Word-For-Word Email Templates & Phone Scripts That Will Earn You Shadowing Opportunities

Upd: 1/28/2025

SUBJECT LINE OPTIONS:

Something that resonated with you when reviewing their profile/website

e.g. Saw You Opened An Integrative Health Practice!
What were your biggest takeaways caring for patients struggling with Obesity?
What have you found most interesting about Addiction Psychiatry?
Can Premeds Benefit From Early Exposure to Geriatric Care?
Your Clinical Work In LGBTQ+ Populations Inspires Me
Your Physician Wellness Work Inspires Me
How Can I Learn More About Clinical Weight Management?
How Can I Learn More About Alcohol Use Disorder?
My Friend Struggles With Substance Use - I’d Love To Learn More
UCLA Student w/ Personal History Interested In Adolescent Weight Management

A Referral (even better if they can write the email and CC you) but if you’re going to write it, can also be effective:

e.g. Referral from Steve Cannon
Ben Fiedler thought you’d be a good person to speak with!

Something simple

e.g. UCLA Premed Interested in Clinical Care
Dr. LAST NAME, what’s the day-to-day life of a physician?
SCHOOL NAME student interested in learning more about being a doctor

EMAIL TEMPLATE:

Dear Dr. DOCTOR LAST NAME,

Niceties about the weather/sports/alma mater/a mutual connection. I hope this email finds you well.

**If you have a referral, add this piece up front. If not, just move on** I found your email through REFERRAL and REFERRAL mentioned that you may be a good person to speak with.

I found your contact info when researching XYZ (e.g. weight management clinics in San Jose). I understand caring for patients with these conditions has been a large part of your practice for years. That’s super interesting BECAUSE why you care about that person/population/problem – build that common interest or passion here (e.g. personal story of a loved one struggling with this condition and what that was like, describing the research you do in this space, sharing the related extracurricular you’re in, etc.).

My name is PREMED NAME and I attend SCHOOL I find XYZ (e.g. weight management) to be close to my heart. I understand that many professionals including ABC (e.g. bariatric surgeons, clinical psychologists, diet-companies, endocrinologists, public health programs for adolescent weight gain, etc.) work in XYZ space, including doctors like yourself. I hope to better understand what your day-to-day practice is like, both in XYZ space and with the other types of patients that you see.

Would you be open to me shadowing you in the upcoming months to learn more about your clinical practice? I have extremely wide & flexible availability, especially on 123 (e.g. share if you have Tuesday/Thursdays off, a Winter Break from 12/5 to 12/29 coming up, etc.). If helpful, I’m also happy to coordinate with your team/office manager.

If easier, I can also be texted or called at PHONE NUMBER. I appreciate your time and attention and I look forward to hearing back from you!

Best,

NAME

PHONE NUMBER

EMAIL SAMPLE:

Subject Line: How Can I Learn More About Addiction Psychiatry?

Dear Dr. Doctor Wang,

I read online that you’re a big Lakers fan – fingers crossed that AD can stay healthy through the series. I hope this email finds you well.

I found your contact info when researching Addiction Psychiatry practices in San Bernadino. I understand caring for patients with these conditions has been a large part of your practice for years. That’s super interesting because when I was in high school, a close friend of mine unfortunately became addicted to different substances. It started with casual marijuana and 4-6 years later now, I’m hearing that he’s been in and out of mental hospitals, has tried a variety of pharmacotherapies and counseling, all largely unsuccessful. His story has made me really want to invest time into learning more about the science and therapeutics of addiction.

My name is Chris and I attend UCLA. I find Addiction Science to be close to my heart. I understand that many professionals including Primary Care Providers, public health programs, social workers, basic science researchers and organizations like Alcoholics Anonymous work in the Addiction space, including physicians like yourself. I hope to better understand what your day-to-day practice is like, both in the Addiction space and with the other types of patients that you see.

Would you be open to me shadowing you in the upcoming months to learn more about your clinical practice? I have extremely wide & flexible availability, especially on Tuesday & Thursdays, when I don’t have any class. In addition, Winter Break is coming up and I’ll be in the area from 12/5 to 12/29 with full working hour availability. If helpful, I’m also happy to coordinate with your team/office manager.

If easier, I can also be texted or called at 123-456-7890. I appreciate your time and attention and I look forward to hearing back from you!

Best,

Chris

123-456-7890

Chris@medpathconsulting.com

E-mail Schedule Logistics:

1. Schedule email at a time people read emails (e.g. Weekday Mornings 8:27 AM)

2. Follow up after one week, two weeks, three weeks

3. If they respond and say no for whatever reason, conduct a short informational interview & respectfully ask if they’d recommend anyone

On Following Up: Follow-up 3 times over 3 weeks. Key here is understanding that following-up is NOT being annoying or disrespectful. It’s actually the OPPOSITE. These busy doctors get 100+ emails every single MORNING and following-up helps them get a handle of the most relevant opportunities in their life.

FOLLOW UP #1:

Dear Dr. LAST NAME,

I hope this message finds you well. I wanted to quickly follow up on the possibility of spending some time with you and your team to learn more about what being a doctor is like. I know you’re busy, and I wanted to reach out again in case this got lost in the email shuffle.

If it would be easier to text/call, please do so at PHONE NUMBER. I appreciate your time and attention and look forward to hearing back from you!

Sincerely,

NAME

PHONE NUMBER

FOLLOW UP #2:

Hi Dr LAST NAME

I hope your week is going well. I know that the inbox can get busy quickly so I wanted to float this up in case it was buried. I’m PREMED NAME and I wrote recently about learning more about practice.

I’ll paste my original email below for your convenience:

************PASTED EMAIL************

Thank you again for the opportunity and I look forward to possibly chatting with you!

Best,

NAME

PHONE NUMBER

FOLLOW UP #3:

Hi Dr. LAST NAME,

I just wanted to reach out one last time regarding the possibility of chatting with you to learn more about your career and clinical practice. I also totally understand if you’re overextended in this season.

Thank you for your time,

NAME

PHONE NUMBER

IF THEY RESPOND AND SAY NO:

Hello again Dr. LAST NAME,

I sincerely appreciate you for taking the time to respond to my e-mail. I understand that it’s not a great time to shadow you right now. Instead, whenever is convenient for you, would you be open to having a short 5-minute chat over the phone to learn a bit more about your practice?

Thank you again for all your time and attention.

Best,

NAME

PHONE NUMBER

Then, I would go into a shortened version of our Informal Interview Campaign with ONE KEY ADDITION: Asking at the end of the call if the physician has anyone in mind that they could refer you to/recommend that you reach out to (bonus points if you can get the introduction through that physician) [e.g. Dr. Le says no but makes an email introduction on your behalf to Dr. Tran]

Setting Expectations:

Chances are, you will probably do just as poorly, or even worse, than I did. My hit rate on shadowing emails in the greater Los Angeles area was probably… 1/20. And of those 5% of emails that were responded to, half of them said “no” and the conversation ended there. All this to say, if you get a YES more often than 1 out of every 40 emails, you’re KILLING IT!! We must rewire our expectations in this gritty charade we call shadowing.

Don’t get discouraged—you know now that this is part of the game. What we can do is do our best to make the most out of every opportunity, including the responses that feature “no.” If a clinic responds, I encourage you to use the following template to line up an opportunity for an informational interview or a referral for another physician. Keep the relationship alive – perhaps there will be another season where that “No” becomes an even bigger “YES” for a different opportunity.

KEEP THE DOOR OPEN:

At the end of most phone calls, you won’t be offered a shadowing opportunity on the spot. Receptionists have to talk to office managers who talk to the doctors who may get back to you through the receptionist. A huge win for every conversation is to simply keep the conversation going, to keep the door open for future interactions. Here are my favorite two ways to do just that (you can use this for anyone you’re speaking with), courtesy of our mentor Krupa:

Is it okay if I leave my call back phone number / email address with you?

Would it be okay if I followed up in a week with you? Is this number okay or would an email or another number be better?

PHONE SCRIPT/VOICEMAIL FOR A PHYSICIAN YOU KNOW:

Hello Dr. Vance! I hope you’d doing well!! This is Chris, your former patient. Nowadays I’m a Sophomore at UCLA; it’s SO different from HOMETOWN.

From what I remember, I know your practice includes a fair amount of XYZ (e.g. weight management, cardiovascular preventative health, pediatric milestone screenings, etc.) I’m calling because I’m interested in XYZ (e.g. share why you care about that person/population/problem – build that common interest or passion here (e.g. personal story of a loved one struggling with this condition and what that was like, describing the research you do in this space, sharing the related extracurricular you’re in, etc.)

I was wondering if you’d be open to me spending some time with you and your team…

If voicemail, add call back number: Whenever you get a chance, please call or text me back at 987-654-3210. If email is easier, I’m chris@medpathconsulting.com. I’m looking forward to speaking with you again!!

PHONE SCRIPT/VOICEMAIL FOR A PHYSICIAN YOU DON’T KNOW:

Hello Dr. Vance! I hope you’d doing well!! I found your contact info when researching XYZ (e.g. weight management clinics in San Jose). Your practice is super interesting BECAUSE why you care about that person/population/problem – build that common interest or passion here (e.g. personal story of a loved one struggling with this condition and what that was like, describing the research you do in this space, sharing the related extracurricular you’re in, etc.).

My name is PREMED NAME and I attend SCHOOL. I find XYZ (e.g. weight management) to be close to my heart. I hope to better understand what your day-to-day practice is like, both in XYZ space and with the other types of patients that you see.

Would you be open to me shadowing you in the upcoming months to learn more about your clinical practice?

PHONE SCRIPT/VOICEMAIL FOR FRONT DESK RECEPTIONIST/MEDICAL ASSISTANT:

Hello RECEPTIONIST/MEDICAL ASSISTANT’S NAME! I hope you’re doing well. My name is PREMED NAME and I attend SCHOOL. I hope to better understand more about your clinic.

I’d love to speak with the office manager or Dr. NAME about shadowing you and your team. Would you be able to connect me to the right person to chat with?

I’m also happy to call a different phone number or send an email if that’s at all easier! Thank you so much for your time.