3rd year EM elective- SLOE or regular letter?

[Jlaw]

I plan to apply EM next year and I'm going to be doing a 3rd year EM elective next month at a hospital that does not have a residency program. Should I ask for a SLOE or just a regular letter?

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[racerwad]

I plan to apply EM next year and I'm going to be doing a 3rd year EM elective next month at a hospital that does not have a residency program. Should I ask for a SLOE or just a regular letter?

It sounds like you're aware CORD stipulates that the SLOE be filled out by academic faculty affiliated with a residency training program. Most of the time, they are filled out by someone in the program leadership (PD, aPD, etc) and those folks know one another. In my anecdotal experience, a SLOE filled out by a osteopathic aPD held little weight while SLOEs from bigger programs had us talking about how so-and-so is doing. A regular LOR from some attending (who may be totally awesome) is virtually useless.

Is it impossible to find a rotation at a place with a program? Otherwise, that month is essentially wasted.

 

[DarkHorse22]

I disagree with the month being wasted. I did exactly what you are suggesting towards the end of my 3rd year. I got a regular letter from the assistant director of the ED who had strong ties to a former residency program. While it is true, it did not carry as much weight as a SLOE from an ACGME PD, people commented on the strength of the letter during interviews.
The month will also help you decide if you are 100% sure you want EM. Basically, my advice is work really hard, impress and try to find a letter writer with name recognition to at least a few local ACGME programs. Of course, switching that rotation to a spot with a program would be better, but if not, you havent wasted a month.

 

[Jlaw]

Thanks for the info. Unfortunately switching is not an option, none of the departments with a program would take a 3rd year student, I tried reaching out to a bunch of them. I'll make the best of it though!