The value of medical shadowing for high school students: A three-dimensional view

Abstract

Medical shadowing helps provide clinical exposure to aspiring and current medical students, mainly at the college level. This paper makes a case for making medical shadowing opportunities more widely available for high school students. Through the perspective of a high school student who got such an opportunity, we demonstrate that high school students can gain valuable clinical knowledge and exposure to the ethics involved in patient care, inspiring them to explore further pathways that will help them make better-informed academic and career choices. This high school student provides pointers on preparing for medical shadowing encounters through background research and developing a note-taking template. We also offer early-career and experienced physicians’ perspectives on how providing medical shadowing opportunities to high school students benefits practicing physicians by energizing their motivation, reaffirming their commitment to the profession, and gaining a fresh perspective on their work. We believe that medical shadowing for high school students can open channels to attract and motivate a young and diverse talent pool to the medical profession that will help mitigate the projected shortfall of physicians in the next decade.

Keywords:

• Medical shadowing
• physician shortfall
• medical career
• high school education
• immersive learning

Acknowledgments

The authors gratefully acknowledge the inspiration, support, and encouragement received by the first author from his teachers, Mrs. Svencer, Mrs. Moxley, Mrs. Stoudt, and Mrs. Adams, guidance counselor Mr. Wood, gifted teacher Mrs. Dweck, and the school principal Mrs. Guarriello.

Ethical approval

The work reported in this article is not related to either human or animal use.

Author contributions

All the authors accept responsibility for the entire content of this manuscript and approve its submission.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1 Barriers to recruiting prospective students to the medical profession traditionally have been tuition cost and debt (Rosenblatt et al. 2005), long duration for education and training (Shapiro et al. 1998), decreasing financial rewards and career growth opportunities (Azizzadeh et al. 2003), and the challenge of achieving work-life balance due to the demanding nature of the profession (Grace 2018).

Additional information

Funding

This research received no specific grant from any funding agency in the public, commercial or not-for-profit sectors.

Notes on contributors

Rishi D. Baveja

Rishi D. Baveja, is a rising senior at Emmaus High School, Emmaus, Pennsylvania, USA. He is an intern with Project ECHO (Extension for Community Health Outcomes), a globally recognized organization that serves underserved communities by mitigating health and social disparities worldwide. He has been selected to participate in the Emerging Health Professionals program during his senior year at high school in 2023–2024.

Yombe Fonkeu

Yombe Fonkeu, M.D., M.Sc., is a Resident Physician, Department of Neurology, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, USA. His academic interests are in neurocritical care and computational and mathematical models that help improve prognostication for diseases like stroke, seizures/epilepsy, and traumatic brain injury. He also has an interest in diversity, equity and inclusion in medicine.

John D. Kelly

John D. Kelly IV, M.D., is a Professor of Clinical Orthopaedic Surgery, Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, USA. He is Co-Director of Sports Medicine Fellowship, Director of Shoulder Surgery, and Coordinator of the Musculoskeletal Exam Module at the University of Pennsylvania. He is also an Attending Surgeon at Veterans Administration Medical Center and Consultant at the Shriners Hospital for Children in Philadelphia.