Students can get started by shadowing their family podiatrist, a podiatrist-friend of the family, or by seeking out a podiatrist in the local area via an internet search.
The American Association of Colleges of Podiatric Medicine (AACPM) has a well-established mentor network which provides easy access to practicing doctors of podiatric medicine who have expressed interest in providing shadowing experiences for pre-podiatry students. Current podiatric medical school students are also listed in the mentor network and can be great sources of information, although when UMBC pre-podiatry students are seeking shadowing hours, they should focus on connecting with the practicing DPMs.
How to Document Clinical-related Hours
Documenting shadowing or other types of clinical-related experiences is very informal. There is no official paperwork to complete, nor is there official paperwork to obtain from the clinic or hospital. Students should track their clinical/shadowing hours in a personal notebook. For each experience, it is suggested that students log the date, number of hours spent observing, the name of the professional(s) they shadowed, the name of the hospital or clinic where the experience took place, and what they learned and observed (in general, what procedures or surgeries did the student observe, what career advice was given by the professional, patient-doctor/dentist relationship observations, unusual diagnoses or patients, etc.)
Summer Opportunities for Pre-Health Students
Some schools of podiatric medicine offer internship programs. The AACPM lists podiatry schools and links to program profiles on their website. These profiles provide information about special programs offered by the schools.
General information on healthcare internships or research opportunities may be found via the links below:
AAMC Medical Pathways and Enrichment Opportunities
National Science Foundation (NSF) Research Experiences for Undergraduates