Letter of Recommendation from Medical Student

[Yusuke777]

Hello everybody,

I am currently a volunteer at a clinic that is run primarily by medical students and other undergraduate student volunteers. I was wondering if it would be appropriate to ask one of the medical students for a letter of recommendation because they serve as the supervisors for the clinic. We do have an attending physician at each clinic, but the clinic cycles through a long list of them each week so they do not attend the clinic on a regular basis.

I know most people recommend against having a medical student write a letter of recommendation, but in my situation they serve as the supervisors and run all aspects of the clinic, so they are the only ones I could really ask for this particular volunteer experience.

What do you guys think I should do?

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[TraumaLlamaMD]

As suggested in the other threads on this topic, ask the medical students to give input to an attending who would agree to write you a letter. Don't send a letter signed by a student.

 

[MrLogan13]

There's another thread that asks the same thing. The answer is no.

 

[mmmcdowe]

If there is a clinic there is a physician. He can sign something the student helps him write at least. The student should not sign.

 

[Yusuke777]

Your question probably warrants a more detailed response than what you've gotten. The other posters are correct, a letter from a medical student is not taken seriously by a school considering your application.

But beyond that, what you need to understand is that your perception of the role of the medical students is simply incorrect. From your vantage point, they "serve as the supervisors and run all aspects of the clinic." In reality, none of that is true. They are the worker bees, the grunts who do most of the work. They are not in a decision-making capacity, and they are not really supervisors of anything except maybe you. They are learning by doing, which is the hallmark of medical education.

Ditto for residents (which I am, incidentally). A med student on the wards will notice that the resident sees every patient, writes every order, addresses acute issues, and instructs the nurses on what care needs to be provided and when. This can be mistaken as being the person "in charge". But in reality, they are carrying out general instructions from an attending surgeon who makes all the important decisions on treatment plans. The resident is just executing that plan.

An attending surgeon has the perspective of someone who has successfully completed medical school and all their training. They are the correct person to offer an opinion on your suitability for the profession. A medical student, who has not even demonstrated that they can complete medical school (much less that they can function as an independent MD), is the wrong person to offer an opinion on your potential for further success.

Thanks for taking the time to provide a well thought out response! I probably should have been more specific regarding the clinic setting in which I volunteer at. It is a free clinic run out of a gym geared towards the underserved. The medical students are responsible for generating a treatment plan after a physical and review of systems. They are also responsible for all the administrative aspects of the clinic with regards to funding, obtaining the medical supplies and medications that are given out, etc. The clinic was, in fact, founded by a couple of medical students. The function of the attending physician in the clinic is to approve the treatment plans generated by the physician, make any necessary revisions/confirm the diagnosis, and to write prescriptions for medications that we do not have on hand.

I do agree with the comments made in your last paragraph. The reason I thought of asking the medical student for the letter of recommendation was because they have directly seen the work that I do in clinic with continuity, whereas the same attending physicians do not attend on a regular basis. I do agree that having a physician write the letter after having the medical students vouch for me would undoubtedly come across as more professional/legitimate.

The question that I still have though is: How does asking for a medical student for a letter of recommendation in my situation differ from asking for a letter of recommendation from a volunteer supervisor in a hypothetical, non-medically related volunteer site?

 

[Yusuke777]

On the note of getting a physician to write the letter of recommendation though, how should I go about asking the medical student if they would vouch for me and speak to one of the attending physicians about writing the letter?

 

[Yusuke777]

Hmm, okay, I think I have a better grasp on the situation now. Thank you for the clarification! Do you think it is unorthodox to have an attending physician who doesn't know very much about me write the letter of recommendation only on the basis of what the medical students have to say?

 

[Yusuke777]

Not at all. Happens every day. It's how I got into residency.

Ahh, I see. I guess I didn't realize similar processes are not uncommon.

 

[tiedyeddog]

Hmm, okay, I think I have a better grasp on the situation now. Thank you for the clarification! Do you think it is unorthodox to have an attending physician who doesn't know very much about me write the letter of recommendation only on the basis of what the medical students have to say?

Hmm, okay, I think I have a better grasp on the situation now. Thank you for the clarification! Do you think it is unorthodox to have an attending physician who doesn't know very much about me write the letter of recommendation only on the basis of what the medical students have to say?

should be more than fine. hopefully that medical student will talk you up well, he or she knows how the game works so I wouldn't expect anything else.

 

[Psai]

we literally just had a thread about this

 

[moisne]

There is a supervising doc - ask med student to write it - ask doc to sign it

 

[Chir0nex]

Thanks for taking the time to provide a well thought out response! I probably should have been more specific regarding the clinic setting in which I volunteer at. It is a free clinic run out of a gym geared towards the underserved. The medical students are responsible for generating a treatment plan after a physical and review of systems. They are also responsible for all the administrative aspects of the clinic with regards to funding, obtaining the medical supplies and medications that are given out, etc. The clinic was, in fact, founded by a couple of medical students. The function of the attending physician in the clinic is to approve the treatment plans generated by the physician, make any necessary revisions/confirm the diagnosis, and to write prescriptions for medications that we do not have on hand.

I do agree with the comments made in your last paragraph. The reason I thought of asking the medical student for the letter of recommendation was because they have directly seen the work that I do in clinic with continuity, whereas the same attending physicians do not attend on a regular basis. I do agree that having a physician write the letter after having the medical students vouch for me would undoubtedly come across as more professional/legitimate.

The question that I still have though is: How does asking for a medical student for a letter of recommendation in my situation differ from asking for a letter of recommendation from a volunteer supervisor in a hypothetical, non-medically related volunteer site?

I wonder if you are at the clinic I worked at, it sounds really familiar. The question I have is what exactly are you doing at the clinic? Are you doing triage (e.g. vitals and rooming) or actually working on histories an exams? Do you actually have contact with the attendings? I ask because if your responsibilities do not put you in contact with attendings then they may have some concerns writing a letter talking about things that have nothing to do with them. On the other hand, if the issue is a lack of consistency of the attending present, I would talk to the med student in charge of volunteers or administration. Explain the situation and ask what they suggest. As mentioned, they all know what its like trying to get letters, and most likely would know which attending would be willing to help out.