1. Finding the right contact person: When you call the hospital, if the person you are talking to has no idea what you're talking about, then ask to talk to the education department. Teaching hospitals usually have an education department that coordinates internships and residencies with local universities. The person in charge of this department is usually a helpful contact person.
2. Finding someone in the hospital to job shadow: When explaining which member of the medical staff that you need to job shadow, instead of saying that you need to shadow an anesthesiologist assistant, say that you need to shadow an anesthesia provider, such as an anesthesiologist, CRNA or anesthesiologist assistant. The AA programs will accept any of these anesthesia providers. North Carolina has a very low ratio of AA's compared to CRNA's so most hospitals will not have an AA that you can shadow but will have a few CRNAs. The vast majority of CRNAs will act professional and friendly towards you.
3. Convincing the hospital admin that you are sincere: The hospital administrator who is making the decision to let you job shadow will use some personal judgment in addition to hospital procedure when making this decision. The administrators hear all sorts of requests - some from high school and college students with a passing interest in medicine but no clear plan, some from voyeurs who just want to watch a surgery, and sometimes from drug addicts who will say anything that the admin wants to hear in order to gain access to restricted areas an attempt to steal to controlled substances. The administrator is responsible for screening out the insincere requests from the legitimate requests. You will have the best chance of convincing the administrator that you are sincere if you offer and follow through with the following steps.
Make sure that you emphasize that you are either a college student or graduate who is applying to graduate school and that the job shadowing is a requirement to matriculate into the program. Offer to provide them with a copy of the forms in advance or direct them to the forms on the graduate schools' websites. Explain that you understand that the hospital has security and liability concerns to address when non-employees are allowed in restricted areas. Offer to meet them in person, attend training, sign confidentiality agreements, sign liability waivers, fax immunization record and TB skin test results, and attend orientations and/or training sessions. Thank them for the time they spend assisting you since this request often creates extra work for them in addition to their normal job duties.
Good luck! I hope this helps. By any chance did you attend UNC Chapel Hill? I'm a graduate. Go Heels!
