If you’re based in Charlotte or surrounding North Carolina state, these physician shadowing programs could be a great fit for you.

List Of Physician Shadowing Programs In Charlotte

Shadowing at Atrium Health

Atrium Health Carolinas Rehabilitation offers shadowing opportunities for individuals interested in gaining important skills and learning more about rehabilitation.

Their shadowing program has helped hundreds of students learn more about this area of health and continues to work with high school and college students, allowing them to follow therapists and nurses as they go about their daily duties.

Students can shadow for a maximum of 16 hours per year and can sign up via the website listed below.

There’s also a popular volunteer program open to any interested participants aged 15 and above.

To learn more about Atrium Health, check out the video below…

DETAILS

• Name: Atrium Health
• Location: Various Locations
• Contact: 980-402-1970
• Website: atriumhealth.org/volunteering-and-shadowing

Observation Students at Novant Health

The health group Novant Health, which operates at various sites in and around the city (including Charlotte Orthopedic Hospital), has an observation/shadowing program for high school students and anyone else interested in internships or preceptorships.

Their program requires participants to identify qualified preceptors first because each school/program has varying educational requirements. They also ask that you submit any request 4 weeks prior to starting.

In addition to their shadowing program, there are also undergraduate nursing rotations available as well as clinical and non-clinical student opportunities.

See the video below for more on what it’s like working at Novant Health…

DETAILS

• Name: Novant Health
• Location: Various Locations
• Contact: StudentPrograms@NovantHealth.org
• Website: novanthealth.org/observation-students

UNC Medical Center Shadowing

Although it’s temporarily paused (due to the pandemic) it’s worth checking in with UNC Medical Center to see when/if they accept shadowing placements once again.

The group, based out of Chapel Hill, doesn’t arrange placements but does state that it allows interested parties to set up their own shadowing experiences via contacting hospital departments at their hospitals/clinics.

For anyone interested in shadowing Rehabilitation Therapies (PT, OT, CL, RT, etc) they also encourage emails to clinicaledreq@unchealth.unc.edu.

Pediatric shadowing requests must be received by the Pediatrics Education Office via Lynn West (lynn_west@med.unc.edu).

Make sure you read the Shadow Visitor Policies and complete the HIPAA training before completing a shadowing request. More information is available on the website below.

UNC also has a super useful virtual shadowing series too. Check out the session in the video below, with Dr. Nielson (Urology)…

DETAILS

• Name: UNC Medical Center
• Location: 101 Manning Drive, Chapel Hill, NC 27514
• Contact: 984-974-1000
• Website: uncmedicalcenter.org/shadowing

CaroMont Health Student Programs

CaroMont Health, based in Gastonia, has several educational opportunities for the next generation of medical professionals interested in learning more about health careers.

For college students, there are groups and preceptorships for those enrolled at schools with existing Education Affiliation Agreements. But there are also internships for a broader audience too.

For high school students, there’s the CaroMont Health Club, a program providing safe, robust, hands-on learning experiences with health care professionals for students in grades 9-12. The group meets one evening per month between October and April and participating students can attend 5 out of 7 meetings to receive credit.

There’s also the CaroMont Health Sciences Academy, a program designed to offer high school students in the area to observe and learn from working healthcare practitioners.

DETAILS

• Name: CaroMont Health
• Location: 2525 Court Drive, Gastonia, NC 28054
• Contact: 704-834-2256
• Website: caromonthealth.org/Student-Programs

Ortho Carolina Shadowing

The Ortho Carolina group runs a shadowing program offering placements in its orthopedic locations (including the Spine Center – Charlotte) and Physical Therapy Centers throughout the broader state.

Sessions are usually a one-week period and participants must be 16-year-of-age or older with those under 18 requiring parental permission and the completion of a liability form.

To be eligible students need to first find hosts/preceptors and make requests 4 weeks (or more) prior to the shadowing start date.

DETAILS

• Name: Ortho Carolina Shadowing
• Location: Various
• Email: Mona.Lindsay@orthocarolina.com
• Contact: 704-323-2026
• Website: orthocarolina.com/student-shadowing-program

Other Opportunities For Clinical Shadowing In Charlotte

As well as applying to the organized shadowing programs listed above, it can be worth researching and enquiring about possible hospital volunteering programs in Charlotte and the surrounding metropolitan area.

Signing up to volunteer can help you build a network among physicians, nurses, physician assistants, and other healthcare workers that could lead to important shadowing opportunities.

What About Private Shadowing?

It’s possible to set up private shadowing programs with physicians (and other healthcare workers) in Charlotte.

Here are some important tips on how to secure further shadowing opportunities in the city and surrounding areas:

• Contact your own personal care provider (PCP) and enquire about shadowing
• Look up major hospitals in the area and check to see if doctors practicing there are alumni of your college (email them and explain the situation)
• Try cold calling/emailing physicians listed on the faculty list of Charlotte’s major medical schools
• If you’re interested in becoming a PA, email or call up the North Carolina Academy of Physician Assistants (they have a list of PA’s who offer to have students shadow them)
• Consider applying for hospital scribing jobs in the city
• Look into virtual shadowing opportunities

I Want To Shadow A Certain Specialty Doctor, What Can I Do?

If you’re looking to learn more about the various areas of medicine (and the differing roles) then shadowing can help.

Finding opportunities is generally the same across all areas of medicine and health. You’ll want to contact departments (and physicians) directly and see if they can put you in contact with specialist healthcare workers in areas you may be interested in.

I also have individual tips on finding opportunities within each specialty (psychiatry, anesthesiology, surgery, etc).

Final Thoughts

A physician or clinical-based shadowing program is important for any student interested in allied health careers. Not just future doctors but nurses, physician assistants, and anyone in between!

Hopefully, the programs above can help give you an introduction as to what life in healthcare is all about.

Looking for shadowing programs elsewhere? Check out or other physician shadowing guides. We cover all major U.S. cities!

Will

Born and raised in the UK, Will went into medicine late (31) after a career in journalism. He’s into football (soccer), learned Spanish after 5 years in Spain, and has had his work published all over the web. Read more.

willpeachmd.com

This article picks the best of Charlotte’s medical schools and provides you with all the necessary information (tuition fees, programs, locations, admissions data, etc.) you’ll likely want to know.

As a med student myself, I know how valuable quick overviews like this can be!

Ready to get started? Let’s go.

All admissions data is taken from the American Association of Medical Colleges (Source). Ranking data is taken from U.S. News.

Medical Schools In Charlotte

As mentioned before, Charlotte doesn’t currently have either a 4-year allopathic (MD) or osteopathic (DO) med school in the city. What it does have however is a clinical campus affiliated to UNC…

1. UNC School of Medicine Novant Health Charlotte Campus

Unfortunately, you can’t get your two years of pre-clinical done at UNC School of Medicine’s campus in Charlotte. You’ll need to go to Chapel Hill for that. But we’ve included the Charlotte campus here as it covers Year 3 and Year 4 of UNCSOM’s (MD) medical degree.

Each of the four campuses of UNCSOM has a special focus, and health equity is Charlotte’s. They train students to work in rural and under-resourced communities. Novant Health fits right in with its values of diversity and inclusion. In 2021, the health care network received six Diversity Impact Awards from the Association of ERGs & Councils.

There isn’t a way to guarantee being assigned to the Charlotte campus, but you do get to influence the decision with the submission of your preferences and reasoning for them upon applying.

Back in Chapel Hill, those first two years will take students through the Foundation Phase. These lecture-based classes will cover organs, clinical skills education, and professional development. The Charlotte campus can take over after that. Year 3 is the Application Phase, where students start clinical work in pediatrics, adults, OB-GYN, psychiatry, medicine, and surgery. This phase is also the time to dabble in specialties, and students focus more on developing their focus in Year 4, the Individualization Phase.

DETAILS 

• Name: Charlotte Novant Health Program – UNC School of Medicine
• Phone: 704-661-6847
• Website: med.unc.edu/md/charlotte

2. Wake Forest School of Medicine – Charlotte

Wake Forest School of Medicine is set to expand its Winston-Salem base, adding a new 20-acre site in midtown Charlotte with construction expected to start in 2022.

Set to open on the corner of South McDowell Street and Baxter Street, adjacent to the US-277, the initial first-year medical school cohort can expect to begin their education in 2024.

The campus will be located just short of a mile from Atrium Health Carolinas Medical Center. Such proximity to Charlotte’s flagship hospital grants future students access to one of the most modern, state-of-the-art facilities and learning environments in the country.

See the video below for more info on the proposed plans…

DETAILS 

• Name: Wake Forest School of Medicine – Charlotte
• Phone: 336-758-4357
• Website: school.wakehealth.edu/Charlotte

Four-Year Medical Studies Schools In Charlotte, NC

The following schools are also good matches for other medical and allied health studies in the city, as well as pre-med.

3. University of North Carolina—Charlotte (Charlotte, NC)

UNC Charlotte started as the Charlotte Center. It was one of fourteen North Carolina colleges that were founded for veterans returning from WWII. Today, it’s the largest institution in the Charlotte region and the fastest growing university in the UNC system.

While UNC Charlotte can’t give you a medical degree, it can give you a cheaper option than UNC-Chapel Hill for your undergraduate degree and has a higher acceptance rate.

As far as other health and medical studies go, the school offers a range of related academic programs:

• Exercise Science
• Health Systems Management
• Health Administration
• Health Informatic and Analytics
• Kinesiology
• Nursing
• Public Health
• Respiratory Care Therapy
• Social Work

Students aiming to become doctors can also choose their pre-health track here and a major of their choice—with no requirement to take a science major. The Pre-Health Advising Office provides guidance for all the course and school decisions you need to make along the way.

If you’re interested in an urban campus but hate traffic, UNC Charlotte has you covered. Students can ride the light rail for free.

Check out the video below for a closer look…

DETAILS 

• Name: University of North Carolina at Charlotte
• Phone: 702-687-8622
• Website: charlotte.edu

4. Queens University of Charlotte

Queens University’s story began in 1857 with the opening of the women-only Charlotte Female Institute. Since the last century, it’s shifted into a co-ed university located three miles down from that original site.

If you’re looking for a university that gives you more individual attention, Queens is worth checking out. It’s a private institution with a 10:1 student-faculty ratio. More than half of its classes have fewer than 20 students. This all comes with a more expensive price, but Queens offers many scholarships to help with covering it.

They offer health and medical-related majors and minors in the following:

• Nursing
• Exercise and Sport Science
• Health Sciences
• Health Education and Promotion
• Health Administration
• Music Therapy
• Pre-Dental

Interested in studying abroad? Queens provides undergraduate students with a fund and scholarships for that. There are multiple benefits to this as a pre-med student. This can freshen up your learning experience and prevent burnout in your long academic career. Also, if you’re interested in picking up a new language to allow you to help more people directly, a little immersion goes a long way.

A unique part of the university’s general education requirements is the “Queens Advantage,” which requires joining a learning community. These student groups come together to discuss and attempt to solve complex problems, allowing students to grow individually and apply their knowledge in the real world.

Check out the video below for a quick look at Queens…

DETAILS 

• Name: University of North Carolina at Charlotte
• Phone: 702-337-2200
• Website: queens.edu

5. Central Piedmont Community College

Central Piedmont (CPCC) has the oldest nursing program in the N.C. Community College system. But more unique than that is the effort they make to provide students an affordable and debt-free learning experience.

On top of offering a much lower tuition rate than a university, they offer grants and scholarships to help students bring that amount down as low as possible.

Aside from the aforementioned nursing program, they also offer health and medical studies in the following areas:

• Dental Assisting
• Dental Hygiene
• Medical Assisting
• Medical Lab Technology
• Occupational Therapy
• Pharmacy Technology
• Physical Therapy
• Respiratory Therapy
• Surgical Technology

Because of their Comprehensive Articulation Agreement, you can transfer up to 60 general education and major course credits to a UNC institution. This means you can save money on the first two years and then enter a UNC university as a junior. The savings can amount to $38,000 and higher. If you’re interested in this, you’ll want to take a look at Central Piedmont’s Associate in Arts degree.

The low price doesn’t mean Central Piedmont is without quality either. As proof, the 2019 graduating class of nursing students had a 100% employment rate, on top of a 100% passing rate on their respective NCLEX-RN certification exam.

Check out the video below for an introduction to CPCC…

DETAILS 

• Name: Central Piedmont Community College
• Phone: 704-330-2722
• Website: cpcc.edu

6. Cabarrus College of Health Sciences (Concord, NC)

Originally known as the Cabarrus County Hospital School of Nursing, it was founded in 1942 to meet the demand for registered nurses during WWII. Its hospital campus goes way back as well, with it starting up during the Great Depression.

Cabarrus aims to provide an individualized, hands-on, educational experience. That becomes pretty clear once you realize the student-to-faculty ratio is 6:1 and the average class size is 14. Students can get clinical experience as early as the first semester.

Besides nursing, they have the following medical and health-related programs:

• Community Health and Wellness
• Medical Assisting
• Medical Imaging
• Occupational Therapy
• Surgical Technology
• Pre-Nursing

Students have access to various support services, including academic advising, tutoring, and a guided study session program. There is also a dedicated staff of financial aid experts that work to help students pay for their education.

Check out the video below for a virtual tour…

DETAILS 

• Name: Cabarrus College of Health Sciences
• Phone: 704-403-1555
• Website: atriumhealth.org/cabarrus-college-of-health-sciences

Will

Born and raised in the UK, Will went into medicine late (31) after a career in journalism. He’s into football (soccer), learned Spanish after 5 years in Spain, and has had his work published all over the web. Read more.

willpeachmd.com