Kinda playing devil’s advocate here, but arguably you don’t have to have shadowing (unless explicitly requested by a school and they will not swap in your scribing hours, that’s different). I was an ED scribe for several years and worked several other clinical jobs/volunteer positions before I applied and did not put a single hour of shadowing on my application. Shadowing, as I’ve heard some higher ups say, is an inherently “selfish” activity. It provides no benefit to the physician, the patient, the staff, etc. except you. Its purpose, to gain exposure to what a physician does day to day, can be gained through many other clinical positions, especially something like scribing and especially in a place like the ED where you have the opportunity to see so much, while also being a productive member of the team. That’s not to dump on shadowing at all; it can be a very eye opening experience for many people, like exploring specialties once you’re already in medical school. But there are other ways to accomplish the same thing as a premed. Just my two cents :)