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Views from Dartmouth Health

Dartmouth's largest pre-health society is called the Nathan Smith Society, NSS for short; the society does a lot of programming, including a shadowing program in association with Dartmouth Health. Dartmouth Health is the hospital system that works closely with the Dartmouth Geisel School of Medicine and also with Dartmouth undergraduate students.

Every term, students from all different academic disciplines are invited to participate in the shadowing program, whether you are a pre-health student looking for shadowing hours or a History major simply interested in the field of medicine. Before shadowing begins, students attend an orientation meeting to learn more about the program and then choose their top choices for whom they want to shadow. When students are matched to a health professional, whether that be an MD, DO, nurse practitioner or physician assistant, the student starts shadowing as many times as the health professional has the capacity for. For me, I usually shadow the health professional at least 3 times every term. I have done shadowing for the past three terms, and each experience has been really insightful. My goal is to go into pediatric medicine, and I have had the privilege of shadowing doctors within different pediatric specialties. I observe patient interactions, and the doctors then explain how they reach a diagnosis after the visit. 

While I have shadowed, I have met several medical students as well as residents. Talking with them about their experiences has allowed me to understand the medical school process and the day-to-day life of a medical school student. Dartmouth is extremely lucky to have a teaching hospital given its rural location. Dartmouth Health is a large complex with pretty much every specialty any student would want to shadow and explore. 

Overall, shadowing has given me the inside scoop on medicine that you really only get from shadowing. I am so grateful to the health professionals who donate their time to Dartmouth students!

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