Why Pre-Health Shadowing Exists — and Why It Still Matters
Why Pre-Health Shadowing Exists — and Why It Still Matters
Access to shadowing and mentorship shouldn’t depend on geography, finances, or who you know. Pre-Health Shadowing was built to make healthcare exploration possible for everyone.
Pre-health students are often told there is a right path into healthcare. Shadow in person. Know the right people. Live in the right place. Have the time, money, and flexibility to figure it all out early.
For many students, that version of access has never been realistic.
Geography, finances, school resources, and personal networks continue to determine who gets early exposure to healthcare careers — and who does not. Long before the pandemic, shadowing and mentorship were already unevenly distributed. COVID-19 didn’t create that problem; it made it impossible to ignore.
That gap is exactly why Pre-Health Shadowing (PHS) exists.
Founded in 2020, PHS was created to remove barriers that prevent students from exploring healthcare careers early and meaningfully. When in-person shadowing disappeared almost overnight, PHS offered a different model — one that did not rely on proximity, privilege, or personal connections.
Instead of waiting for access to return, PHS reimagined what shadowing could look like. Through free, live, virtual shadowing sessions, students from around the world connect directly with healthcare professionals across medicine, research, public health, mental health, healthcare administration, and more. Sessions are interactive, transparent, and designed to allow students to ask honest questions about career paths, training, and day-to-day realities. No travel. No cost. No gatekeeping — just access.
Beyond live sessions, PHS provides students with opportunities to earn verified shadowing certificates and gain leadership experience through volunteer and operational roles. Many students help run the organization itself, building real-world skills in outreach, coordination, communication, and leadership while contributing to a broader mission of equity and access.
Why PHS Was Started
Pre-Health Shadowing was founded by Nina Bouzamondo-Bernstein, who launched the organization at just 18 years old after seeing firsthand how confusing and inaccessible the pre-health journey could be for students without built-in resources or professional connections.
As a student herself at the time, Nina recognized how early exposure shaped confidence, decision-making, and long-term commitment to healthcare — yet access to that exposure was far from equal. When opportunities to shadow disappeared during the COVID-19 pandemic, she identified the need for a more flexible, inclusive model that would allow students to explore healthcare careers without waiting for permission or proximity.
“I didn’t want students to feel like they had to commit years of their life to a path they hadn’t truly had the chance to explore. Pre-Health Shadowing was built so students could learn early, ask honest questions, and decide what healthcare means to them — without barriers.”
The Impact So Far
Since its launch, Pre-Health Shadowing has connected tens of thousands of students with healthcare professionals they otherwise may never have met. Through hundreds of free, live sessions, students have explored a wide range of healthcare careers, discovered nontraditional pathways, and gained clarity before committing years of education, time, and financial resources.
Students have earned verified shadowing certificates, asked questions they may not have felt comfortable asking elsewhere, and gained exposure to roles rarely highlighted in traditional pre-health advising. Many former attendees now serve as volunteers and leaders within PHS, helping coordinate sessions, conduct professional outreach, manage programs, and support peers navigating similar journeys.
This cycle — access leading to confidence, confidence leading to leadership — has become a defining part of PHS’s impact.
Why This Work Still Matters
Even as in-person opportunities return, access remains unequal. For many students, virtual exposure is not a temporary substitute — it is the only viable pathway to exploration.
Early exposure matters. It influences whether students pursue healthcare at all, which fields they enter, and whether they remain in the pipeline long enough to serve their communities. Without equitable access at this stage, disparities compound later — shaping workforce diversity, representation, and patient care outcomes.
Pre-Health Shadowing exists to interrupt that cycle. By remaining fully remote, free, and student-centered, PHS ensures that exploration comes before commitment. It demonstrates that meaningful mentorship and exposure do not need to be restricted by geography, finances, or institutional affiliation.
As the organization continues to grow, its mission remains unchanged: expanding access, amplifying overlooked pathways into healthcare, and supporting the next generation of healthcare leaders with transparency, equity, and intention.
The impact is already real. Continuing this work ensures it becomes lasting.
