Networking Into the Emergency Room

I called the Volunteer Department of St. Francis Memorial Hospital earlier this week. It looks like I'll have to do a couple things before I can start:

1. Pick up some paperwork to turn in later.
2. Get a series of TB shots.
3. Attended a 2 hour orientation.

The Moral of Today's Story: If you're looking to shadow a doctor in the emergency room (or wherever), begin early and plan ahead. It will take you upwards of one month to complete the process.

I've applied for an Emergency Room Technician position 7 times in 5 different hospitals (another story). The only time I ever got a call back was the time that my mom, a registered nurse, dropped my name to the Emergency Room Manager at Kaiser Permanente in Richmind, California.

One doctor and one letter down, four to go. That was one of the main advantages from having that job from the past. The Hyperbaric Unit is a very small unit. The one I worked at had a regular staff of one doctor, one nurse, and one transporter. This gave me ample time to get to know the doctors working there and ask questions. If everything goes well, I'll get at least 40 hours of shadowing experience in the Emergency Room in St. Francis Memorial Hospital in San Francisco, CA.

Medical Student Hopeful Advice of the Day: Try an keep in touch with people in your field. Students & teachers at school, or doctors & nurses at work. It doesn't matter. Keeping in touch with anyone in your field is very important. You never know when it will pay off.