FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Great question! A volunteer enjoys high flexibility when it comes to committing to Pre-Health Shadowing tasks, allowing you to design your own schedule and contribute whenever your time permits. In contrast, a team member works directly with our Board, Department Heads, and Leads of Pre-Health Shadowing, collaborating closely to meet strict weekly deadlines for programmatic projects and critical operations.
Our program is entirely student-based and student-led! If you are passionate about making an impact and want to join our growing community, we invite you to submit an application directly through our website. We are currently powered by a diverse team of about 35 student-team members collaborating from various parts of the United States and around the world!
At this time, we highly recommend proactively reaching out to the admissions departments of the potential schools you are considering applying to in the future. Meanwhile, our team is actively working behind the scenes to compile and publish a verified directory of institutions that formally recognize virtual shadowing hours. We expect to share this resource with you in the near future!
As a Pre-Health Shadowing Student-Volunteer, you have the unique opportunity to drive meaningful impact across a wide variety of organizational pipelines. Some of our current volunteer-led initiatives include managing student outreach and professional nominations, creating dynamic marketing content, and curating free academic and clinical resources for our student community. Additionally, volunteers play a vital role in our long-term financial sustainability by heading grant searching and writing, donor nominations, fundraising initiatives, and sponsorship outreach. Because our program is built on proactive drive, volunteers are also always welcome to pitch and submit formal project proposals if they are interested in launching a brand-new initiative from scratch.
Simple answer: NO! Pre-Health Shadowing’s goal is to remain entirely cost-free for all members. We are dedicated to providing a universally accessible, flexible professional development opportunity for any student looking to pursue a career in the healthcare field.
The simple answer is: NO! In order to remain universally accessible and provide highly flexible opportunities, we do not enforce a set minimum hour requirement for our volunteers. We offer fully asynchronous volunteering opportunities open to everyone, allowing you to contribute entirely based on your own schedule.
*Please note: specific hands-on projects may require a time commitment and are clearly indicated by task.
You will have the amazing opportunity to collaborate with like-minded students who share your passion for pursuing a rewarding career as a healthcare professional.
YES! We welcome individuals from all academic and professional fields who want to contribute to the growth and development of our program. You do not need to be a pre-health student to apply and become a valued part of our team!
Once you complete your application to become a general volunteer, you will receive an email containing the training link and the password required to access the content. To successfully pass the training assessment, you are permitted to miss only one question; however, you will be given a total of three opportunities to pass.
YES! You can absolutely list Pre-Health Shadowing under 'Virtual Shadowing' within your healthcare experience sections. As an innovative and rapidly evolving format, we anticipate this model will continue to gain strong momentum and widespread familiarity, further solidifying its recognition among admissions committees and professional schools.
Pre-Health Shadowing is a student-led, student-based global organization. We are proud to be a federally recognized 501(c)(3) non-profit organization.
YES! Pre-Health Shadowing is deeply committed to providing accessible and flexible opportunities for students nationwide. If you cannot make a live scheduled session, you can easily view the archived video after the session ends and still take the post-shadowing assessment to receive credit.
Certificates will be issued automatically upon achieving a passing score of 70% or higher on the post-session quiz. If you have already passed with a score of 70% or better, please do not retake the assessment to try for a higher score.If you've passed the assessment and haven't yet received your certificate, go back to the speaker's main page and press "Finish Course" to unlock the certificate.
You can view all of your certificates and your session statuses by visiting the Profiles page.
Please visit our website and log into your account using the email address you previously used when taking your assessment. Next, locate and click on the 'Profile' button in the top right-hand corner. Once you are redirected to your profile page, click on the 'Certificates' tab, where all of your earned certificates will be displayed.
We are a California-based organization, so all scheduled times are listed in Pacific Time (PT).
YES! Pre-Health Shadowing is 100% free for anyone who is interested. As a student-led organization, we are deeply committed to promoting diversity within the healthcare field and actively combating inequities in health education.
To get started, register for a shadowing session on our website under the 'Shadowing' tab. The Zoom link will become visible within the speaker's course page up to 30 minutes prior to the scheduled start time. Please plan to join 5 to 10 minutes early to secure your spot.
To join a live Zoom session, simply register through the health professional’s profile page on our website. You can also catch up on past sessions by navigating to 'View All Shadowing Sessions.'
To begin, click 'Take this course' to the right of the speaker’s photo on their course profile page. After the shadowing session concludes, you will be able to take the post-session quiz. Scoring a 70% or higher qualifies you for an official certificate.
Important Note: Make sure to click 'Finish course' immediately after passing your assessment. If you skip this crucial step, your certificate will not be generated.Your certificate is downloadable immediately and can also be found in your profile under the "Certificates" tab.
Please wait a few hours or until the following day before attempting your quiz again. If you remain unable to pass on your second attempt, please contact our support team at [email protected].
Please Note: This guideline applies ONLY to individuals who experienced technical difficulties during their initial quiz attempt.
Please visit our website, hover over 'Shadowing,' and select 'View All Shadowing Sessions' from the dropdown menu. Here, you can browse all the healthcare professionals we have hosted. To earn your virtual shadowing hours, simply enroll in the course, watch the recorded session, and complete the accompanying quiz.