The other day, someone asked me if I could write an article on shadowing. While I don’t have any real advice for finding mentors to shadow besides “just asking”, I remembered an article I wrote a few years ago about my experience shadowing a physician, and why I thought job shadowing as a whole is important and something every student should take the time to explore. I dug up the article, and I hope you guys find it helpful…

I observed intently as Dr. Rutka took a deep breath before sharing the grave news with the mother. Her son, who has had epilepsy for years, requires brain surgery to remove a tumour that the doctor believes to be causing his seizures. However, there are huge risks involved, especially if the boy has a seizure during surgery. I felt a lump in my throat as the mother hammered the doctor with questions in a hysterical manner, clearly concerned over the health of her son. My eyes gazed in admiration at the powerful calm in Dr. Rutka’s voice as he consoled the mother. His compassion for the boy and his family resonated throughout the room. I began to wonder if I could keep the same poise and composure if I were in Dr. Rutka’s position. I was sure it was situations like these that make a career in medicine difficult, stressful and often heart wrenching.

A few patients later, I watched attentively as Amro, a neurosurgery resident, performed a routine check up on a young girl who had brain surgery just a few months before. Although he was still in training, Amro showed obvious passion for the long career in neurosurgery that lay ahead. The girl’s mother watched Amro in awe, saying, “when I think about how many lives you’re going to save one day, I can’t help but feel inspired”. I couldn’t help but smile and share in the special moment. It was then that I realized in spite of the blood, sweat and tears of a career in medicine, moments like these made everything worth it.

The opportunity to shadow a world class pediatric neurosurgeon at the Hospital for Sick Children doesn’t come along everyday. In the last few years, my interest in medicine – particularly in pediatrics and neuroscience – have grown. Still, I wanted to make sure that the health care environment was right for me. The privilege to learn from Dr. Rutka over the current school year comes from a career mentorship program run by Youth in Motion, a Canadian organization striving to help shape the futures of our youth. Youth in Motion develops and implements career mentoring programs that connect youth with adults in their choice of career.

“Career mentoring is a highly valuable and worthwhile experience for youth. It enables them to explore a career field in a unique and personalized format,” says Akela Peoples, President and CEO of Youth in Motion. “Dialoguing with someone in the workforce enables students to get important and relevant questions answered, provides an opportunity to learn directly from someone who has travelled a particular path before them and, most importantly, facilitates the transfer of unfiltered information.”

Observing Dr. Rutka’s work has only enhanced my aspirations to enter a career of medicine, and I now hope to work at the Hospital for Sick Children someday. It is fortunate that this “shadowing” experience reinforced my aspirations; indeed, I could just as easily have detested the hospital environment. If that were the case, imagine how dreadful it would be if I had gone through the endless years of education and training to become a doctor, only to realize it wasn’t the career for me!

For aspiring entrepreneurs like David Wen of Surrey, British Columbia, connecting with the CEO of a company created a life changing relationship. “Mentors are people who truly care for your well being, since their success is not dependant on yours,” says Wen, whose mentor has allowed him to witness many aspects of business, including sales pitches. “They are like honest and determined salespeople who do not work on commission.”

James Valitchka, already an 11 year old best-selling author hailing from Ottawa, Ontario, believes that you can never be too young to seek out a mentor for advice. “It’s really important to have a mentor to talk to about life and the future,” claims Valitchka, who has been paired up by Youth in Motion with a businessperson and one-time author. “They keep you encouraged and their advice can stop you from making mistakes. They share their experiences with you and make you a better and smarter person.”

As students, you are in the midst of a journey of discovery and reflection, trying to determine your direction in life. Like many before you, you might feel absolutely sure that you will become a lawyer, surgeon, web designer or teacher. At the same time, how can you be so sure that defending criminals in court, performing brain surgery, designing websites or teaching high school is something you would be happy doing? The fact is you won’t know until you try. And while shadowing won’t let you experience the job directly, you will better understand the field.

Having career mentors becomes ever so important for those of us about to embark on a brand new journey – the transition into adulthood. For some of us, the distance ahead is as clear as the sky; for others, it is a blurry mixture. There are those who have planned their entire lives out for the next fifty years, and for the rest of us, every thought, action and decision is perhaps spontaneous. Yet no matter how prepared you are for the future, you need to step in the shoes of those careers yourselves – and there is no better way to do so than by actually learning from individuals in the field.