Updated
How to Shadow a Doctor: Email Template and Hours (Some Require 40)
Start with doctors you already know, your premed advisor or your school's hospital, then email doctors directly with a short, specific request. Most medical schools set no hour minimum, but some do: VCU requires at least 40 hours of in-person shadowing and UMMC 35.
This guide covers where to find a doctor, an email you can send today, the clearances hospitals ask for, what each day looks like and how to log hours so they drop straight into AMCAS. Facts checked on November 3, 2026.
How do I find a doctor to shadow?
The AAMC's advice is to start with people you know: your own doctor, any doctor in your circle, and your teachers, professors and premed advisors, who often know doctors past students shadowed. The order we'd try them in:
- Your own doctors and family friends. They already know you, so the ask is easier than a cold email.
- Your premed advisor and professors. Ask which doctors took students before.
- A hospital or medical school near campus. Many run formal programs. UPMC, for example, lets people shadow in its facilities for up to two weeks through its job shadow program.
- Cold emails to clinics. Pick doctors whose work interests you and say why. Send several, since many doctors are busy, and the AAMC notes that if one says no, you should simply ask others.
Applying to DO schools? AACOM says osteopathic schools encourage you to shadow an osteopathic physician, and some, like TouroCOM, prefer a letter from a DO.
How to ask a doctor to shadow: email template
Keep it under 150 words. Say who you are, why this doctor, when you are free and that you will handle the paperwork. We wrote this one for you to copy:
Subject: Pre-med student asking to shadow, [your school]
Dear Dr. [Last name],
My name is [First Last], and I'm a [year] at [school] studying [major] and preparing to apply to medical school. [Name of the person who referred you] suggested I reach out, because [one specific reason: your work in rural family medicine, your clinic's diabetes program].
I'd be grateful for the chance to shadow you for a few half-days this [season or month]. I'm free [days and times] and happy to fit your schedule. I'll complete any forms, immunization records or HIPAA training your clinic needs.
I've attached my resume. Thank you for considering it.
Best regards,
[First Last] | [phone] | [email]
Send it on a weekday morning and attach a one-page resume. If you hear nothing in 7 to 10 days, send one short follow-up, then move on:
Follow-up (our template)
Dear Dr. [Last name],
I wanted to follow up on my note from [date] about shadowing you this [season]. I'm still very interested and flexible on timing. If it isn't a good fit right now, I completely understand, and thank you again for reading.
Best regards,
[First Last]
How many shadowing hours do you need for medical school?
There is no national number. In a 2016 AAMC survey of admissions officers, 87% said they accept an alternate activity instead of clinical shadowing. But some schools set a floor, so check each school on your list. A few examples, from their own pages:
| School | What it says |
|---|---|
| VCU School of Medicine | What it says: At least 40 hours of in-person shadowing in the US, plus 60 hours of hands-on patient care |
| University of Mississippi (UMMC) | What it says: At least 35 hours of US-based physician shadowing before you apply |
| University of North Dakota | What it says: A minimum of 100 clinical hours combined (shadowing, volunteering, paid roles). Most admits have 500 or more |
| University of South Carolina (Columbia) | What it says: No required number, but enough to know what pursuing medicine means |
| University of Washington | What it says: No longer recommends shadowing specifically. It used to suggest 40 hours |
Our advice: aim for 40 to 50 hours across at least two specialties, including primary care, spread over a few months. That clears the floors above and gives you more than one story for interviews. Breadth and what you learned matter more than a big number.
What you need before your first day
Once a doctor says yes, the clinic or hospital usually needs paperwork. Expect some of these:
- Immunization records. Erlanger's job shadowing program in Chattanooga, for example, asks for MMR and varicella records, a negative TB test from the past 12 months and a flu shot if you shadow from October through March, per its shadowing page.
- A TB test. UPMC asks for a TB blood test within a year of shadowing and a flu shot from November to May.
- Privacy forms. You may sign a HIPAA compliance document promising not to share patient details, as the AAMC notes. UPMC also has a dress code acknowledgement.
- An age minimum. Erlanger's program takes students 16 or older, and 18 for emergency departments, intensive care and women's services.
Ask for the forms in your first reply, so paperwork doesn't delay your start by weeks.
What to expect on the day
The AAMC suggests professional clothes and closed-toed shoes you can walk in all day, plus a notebook. Ask questions and take notes between patients, not in front of them. The doctor will introduce you to each patient as a premedical student, and some patients may ask you to step out. Do so without fuss. You are there to watch, so keep your phone away and don't examine patients or give advice, even if asked.
Questions to ask the doctor (our list)
- What made you choose this specialty, and would you choose it again?
- What does a typical week look like outside clinic hours?
- How do you handle a patient who won't follow the plan you recommend?
- What part of your work did training not prepare you for?
- How do you work with nurses, PAs and other staff here?
- What should I watch for on my next day here?
On your last day, give the doctor a thank-you note. The AAMC suggests asking for a letter of recommendation right away if it went well, while you are fresh in the doctor's mind.
Does virtual shadowing count?
Schools disagree. South Carolina accepts virtual shadowing but prefers in-person. UW lists shadowing "in-person or virtual" among clinical experiences. TouroCOM does not accept virtual shadowing. Treat virtual sessions as a supplement, and get in-person hours for any school that sets a minimum.
How to log shadowing hours for AMCAS
AMCAS has a Physician Shadowing/Clinical Observation experience type. Each entry asks for dates, total hours, the organization and a contact (title, name and phone or email) who can verify it, plus a description of up to 700 characters, per the AMCAS Applicant Guide. You get 15 entries in all, so group shadowing days with one doctor into one entry.
After every day, write down (our template):
- Date and hours (start and end time)
- Physician's name, title and specialty
- Phone or email of someone who can verify it (the doctor or office manager)
- Organization, city and setting (clinic, OR, ER, telehealth)
- What you saw, in a few lines with no patient names or details that identify anyone
- One thing that surprised you or changed how you think about medicine
Our free clinical hours tracker adds them up by AMCAS type, and the Work and Activities guide shows how to turn the notes into an entry.
Practice the shadowing question
Interviewers ask what you learned from shadowing to see whether you watched closely. Your daily notes are the raw material.
“What did you learn from shadowing?”
Nearly every interviewer asks it. Skip the list of procedures. Tell one moment with one patient, what the doctor did and what it taught you about the job.
Example answer written by Confetto (the applicant is invented)
I shadowed a family physician in a small clinic for six weeks. One afternoon a man came in for his blood pressure, and she noticed he hadn't filled his last two prescriptions. Instead of lecturing him, she asked what was getting in the way, and it turned out he was choosing between his pills and his rent.
She spent ten minutes finding a cheaper generic and connecting him with the clinic's social worker. I learned that a lot of medicine happens after the diagnosis, in the questions you ask about someone's life. It's the part of the job I'm most excited to learn.
Sources: the AAMC's shadowing and virtual shadowing pages, the 2027 AMCAS Applicant Guide and Workbook, AACOM, the admissions pages of VCU, UMMC, North Dakota, South Carolina, UW and TouroCOM, and the shadowing pages of UPMC and Erlanger, linked throughout and checked as of November 3, 2026. The email, follow-up, log template, questions and hour advice are ours.
Frequently asked questions
How many shadowing hours do you need for medical school?
Most schools don't set a number, but some do. VCU requires at least 40 hours of in-person shadowing in the US and UMMC at least 35 hours of US-based physician shadowing. Check each school's admissions page. See VCU's requirement.
How do I ask a doctor if I can shadow them?
Ask a doctor you know first, or one your premed advisor suggests. Otherwise send a short email: who you are, why this doctor or specialty, when you are free, and that you will complete any forms. Follow up once after a week or two. Read the AAMC's advice.
Does virtual shadowing count for medical school?
It depends on the school. South Carolina accepts it but prefers in-person, UW lists in-person or virtual shadowing, and TouroCOM does not accept virtual shadowing at all. See TouroCOM's rule.
What do I need before I can shadow at a hospital?
Usually immunization records, a recent TB test, a flu shot in flu season and a signed HIPAA or confidentiality agreement. UPMC, for example, asks for a TB blood test within a year and a flu shot from November to May. See UPMC's requirements.
Is shadowing required for medical school?
Not everywhere. In a 2016 AAMC survey of admissions officers, 87% said they accept an alternate activity instead of clinical shadowing. Schools like VCU and UMMC do require it. See the AAMC's page.
How do I record shadowing hours on AMCAS?
Use the Physician Shadowing/Clinical Observation experience type in Work/Activities. AMCAS asks for dates, total hours, the organization and a contact who can verify it, plus a description of up to 700 characters. Track your hours.