Pre-Medical Students and Other Learners | Emory School of Medicine

Helpful Information for Pre-Meds

Observerships in Family Medicine

The observership program in Family Medicine is set up specifically for pre-medical students or current Emory Foundation Phase students who may be considering Family Medicine and want early exposure to help decide.

The program allows learners the opportunity to shadow our faculty at the Family Medicine Residency Clinic and Emory University Hospital Midtown for up to 5 days. During that time, observers can see first hand what a typical day in primary care is like, see the breadth of what Family Physicians can do, and ask faculty questions about their clinical experience and career paths.

Because Emory Healthcare does not allow students in the observership program to do anything clinically, it is not meant to be an experience for learners who already know they want to do Family Medicine or are interested in the Emory Family Medicine Residency Program specifically.

All observerships must be cleared through the Office of Observership Credentialing before any student can participate. Observership experiences within the Division of Family Medicine extend 1-5 days, depending on the sponsor’s availability.

Please note that observerships are only offered March - June of each academic year. There is a credentialing fee that must be paid to the Office of Observership Credentialing before the start of your observership (they will inform you of the current rate at the time of application).

Emory Healthcare Observerships

In order to participate in an Observership Experience at any branch of Emory Healthcare, Emory undergraduate students must first complete the prerequisite requirements established by Emory Healthcare. Click here to access the prerequisites. Any exceptions to the prerequisite requirements must be approved by Emory Healthcare. If you have questions about Observerships at Emory Healthcare, please email your pre-health advisor. Please note Pre-Health Advising does not match students with Observership opportunities.

Anyone interested in shadowing at a branch of Emory Healthcare who is NOT an Emory undergraduate student should contact the Emory Healthcare Office of Observership Credentialing (observership.credentialing@emoryhealthcare.org) for further instructions. This includes Emory graduate students and employees, as well as individuals outside of Emory.

Emory College Students

Emory University (EU) students must meet the student requirements as set by the Pre-Health Mentoring Office (PHMO) and Emory Healthcare.
Emory students must complete the PHMO Observership Form and Essay Question. After completion of the application, Emory students need to schedule an appointment with their PHMO advisor and go over the pre-requisites.
If all Observership Prerequisites have been met, the Emory University student will receive an Observership Attestation from the PHMO. From this point, the EU student must satisfy the requirements and complete all forms required by the Emory Healthcare Observership Policy. The sponsor or hosting department may assist the EU student to gather requirements.
Emory University students must receive the Observership Attestation from the PHMO and be granted approval from the Emory Healthcare Department in which the observation will take place, before Chief Medical Office (CMO) approval of observation arrangement.
Emory University students will be required to submit a final reflection report at the end of the Observership experience.

Non-Emory Premedical Students

Please direct all inquiries to the Office of Observership Credentialing: observership.credentialing@emoryhealthcare.org