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Job Shadowing

Erlanger Job Shadowing Program

Our partners at Erlanger offer a healthcare Job Shadowing Program that allows up to 20 hours of shadowing time within various health care career tracks. Job shadowing opportunities are approved on an individual case basis to students who:

    • Are 16 years or older (Those who wish to shadow in emergency departments, ICU's, women's services, or any part of the Children's Hospital must be 18 years or older and a high school graduate)

Documentation Requirements

    • Complete the job shadowing application;
    • Provide documentation of MMR and Varicella (chickenpox) immunization;
    • Provide documentation of negative TB skin test or negative chest x-ray within the last 12 months;
    • Provide documentation of flu vaccine if shadowing between October and March.

Erlanger Health System will make every effort to accommodate job shadowing requests provided space and staff are available. Please direct any questions about the program to jobshadowing@erlanger.org.

Note: Shadowing experiences cannot be approved for a medical student in the last two years of medical school. Physicians cannot be approved to shadow physicians.

The UT Health Science Center College of Medicine-Chattanooga offers two paths for job shadowing students ages 18 or older who are not yet in their clinical years of medical school

Sponsored Clinical Shadow Program

Participants must be non-medical students who want to shadow a physician. These experiences are limited to one or two days with faculty physicians within our primary clinical training site at Erlanger.

The UT Health Science Center College of Medicine-Chattanooga oversees this program, where students may shadow faculty physicians who also hold medical staff appointments within Erlanger.

This experience is for clinical shadowing only and cannot involve any hands-on clinical patient care (including physical exams, procedures, etc.), nor direct access to the hospital electronic health record. The University is not responsible for requests for students asking to shadow Erlanger physicians who do not hold UT Health Science Center faculty appointments.

UTC Pre-Med Program

In collaboration with the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga (UTC) Pre-Med Program, our institution also sponsors a longitudinal two-semester pre-med elective with a curriculum that provides one elective credit hour at in the UTC undergraduate program. Students are selected each year through a stringent application and review process by UTC Pre-Med Advisors and our Associate Dean/DIO. Students are interviewed in May of the academic year and, if accepted, must agree to register in the elective for two Semesters (Fall and Spring). The course/program is limited to six students in their junior year.

The UT Health Science Center College of Medicine-Chattanooga does not offer opportunities for physicians to observe our faculty, residents, and fellow physicians.  

  • The College of Medicine-Chattanooga cannot accommodate nurse practitioner students or PA students from other universities requesting clinical rotations beyond the UT Health Science Center Memphis PA students assigned to our campus for their year-long clinical rotations (January through November each year).  
  • Nursing students, Nurse Practitioner students, or PA students who wish to request clinical rotations at Erlanger must submit requests through the Erlanger Job Shadowing Program. Erlanger requires a clinical agreement between each university/program. These are not coordinated by the UT Health Science Center College of Medicine-Chattanooga.
  • All sponsored clinical shadowing experiences with faculty physicians  do not involve hands-on clinical care; only observing/job shadowing.  

Future Docs

"Future Docs" is a leadership program through our institution, in partnership with the Chattanooga-Hamilton County Medical Society, offering high school graduates and college students the opportunity to shadow physicians and get an up-close look at the practice of medicine.

2026 Program Dates

June 8th-18th

Apply Now!

Future Docs student participants in white coats

Program Requirements

  • Must fill out application
  • Be 18+ years of age
  • Submit official documentation of a GPA of 3.5 or higher and grade level of a high school senior, recent high school graduate, or college student
  • Have 2 letters of recommendation from a professor, academic advisor, or other individual who is familiar with the student's educational background and interests
  • Obtain negative TB skin tests

Visit the Chattanooga-Hamilton County Medical Society site for more info

Jan 27, 2026