Question about LOR author title/department

[DF38]

What kind of description do they want (and do programs even care what's there)? For example, Assistant Professor of Medicine vs. Associate Program Director? Or for an ICU attending, should I list Pulmonary/Critical Care, or just Assistant Professor of Medicine?

What is everyone else putting?

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[alwaysaangel]

What kind of description do they want (and do programs even care what's there)? For example, Assistant Professor of Medicine vs. Associate Program Director? Or for an ICU attending, should I list Pulmonary/Critical Care, or just Assistant Professor of Medicine?

What is everyone else putting?

I put the more specific/higher level title. So if they were an associate professor and program director - I put Program Director. Not sure if thats the way to do it but its impossible to fit both on that line.

 

[swtiepie711]

I put the more specific/higher level title. So if they were an associate professor and program director - I put Program Director. Not sure if thats the way to do it but its impossible to fit both on that line.

Did you list a department? If so, how'd you format it? It asks for title/department, but doing the slash looks off/funky....

 

[alwaysaangel]

Did you list a department? If so, how'd you format it? It asks for title/department, but doing the slash looks off/funky....

Since thats how they asked for it thats what I did: eg. "Program Director/Internal Medicine"

 

[swtiepie711]

Hmpf. Thanks for the thoughts. Not to hijack the thread, but since your online & replying quickly how are you picking letters for your field? I have 2 letters within the field I'm applying to, one from another field and one from someone I haven't worked clinically with but who knows me well (the best of any of my letter writers) and I have a feeling that letter may very well be my strongest. For programs that ask for 3 how are you deciding which to leave out? (ive been told to submit only what they ask for - if they ask for 2, submit 2; if they ask for 3, submit 3, etc) thx for any thoughts

 

[alwaysaangel]

Hmpf. Thanks for the thoughts. Not to hijack the thread, but since your online & replying quickly how are you picking letters for your field? I have 2 letters within the field I'm applying to, one from another field and one from someone I haven't worked clinically with but who knows me well (the best of any of my letter writers) and I have a feeling that letter may very well be my strongest. For programs that ask for 3 how are you deciding which to leave out? (ive been told to submit only what they ask for - if they ask for 2, submit 2; if they ask for 3, submit 3, etc) thx for any thoughts

Hmm. Yeah not really sure on that one. All my letters are from my specialty and I am not sure about what to do about programs that ask for "3" but don't necessarily specify a maximum of 3.

 

[DF38]

Thanks for the advice.

Hmm. Yeah not really sure on that one. All my letters are from my specialty and I am not sure about what to do about programs that ask for "3" but don't necessarily specify a maximum of 3.

I've been told to submit 3 in that case.

 

[notdeadyet]

What kind of description do they want (and do programs even care what's there)? For example, Assistant Professor of Medicine vs. Associate Program Director? Or for an ICU attending, should I list Pulmonary/Critical Care, or just Assistant Professor of Medicine?

I'd be curious if Program Directors see this and if they do, if they even give it a second thought other than to download the relevant files to actually read.

 

[atsai3]

What kind of description do they want (and do programs even care what's there)? For example, Assistant Professor of Medicine vs. Associate Program Director? Or for an ICU attending, should I list Pulmonary/Critical Care, or just Assistant Professor of Medicine?

What is everyone else putting?

Your letter writer likely signed her letter with all relevant positions (eg., "Associate Professor", "Assistant Program Director for Ob/Gyn Residency Training", "Deputy Director, Institute for Global Health"), so application reviewers will see them when they read the letter. If your letter writer didn't sign her letter with a particular position noted, then your putting it down in some ERAS field won't affect how it is viewed.

-AT.

 

[smarterchild]

i was told it was ok to write just the type of physician the writer is. e.g. "dermatologist" in the title/dept field. that's what i did. do you think that will be ok?

 

[bigtymer]

hey i know its better to have attendings who are more notable in the field to write you letters but do PDs/programs actually do a little background check on the letter writers if theyre not familiar with them and find out how many publications they have, which journals, and where they did their residency/fellowship?

 

[Nicholaus]

I don't mean to hijack this thread, but are Programs able to view the LOR writer and info (i.e. name/title/designation; however you designated it) or do they only view LOR-1, LOR-2, etc. until they download the actual letters?

The reason I'm asking is because one of my Document Submission Forms (DSF) was NOT sent along with the LOR; the letter writer is VERY influential in the specialty I'm applying for.

 

[NotAProgDirector]

I don't mean to hijack this thread, but are Programs able to view the LOR writer and info (i.e. name/title/designation; however you designated it) or do they only view LOR-1, LOR-2, etc. until they download the actual letters?

The reason I'm asking is because one of my Document Submission Forms (DSF) was NOT sent along with the LOR; the letter writer is VERY influential in the specialty I'm applying for.

We will see whatever you entered when you created the slot for the LOR. If you failed to submit a DSF, then it's up to the ECFMG to make sure that the correct letter ends up in the correct slot. The DSF has a bar code on it that helps automate the process. So, assuming the ECFMG doesn't screw up, it won't make any difference.

Here's what the ECFMG says about the DSF:

ERAS Support Services at ECFMG strongly urges all ERAS 2011 participants to include a completed Document Submission Form (DSF) each time document(s) are submitted to ECFMG for scanning. The DSF is an important part of ERAS Support Services’ document tracking system, and will streamline the preparation of ERAS supporting documents submitted for scanning. Submission of a DSF also enables itemized tracking of these supporting documents through the “Verify Receipt of ERAS Documents” function of ECFMG’s OASIS.

hey i know its better to have attendings who are more notable in the field to write you letters but do PDs/programs actually do a little background check on the letter writers if theyre not familiar with them and find out how many publications they have, which journals, and where they did their residency/fellowship?

It will be program / PD dependent. In general, no. We interview 100's of people, trying to call / check / google all of them would not be feasible.

i was told it was ok to write just the type of physician the writer is. e.g. "dermatologist" in the title/dept field. that's what i did. do you think that will be ok?

Totally fine. No one is really going to care what you put there, it's what's in the letter that counts.

 

[bigtymer]

thanks for the quick reply. Another question, I know you answered it in a previous thread, but just as a double check, for IMGs should we submit a LOR from the head of our department of medicine? I go to med school in Europe and and a department letter is pretty standard. Should I use this letter or would you recommend using that slot for an LOR by a north american attending that you worked with?

 

[NotAProgDirector]

You should have at least one letter from your home school. If you worked with your department head, or if they are comfortable writing a composite letter, then that's a good option. But US letters are more important than home letters.

 

[fmgtiger]

You should have at least one letter from your home school. If you worked with your department head, or if they are comfortable writing a composite letter, then that's a good option. But US letters are more important than home letters.

I have 4 LORs from American rotations. In general, do you think not having one from my home school will have a negative impact on their decision to interview? thanx in advance..

 

[NotAProgDirector]

I have 4 LORs from American rotations. In general, do you think not having one from my home school will have a negative impact on their decision to interview? thanx in advance..

No, not really. You'll have your MSPE. Rarely do people have 4 US letters. That's fine.

 

[superhero16]

I have the same situation. I was unsure about the titles and left in a generic title like "Associate Professor" instead of being more specific like "Chair of IM." Do I need to create a new set of slots? I'm worried that programs that require a letter from the chair will dismiss my application if its not in the title of the slot. Any advice?

 

[bigtymer]

would you recommend then changing one of my LOR slots from my home school department head to a letter from a physician ive worked with in Canada...there are a few places that still havent downloaded my application yet so there is time

 

[NotAProgDirector]

I have the same situation. I was unsure about the titles and left in a generic title like "Associate Professor" instead of being more specific like "Chair of IM." Do I need to create a new set of slots? I'm worried that programs that require a letter from the chair will dismiss my application if its not in the title of the slot. Any advice?

No, you are worried about nothing. It does not matter what you have put for titles in the slots. Leave it alone, you could really screw things up by mucking with it.

 

[NotAProgDirector]

would you recommend then changing one of my LOR slots from my home school department head to a letter from a physician ive worked with in Canada...there are a few places that still havent downloaded my application yet so there is time

If you;ve already assigned letters, you cannot "switch" them. If you try to do so, all of the letters will be sent, some as "active" and some as "inactive".

 

[Lhiari]

Dear Aprogdirector,
I am trying to know if I mistakenly assigned an LOR author as a Department Chair, would this disqualify my application? It is really causing me much anxiety and I would appreciate the advice.

 

[gutonc]

Dear Aprogdirector,
I am trying to know if I mistakenly assigned an LOR author as a Department Chair, would this disqualify my application? It is really causing me much anxiety and I would appreciate the advice.

Nobody will care. It will be obvious when the LOR comes who it's from.

 

[NotAProgDirector]

Agreed. On the grand scale of things, this is a minor annoyance

 

[AestheticAnesthetic]

Sorry, I know this thread is over a year old now but since its on a similar topic as my question. Where it says:

"This LoR Author is a Department Chair where I completed my clerkship training. Group departmental letters must be signed by the team composing the letter."


What does that mean?I'm confused because I'm an international grad and at our school we have Head of Departments, I'm assuming that Department Chair= Head of Department? If I'm asking the head of department of my desired specialty at my home medical school to write me an LOR, would I choose yes or no for this option?

Thanks in advance for your help.

 

[FlowLimited]

Sorry, I know this thread is over a year old now but since its on a similar topic as my question. Where it says:

"This LoR Author is a Department Chair where I completed my clerkship training. Group departmental letters must be signed by the team composing the letter."


What does that mean?I'm confused because I'm an international grad and at our school we have Head of Departments, I'm assuming that Department Chair= Head of Department? If I'm asking the head of department of my desired specialty at my home medical school to write me an LOR, would I choose yes or no for this option?

Thanks in advance for your help.

Yes, the department chair is the head of the department. You should choose yes.

 

[NotAProgDirector]

It really doesn't matter what you choose. The question is more geared towards USMD's.

 

[ElixirofLife]

I just started filling out the ERAS LoR fields and it turns out I may have mistakenly filled out the wrong thing for this field. I entered "Internal Medicine" under the "LoR Author Title/Department" instead of "Assistant Professor" for two of the letter writers. I didn't see any explicit instructions on ERAS so I thought it would be fine to enter either the title or department. Is this something I should be concerned about or call the ERAS help desk to see if they can change it? I just hope this doesn't have any negative repercussions going forward. I will be sure to at least label the department letter as "Chair/Internal Medicine." Thanks in advance!

 

[FlowLimited]

I just started filling out the ERAS LoR fields and it turns out I may have mistakenly filled out the wrong thing for this field. I entered "Internal Medicine" under the "LoR Author Title/Department" instead of "Assistant Professor" for two of the letter writers. I didn't see any explicit instructions on ERAS so I thought it would be fine to enter either the title or department. Is this something I should be concerned about or call the ERAS help desk to see if they can change it? I just hope this doesn't have any negative repercussions going forward. I will be sure to at least label the department letter as "Chair/Internal Medicine." Thanks in advance!

What you did is fine. This shouldn't matter at all so I wouldn't worry.

 

[NotAProgDirector]

It's meaningless. Do not worry.

 

[AestheticAnesthetic]

Yes, the department chair is the head of the department. You should choose yes.

Thank you very much

 

[AestheticAnesthetic]

It really doesn't matter what you choose. The question is more geared towards USMD's.

Thank you!

 

[SR6758]

Hi guys, on my LOR I accidently selected the 'PD' option, I overlooked the part about it being only for "residents or fellow" not medical students. The letter has already been uplaoded by the physician. I am freaking out a bit. Don't want to be an inconvience to physcian by asking him to upload the letter again. Any thoughts? Will this affect the application negativley?? thanx

 

[NotAProgDirector]

No, this happens frequently and is meaningless.

 

[SR6758]

No, this happens frequently and is meaningless.

Thank you for the reply!