Pre-Medical Students and Other Learners

Emory Family Medicine offers a limited number of 1-week (Mon-Fri), half-day observerships to individuals who have not yet attended medical school and are interested in primary care. During that time, observers can see firsthand what a typical day in primary care is like, see the breadth of what family physicians do, and learn about career paths in medicine.

Students in the observership program are not allowed to provide any clinical care, it is exclusively a shadowing experience. Unfortunately, due to the number of learners we have, we are not able to offer observerships to medical school graduates or current residency applicants. Click here for information about Emory M4 visiting student electives.

Emory College students should follow the instructions at this link (https://prehealth.emory.edu/prepare/clinical.html). All other potential observers should email observership.credentialing@emoryhealthcare.org and cc their sponsoring provider (the physician they will be observing) with the following information: Observer name, observer email, sponsoring provider name, desired observership dates, facility or facilities where shadowing will occur, and a 1 paragraph description of why they would like to pursue an observership in Family Medicine. This information must be sent at least 1 month prior to the requested start date. If an applicant does not have a sponsoring provider, they should contact the Emory Family Medicine Student Programs coordinator, Ms. Porsha Clayton, at Porsha.clayton@emory.edu with the above requested information minus the sponsoring provider. For students without a previously identified physician sponsor, observerships are offered only from February-June, pending availability.

Further details about the observership credentialing process:

  1. Observerships are limited to 5 days within our department given the number of requests and Emory learners
  2. Sponsoring supervisor must be a credentialed member of the medical staff
  3. Observership Fee of $15 for non-Emory students. This can be paid via credit card

All prospective observers will be contacted by the EHC Observership Coordinator after their initial email to complete an observership application consisting of: HIPAA, Review of EHC Code of Conduct, Release and Waiver of Liability, Reviewing 2 regulatory courses. Applicants must upload proof of the following immunizations:

  1. Hep B (vaccination series or positive titers)
  2. MMR (vaccination series or positive titers)
  3. Varicella (vaccination series or positive titers)
  4. Covid
  5. Flu (if observing October-March)
  6. TB test (must be current within 3 months of start date. May either submit negative TSpot/Quantiferon Gold or 2-step TST)

The EHC Observership Office will review the application and let the applicant know if there are any missing or pending items. Once complete, the sponsoring provider and CMO will sign. Final approval will be sent along with an email to security services requesting an observer badge.