For senior Farai Tshililiwa, shadowing a surgeon has brought him more security in his interest in medicine.

“I felt more encouraged after shadowing because after shadowing, I got to ask the surgeon questions that really cemented my interest,” Tshililiwa said, “I also know that by seeing open heart surgery, I can handle things that may seem grotesque to others.”

For many high school students, attempting to distinguish a career path they are interested in can be incredibly challenging. Although schools work towards providing their students with more chances to experiment with different subjects, ultimately, students still feel overwhelmed. According to District Administration, 41% of students felt unprepared to make a career decision. However, opportunities such as shadowing professionals allow students to observe the workings of many different fields. In the medical world, students can shadow a variety of specialties in order to figure out which ones they are interested in.

Sophomore Zhancheng Su shadowed a doctor during the summer. He said after shadowing, he questions if he wants to become a doctor. 

“On one hand, seeing how brutal their working hours are and how tired they are sometimes is scary,” Su said. “On the other hand, I found out that there’s a wide variety of jobs in the medical sector, so if I do go down the path of medicine, there are many more options in case I don’t like some of them.”

Stone Chen, Medical Student Chair and MD candidate at Indiana University, said shadowing is an opportunity for a student to learn.

“It’s important to remember that you’re doing just that: shadowing. Especially as a high school student, you’re not going to be providing much of any additional clinical knowledge, so just be observant and respectful of the clinician as they work with their patients and other staff members,” Chen said. “At such an early point in your education, any shadowing will be a helpful new experience, just remember that each experience will be unique and not necessarily representative of medicine as a whole.”

Tshililiwa said he knew what path he was leaning towards before going into shadowing.

“I want to become a cardiothoracic surgeon so I knew that naturally I would need to shadow one,” Tshililiwa said. “I wanted to see what a day would entail and I’d seen videos on YouTube but I wanted to see an operation in person.”

Tshililiwa also said shadowing sooner rather than later can be beneficial for a student.

“You need to shadow as soon as possible if you are even considering a job in medicine,” Tshililiwa said. “It lets you know whether or not your perception meets reality. Also, you get clinical, research and volunteer experience, which are what medical schools look for.”

Su shared this sentiment, saying medicine is a large commitment. 

“Medicine is a path that you have to commit to, but it is also one of the most rewarding things you can do. Shadowing a medical professional will help you make up your mind about medicine as a whole,” Su said. “It would suck to be five years into medical school and hating it; similarly, it would suck to be doing engineering and dreaming about being a nurse.”

Chen said the best way for students to be involved when shadowing is asking questions.

“Know when it is appropriate to ask the physician questions about the medical knowledge and content, how or why they ask certain questions and why they chose medicine or their particular specialty,” Chen said.

Tshililiwa said his family inspired him to pursue medicine as a subject, in addition to school.

“My father is an internal medicine doctor and my mother is an occupational therapist. My sister in law is in residency for family medicine,” Tshililiwa said. “They all help give me a roadmap for the path ahead. The medical PLTW classes also helped give me deeper insight into medicine.”

Su said he had other reasons that inspired him, but still felt an urge to shadow.

“My dad’s colleague works in the ICU. I ended up hearing stories about the difficult situations that he would sometimes be in to save someone’s life. One time, a person started vomiting tons of blood and they just barely saved them from dying. I also have been to the doctors a couple times, for varying issues,” Su said.

Chen said even if a student feels they won’t be able to contribute, they should still try shadowing.

“Don’t be afraid to reach out and get started, especially if you are interested and passionate about pursuing medicine! No physician is going to hold it against you if you can’t contribute, you’re just a student, you’re not expected to know anything,” Chen said. “You’re there to get your first glimpse of what it’s like in medicine, not to contribute to clinical care. Remember, we all were in your shoes at one point!”