CAA SCHOOL PREREQS · SOURCE REVIEW NOVEMBER 2, 2026
How to keep a CAA shadowing hours log
A good shadowing log records what happened and shows whether you have the documentation each school needs. Start it after your first observation session rather than trying to reconstruct dates and hours during application season.
Keep a master session log and a separate school-document checklist. One session may be relevant to several schools, while each school may have different documentation instructions.
Record the session itself
Use these fields for each completed session:
| Field | Purpose |
|---|---|
| Date | Identifies the observation session |
| Start, end and breaks | Supports the actual completed duration |
| Facility and setting | Describes where the observation occurred |
| Provider name and professional role | Helps evaluate the school's exposure rule |
| Contact details with permission | Supports later verification if appropriate |
| Reflection | Records what you learned without patient identifiers |
| Documentation status | Shows whether the required form is complete |
Record scheduled sessions elsewhere. A planned eight-hour visit should not increase your completed total before it happens.
Keep school forms separate
Some schools accept a comparable form, but the conditions matter. Indiana permits its verification form or a similar form capturing the same information. That does not establish universal acceptance of a custom log. Indiana shadowing requirements.
For each school, record the form link, version or access date, required fields, signature instructions and upload destination. Your master log helps prepare the information; it is not automatically school-accepted proof.
Use a worked example
Imagine a fictional observation day from 7:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., with a 30-minute break excluded from observation. The completed time is 7.5 hours.
You might record the session once and connect it to three school-document tasks:
- School A form completed and signed.
- School B accepts a comparable form; required fields checked.
- School C documentation question still unresolved.
The completed observation total remains 7.5 hours. It does not become 22.5 because the same session supports three applications.
Prepare forms without manufacturing attestations
Fill in information you are responsible for and ask the provider to review and complete their portion. Do not copy a signature onto another form or assume permission to reuse an attestation.
If you discover later that a school requires something different, contact the provider or program through the appropriate process. Preserve the original document and keep the new request visible.
A clear workflow makes honest documentation easier for both applicants and busy hosts.
Keep reflection notes useful
After the visit, write a few sentences about what you observed and what questions it raised. Focus on professional roles, communication, preparation and your understanding of the work.
For example: “I noticed how the team confirmed responsibilities before the next case. I want to learn more about how those responsibilities change across settings.” This is a reflection prompt, not a fabricated experience to paste into an application.
Do not include patient names, dates of birth, medical record numbers or other identifying details.
Reconcile the log before submitting
Check dates, arithmetic and duplicated sessions. Compare your school-document checklist with the files you intend to upload. Open each file to confirm it is readable and complete.
CASAA's experience guidance says hours must not be repeated across experience types. Keep any category allocation consistent with your actual activity and the current instructions. CASAA experiences.
Your next action is to identify the oldest session with missing documentation and resolve it while the details are still easy to confirm.
See finding shadowing and writing experience descriptions for related planning.
Put this into your plan.
Keep your next steps with the schools and applications they belong to.
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