the right place.

I'm your host, Savannah Perry.

Let's get to it.

Before we get started, I just wanted to quickly mention a sponsor of the podcast, MyPA Resource.

If you've never heard of MyPA Resource, it's a website, www.myparesource.com.

And while I offer services like mock interviews, I work with mypa Resource as a personal statement editor.

So mypa Resource has been around for a while now, and I would say just based on everything that's out there, they are the most trusted and most thorough prepa personal statement editing service.

So with mypa Resource, like I said, I'm an editor, so I help them edit proofread personal statements for PA school applicants.

We'll talk more about personal statements in the future, but I cannot stress the importance of having your essay proofread by a PA. And that's what makes my PA resource different, is that they only use PAs to do their editing.

And so you want a PA who's familiar with the interview process and the application process before you submit to caspa.

So all the editors, we've been trained, we do a lot of essays and we know what to look for and we know what the admissions committees are looking for.

And so I know when I edit, it's very thorough.

I mean, you're going to get a lot of read back, but that's not necessarily a bad thing.

So you can use actually a discount code that they have provided to the Pre Pa Club podcast listeners exclusively.

And you can get $15 off any service when you use the code Pre Pa Club, all in lowercase.

So I'll put that in the description as well.

And if you have any questions about that, please feel free to reach out to me.

You can send them an email too.

But yeah, a great resource that I want you guys to know about.

Hey guys, thanks for tuning in today.

So, in episode two, we talked about how to find shadowing hours.

That can be a very difficult part of making sure that your application for PA School is complete.

So, so I went over some tips and tricks and strategies for finding PAs who will let you shadow.

Today, though, I want to talk a little bit more in depth about shadowing etiquette.

When you go to shadow, what should you expect?

What's expected of you, and how do you make the best impression possible?

Because once you find the hours, you want to get the most out of it.

And also a lot of times you'll need a PA to write you a letter of recommendation.

So when you go to shadow, you want to be on your best behavior, be intrigued, make a great impression, so that when it comes time to ask the PA potentially to write you a letter, they feel like they have a good connection with you, a good relationship, and they feel comfortable doing that.

So let's just talk a little bit about, first of all, what to expect when you go to shadow.

So this is going to vary depending on what field or what, I guess, location you're going into.

So shadowing in a primary care office is going to look very different than shadowing in an or in a shadowing experience.

You should not expect to be involved or doing things hands on.

And to be honest, lot of times that's kind of inappropriate if you're not certified, if you're not an employee, if you're not kind of on their insurance policy per se, you really shouldn't be participating in patient care.

So be cautious if you are asked to do something that you feel like is outside of your comfort level.

It may seem exciting, but you don't want that to come back and bite you later.

So, like, I work in a dermatology office, so I'm busy.

I see about 30 to 35 patients a day.

I'm moving fast.

So when people come to shadow me, basically my expectations for them is that they can kind of just hold on and that they can keep up and that they are paying attention and asking questions when necessary.

So I guess I just kind of jumped to my expectations for them.

But I tried to ask at the beginning what the student's expectations are because I don't know how much you know.

Maybe you've been a medical assistant in a dermatology office for a year and you already know a lot of what I'm doing.

And the purpose of shadowing is not really to gain medical knowledge.

You're not really there to learn how to take off a mole or treat a heart attack.

You're there to observe the PA profession in action and to see the relationship between the PA and the supervising physician and other staff and to see how they interact with patients and to see what they can do, what they can't do, what their knowledge base is.

And of course you want to use this opportunity to ask questions.

But your question should be more about the profession as a whole than about the medicine you're seeing, because that is the point of shadowing.

I've read some personal statements before where a student will say, I went to shadow PA in The emergency room and I learned how to treat congestive heart failure.

Well, to be honest, you didn't learn how to treat congestive heart failure.

You observed the PA treat congestive heart failure.

Just because you saw that interaction does not really mean that you understand what's going on from a pathology standpoint or what those medications that were given were doing.

There's a lot more to be learned there.

You observed it, but you didn't really learn it.

So just be cautious with the attitude you're going into shadowing with because again, when you're addressing it in your personal statement, in interviews, you should be able to point out the things you learned about the profession more so than what you saw on the medicine side of things.

That will come later.

That's what PA school's for.

They're going to teach you all about the medicine.

That's what clinicals are for.

And the way I interact with a pre PA student versus somebody who's in PA school is very different.

If you're shadowing me as a pre PA student, I'm not trying to teach you the medicine.

If you have a question, I'm happy to answer it, but I want you to be seeing what I do.

If you're in PA school, yes, we need to talk about the medicine.

We need to talk about diagnosing and treating and medicines and kind of get down to that nitty gritty of how we're going to make this patient better.

So it's just a very different expectations.

So try to go into your shadowing, I would say, with low expectations so that you don't get disappointed.

Don't go in thinking that you're going to be suturing or giving injections or anything like that.

You're going to observe.

So that's just kind of expectation wise.

And if your preceptor or your pa, your shadowing asks you what your expectations are, be honest.

Tell them what you're wanting to get out of this and what you're wanting to learn.

And don't be afraid to ask questions questions throughout the day.

Now, timing those questions is important.

You want to ask at the appropriate times.

And so if your PA that you're with is extremely busy at the moment, that may not be the best time.

But usually in a clinic day, the kind of busyness ebbs and flows.

So if you're in a really busy time, it's very likely that you will also have kind of a relaxed time as well.

So use those opportunities to ask your questions.

It's not the Best when your PA is trying to chart, get their notes done to be throwing a bunch of questions at them.

And so, like I said, my clinic is very busy.

And so we have definitely that pattern of see a bunch of patients, write a bunch of notes, and then we may be a little more calm for a little bit.

And so you have to keep in mind that while you're shadowing, the PA still has to make sure their patients are seen.

They still have to make sure that they're getting all their notes done and staying on top of everything, because that's the most important part when shadowing.

Most often the PA or the nurse or the medical assistant will ask the patients if it's okay if a student observes.

So in my field in dermatology, this is very important because, to be honest, the majority of my patients are naked.

And you already have me in there.

You have my medical assistant.

Sometimes it's their first time ever going to the dermatology office, and they are so nervous.

I think I'm a little bit.

I don't know, I don't know the word jaded to it or.

It just doesn't bother me to see naked people.

I'm just used to it.

I do it all day long.

People apologize for their toenails or their hairy legs, and I honestly don't even notice.

I just always tell them, if you have skin, we're good to go.

I'll look at you.

So they get a little bit nervous sometimes if we throw out, hey, would you mind if this extra person comes in?

And so sometimes they'll say no, and that's okay.

Don't be offended by that.

It doesn't mean anything bad.

It doesn't mean that they hate you.

It's just some people are not comfortable with an extra person in the room.

On top of that, I would say if you know the patient.

So if you're in a small town, if you notice the patient's name and you recognize it, I would encourage you to speak up and ask to be excused from that patient encounter.

Most patients are not expecting to see someone they know.

And I actually had a situation of this with a student that was shadowing me where she recognized a name and I kind of mentioned, hey, do you know them?

I would probably prefer if you didn't go in.

And she was like, no, no, I don't really know them that well.

And then we go in and the mom's in there and the kid, and they're just very surprised to see her.

And to be honest, it made me A little uncomfortable.

So as a pa, I would prefer if you're shadowing me.

If you recognize a name and know the person, ask not to be part of that encounter.

Even as a pa, sometimes it's uncomfortable to see people that I know, but I have to do it.

And hopefully they knew who they were seen when they signed up.

But as a student, again, you just don't want to put anybody in an uncomfortable position if you can help it.

So there's some little tips there.

So what should you actually do while you're shadowing?

Again, ask questions.

Questions are very important.

You can take notes.

Bring a little notepad.

I would not recommend being on your phone.

Please do not be on your phone.

I also have people come and they just sit there on their phone all day.

And to me, that is not making good use of your time.

You can check Instagram and Facebook anytime you want.

But when you've been trying to find hours, and this is your one chance, make the most of it because those are things we're looking for.

I'm watching to see what you do and how you respond and how invested and interested you are.

So, yeah, don't be on your phone, but feel free to take a little notebook, take notes.

I would not do that in the patient room.

I would do it afterwards.

I always make sure that I have a textbook out for my students to look through.

If we see something, they can look it up and read about it while I'm doing the note to learn a little bit and to give them something to do.

And then if they have questions, that's fine.

But yeah, you can.

You can definitely take notes as far as what to bring with you.

If you're going into an OR setting.

I probably would try to bring the most.

The minimal amount possible, like maybe your keys in your pocket, because it's possible if you are able to scrub in or observe in the or, you're not really going to be able to have a purse with you or a portfolio or a big notepad.

So you want to have just the minimal amount of stuff possible and speaking on or.

And I guess in what I do too, in dermatology, one thing that's very important while shadowing is if you feel faint or lightheaded at all, you need to say something.

So sometimes in shadowing, it's just gonna be your first opportunity to see procedures, whether that's injections, biopsies, intense surgeries.

Like in orthopedic.

Orthopedics, where they're replacing joints and doing crazy stuff, suturing all Kinds of things.

So sometimes that may make you queasy or make you lightheaded, and that's okay as long as you recognize it and do something about it.

What the PA you're shadowing does not need is for you to fall out on the floor because you were too proud to say, I'm going to pass out.

And to be frank, I have had a couple instances of this.

So I remember when I was shadowing in orthopedics, there was a joint injection, and it just looks so painful.

And I do not do well with joints or broken bones.

That is my one thing that I cannot deal with.

And so I started to feel a little woozy, asked to excuse myself, and I actually ended up just going to the bathroom and laying on the floor because I thought I was going to pass out.

Probably not my best move.

I probably should have said something because if I had have passed out in the bathroom by myself, no one would have known.

So don't do that.

My next experience was shadowing in dermatology, and it was the first time I ever saw a punch biopsy.

If you've never seen a punch biopsy, look it up on YouTube.

I did not realize at that time how thick skin was.

So the PA was doing a biopsy on the knee and the neck.

And you would be amazed how thick the skin is on the knee.

And so she numbs him.

The skin kind of poofs up, which was already weird.

And then she uses the little punch removal, which is kind of like a cookie cutter, to go down a few millimeters and then pulls the skin up and cuts it.

She looked up at me and she was like, you might want to sit down.

Because my face was white.

I looked completely shocked.

And that was a good call on her part because I sat down and then I was fine.

But, yeah, I was just amazed at how thick the skin was.

And it just kind of caught me off guard, which is funny now because I do punch biopsies all day long without any issue.

I don't think I've been lightheaded once since I started my job.

But, yeah, I'm fine with blood and skin and surgery now.

The one thing I still can't handle is broken bones.

So one more.

My last woozy story.

I on my clinical rotation in the emergency room, a kid came in and he had broken his arm, both his radius and his ulna, which are the bones in your lower arm, your forearm.

And I was in a great er.

I loved it.

They called me in.

They would always get me for New cases.

He was sedated, and they asked me to set his arm.

I just told you, I don't do broken bones.

But I was like, all right, I can do this.

The only way to get used to it is just to do it.

And so just to be honest, feeling those bones broken and moving and cracking.

And then the doctor, the ER doctor was like, here, you just have to recreate the injury and then put it back to see, set it.

And I was like, I just.

I can't even handle that.

And so I tried it and everything started going black.

It was awful.

So I basically ran out of the room.

They came and found me later and they were like, yeah, you were so white.

But I made it in time to sit down, but it was awful.

So, yeah, if you are feeling lightheaded, woozy, seeing stars, feeling nauseous, everything's going black, you're getting sweaty, bow out, sit down, leave the room, do something to get out of that situation because that probably means you're about to pass out.

And no shame, it happens.

But if you can prevent it, that's ideal.

So, yeah, one little tip there.

But let's see other tips and tricks.

So HIPAA is very important for shadowing.

If you don't know what HIPAA is, it's basically the regulations that protect patients information.

So if you are working in a hospital or any kind of medical setting, you're not supposed to talk about specific patient information or share patient info.

So let's say that you are working in that small town, Ms. Smith comes in, she's your neighbor, you go home, you tell your mom or your husband, like, oh, hey, I saw Ms. Smith today.

That's not allowed.

It's not.

You're not supposed to discuss patient name, patient information, patient condition.

It's just confidential information.

So know that going in.

A lot of times you'll have to sign paperwork saying that you understand HIPAA standards and that you will not share patient information.

And so that's.

Just be prepared for that.

Know it's something.

Especially if you're in a hospital setting, you may have to go to HR and do some paperwork before getting started.

But, yeah, just be careful with patient information and you don't want to say anything or do anything that would put a patient's confidentiality at risk.

Another thing is what to wear.

And the best way to go about this is to actually ask the person you're shadowing what you should wear.

In my clinic, I usually say either scrubs or business casual.

If you don't have scrubs, we all wear scrubs, but if you don't have that, that's okay.

You're not expected to wear a white coat.

Usually.

They may give you one if they have it, but usually not.

You're not expected to have a white coat for sure.

And really, you just want to look professional.

You want to look well put together.

You don't want to look like you just rolled out of bed.

But yeah, ask the PA who you're gonna be shadowing, what they say you should wear.

And then make sure you wear comfortable shoes.

Cause you might be on your feet all day.

There may not be a place to sit.

And so make sure you just have comfortable shoes.

You may just be running around too, when it comes to sitting down.

By the way, if you are in a patient room, you want to be there, but kind of in the background.

So a couple tips for going into patient.

Wait for the PA to introduce you.

I've had some awkward instances where we walk in, it's a new patient that I've never even met, and the student starts introducing themselves.

That's a little weird.

I don't even know this person.

Let me introduce you.

And so don't go just jumping in, hey, I'm Savannah.

I'm a student.

I'm shadowing.

The PA will introduce you.

If the patient has questions for you, they'll ask you.

But again, you're kind of supposed to be in the background like a shadow, right?

And so just be careful with that.

And then while you're in the room, show interest.

Look at what the PA is doing.

Watch.

I've had people who kind of just hang out in the corner, and I don't have the time, honestly, to be like, come here, come here, come here.

I expect you to be kind of watching and showing interest, and then definitely don't sit down in the rooms.

I've also had people come and they will go and sit even with the patient's family.

And room is already a little bit cramped.

But yeah, if the PA is standing, if everyone else is standing, you should be standing too.

So, yeah, just kind of tips for in the room.

Let's see, what else have we got here?

So one other thing to keep in mind is you're going to want to record your shadowing hours and you want to keep a very, very good rid of these.

Because when it comes time to apply and put all your information into caspa, you're going to have to list a lot of information.

You're going to need the dates and the hours that you worked, and you're going to want a description of what you saw.

You're going to need the PA's name, their location that they worked, and a contact information number.

Some programs will also require you to have a signed letter from the page saying that you shadowed them.

So that may be something you want to go ahead and think about.

Maybe I have a log on my website that you can download.

If you go to the paplatform.com click on the Pre PA link.

There's a little link at the top that says Download free worksheets.

And so that's a good option for keeping track of your hours.

And you may want to go ahead and get them to sign off.

You may still have to go back later and get another signature, which can be very difficult, especially if you've shadowed in multiple areas or locations geographically.

But you want to have those records on file so that you can keep up with who you've shadowed and what you learned.

Because if it takes a couple years or you're doing this really early, it may you'll forget by the time you actually apply.

I think those are most of my shadowing tips.

I don't even think there's anything else.

So when it comes to asking for a letter, this is a touchy subject because you want to ask people who know you well.

You don't really want to ask somebody that you've shadowed once for half a day.

I know sometimes that happens and you have to do that.

But just know that that letter's not going to be that personal.

So the best letter from a PA is going to be one that you've worked with personally or spent extensive time shadowing, like 20, 40 hours.

And I know that's difficult to do and difficult to get.

But you want your letters to be as personal as possible.

And you don't really want to put that PA in a spot where they feel like they can't write you a great letter.

They may say yes, but just know it's probably more of like a form letter where they're basically filling in the blanks.

They don't really know you, so it's hard to write a letter that really recommends you for the program.

So just know that going in.

And I wouldn't ask the pa. Like the first day you shadow, try to get to know them first.

And then if you feel comfortable and you think that they would feel comfortable, go ahead and ask and see if you can get that letter nailed down.

Because a lot of programs do require a letter from a physician assistant.

So it's something you do want to work towards if possible.

And sometimes PAs will offer to write you a letter and if they do, awesome.

That's the ideal scenario.

But if not, step out of your comfort zone.

Ask them if you have to, but just be prepared that they may say no or it may not be the best letter.

I think that's all I've got for you today.

So if you want to see some notes or a related post on this website, you can go to the paplatform.com podcast podcast 2 and I will link those there.

And you can also leave me a voicemail if there's a question that you want answered on the podcast.

That's something I'll be adding in the next few weeks.

And so as always, I would love a review on itunes that helps more people find out about this podcast.

If you could just give me five stars, write a little something if you feel inclined, that would be awesome.

And I can keep putting out new stuff.

If there's something you want to hear about, please leave a comment in your review and I will make sure to do a podcast episode on whatever questions or topics you have questions about.

And then you can find me on Instagram, the PA platform in our Facebook group called the Pre PA Club.

I would love for you to join there.

And as always, you can email me from the website.

So have a great week everybody.

Thanks for listening.