Shadowing

By: Weike Wang

Narrated by: Francesca Ling

From the award-winning author of Chemistry comes a sharp and poignant short story that follows a young medical student working in clinical research and grappling with the realities of a future in her chosen field.

To become a doctor someday, every student must complete a certain number of hours in clinical research, volunteering, and shadowing. There are algorithms to this stuff, to building the perfect résumé for admission to the perfect doctoral program. With this goal in mind, a young pre-med student earns a coveted role in a study about diet and its effects on the human heart, replacing another Asian-American woman from the same school and on a similar college track. The doctor in charge - a middle-aged woman who’d built her career at some of the most elite medical institutions in the country - is erratic and overbearing at first, but her quirks and habits become clearer as the time goes on. Faced with the stark realities of the doctor’s life within and outside of the lab, the student must take stock of her ambitions and her own place in the world.

©2020 Weike Wang (P)2020 Audible Originals, LLC.

Fun

Interesting, fun, and intriguing. The story kept me interested and asking what is going to happen next.

What exactly was the purpose?

This short story is well written, easy to follow and narrated appropriately. My struggle was to find the purpose of the story. It was a short time commitment, so I'm not too miffed about it.

I Can Relate

Anyone who has been through medical training can relate to this story. The dynamic between the self absorbed physician researcher and the powerless student narrator made me cringe. Essays such as this should be required reading for those at the top.

Incomplete

Promising writer, but this piece doesn’t have an ending and the characters failed to feel truthful.

Shadowing is a tremendous listening

Short, but a reasonably engaging story, soft female voice narration. I have greatly enjoyed it. Shadowing is excellent listening.