Clinical Professor, Neurological Surgery University of Michigan Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States
Introduction: Physician shadowing is crucial for undergraduate students seeking a career in medicine. There is a lack of intensive shadowing programs for undergraduate students. The impacts of the Ramnath Fellowship, a one-month undergraduate shadowing program in the University of Michigan Department of Neurosurgery, are reported here.
Methods: Established in 2007, the fellowship provides undergraduate students with a broad shadowing experience. Each year, students are selected from 18-20 competitive applications to participate. The fellowship consists of shadowing on patient rounds, in the OR, on call shifts, grand rounds, and in clinic. Past Ramnath fellows were surveyed to assess the impact of the fellowship program. The survey included scaled responses using Likert scales, selection lists, and free text responses.
Results: Fifteen participants completed the survey. The survey data shows that 7/15 respondents are currently in medical school, 5/15 respondents completed medical school, 1/15 respondents obtained a PhD, and 2/15 respondents are planning to attend medical school. The fellowship was rated 4.43/5 on average when participants were asked how useful the fellowship is/was as a qualification in applications for postgraduate training. Interactions with residents were ranked the highest with an average rating of 4.8/5, followed by interactions with attendings with a rating of 4.6/5 on average. Interactions with medical students, nurses, and technicians were, on average, rated 3.64/5, 3.53/5, and 3.4/5 respectively. Of the 15 respondents, 7 acquired long-term mentorship from the fellowship.
Conclusion : This study describes a novel shadowing program at a large undergraduate institution. The fellowship increased students’ interests in and their understanding of medicine. Respondents, overall, found the Ramnath fellowship to be more thorough and beneficial than traditional shadowing experiences. Thus, early intensive shadowing programs may have a positive impact in undergraduate students’ career exploration and professional development in medicine.
