Thank You Notes For Shadowing

[Chamomile Tea]

So I just finished up 3 amazing weeks shadowing at a surgical unit at a very well known hospital. I got this opportunity from the most unlikely way ever and I could not be more grateful. So there's no doubt that I'm going to be giving out thank you notes for them allowing me to be there.

My dilemma is that I did shadow a lot people (PA Students, Fellows, PAs, NPs, Physicians), some way more than others. Should I give a thank you note to everyone I shadowed or should I just reserve thank you notes to the ones I spent a lot of time with and who would remember me better?

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[panda16]

Is there a central "nursing station" that you were at during the time you were shadowing? Because maybe you could send it to that place and then they would like pin it on the wall and everyone could see it and know that you love them all equally.

Edit: that sounded super sarcastic, didn't mean for it to! Like I do the same thing at the end of each summer I volunteer at this clinic.

 

[Chamomile Tea]

@panda16 There was a workroom where everybody was stationed. It would be a lot easier to just send one big thank you note to all of them, so I won't have to struggle writing individualized thank you notes to ones I didn't get to know as well.

 

[allantois]

Give it to the person writing your LOR

 

[Chamomile Tea]

Haha good point @allantois. I'll probably end up writing one big one to the entire office and a personalized one to the person writing my LOR.

 

[mimelim]

For starters, do not get a LOR from someone who you shadowed for 3 weeks (or even less in your case). Second, thank you notes are nice, but sending one to people you shadow is a bit overkill. If you want to send one to someone who helped setup your opportunity, that would be a different story...

 

[allantois]

For starters, do not get a LOR from someone who you shadowed for 3 weeks (or even less in your case). Second, thank you notes are nice, but sending one to people you shadow is a bit overkill. If you want to send one to someone who helped setup your opportunity, that would be a different story...

It sounded like OP shadowed daily for 3 weeks.

 

[mimelim]

It sounded like OP shadowed daily for 3 weeks.

Even if you shadowed one person every single day for 3 weeks, that will produce a very weak letter of recommendation. In the OPs case, he shadowed multiple people during the time period. It is one thing to get a shadowing LOR because you are doing things last minute and can't get anything better. It is another to tell people that they should do it. Shadowing letters are weak and should be avoided if at all possible.

 

[allantois]

Even if you shadowed one person every single day for 3 weeks, that will produce a very weak letter of recommendation. In the OPs case, he shadowed multiple people during the time period. It is one thing to get a shadowing LOR because you are doing things last minute and can't get anything better. It is another to tell people that they should do it. Shadowing letters are weak and should be avoided if at all possible.

Would it be better to get a letter from a family friend then if they know you very well? I cannot imagine shadowing anyone for even 3 weeks straight. My school requires a physician letter for the committee.

 

[Azete]

Even if you shadowed one person every single day for 3 weeks, that will produce a very weak letter of recommendation. In the OPs case, he shadowed multiple people during the time period. It is one thing to get a shadowing LOR because you are doing things last minute and can't get anything better. It is another to tell people that they should do it. Shadowing letters are weak and should be avoided if at all possible.

What would you recommend for the required physician letter? I can't imagine too many docs are itching to grab beers with pre-meds.

 

[mimelim]

Would it be better to get a letter from a family friend then if they know you very well? I cannot imagine shadowing anyone for even 3 weeks straight. My school requires a physician letter for the committee.

What would you recommend for the required physician letter? I can't imagine too many docs are itching to grab beers with pre-meds.

Family friends are generally seen as nonos.

Most places do not have required letters from physicians. I have no idea what DO schools are looking for in them. If it is a requirement for a committee or a school, then you have to bite the bullet and get one from whoever you can. A letter from and MD you did research with or volunteered with would be preferable to a shadowing letter.

 

[Azete]

Family friends are generally seen as nonos.

Most places do not have required letters from physicians. I have no idea what DO schools are looking for in them. If it is a requirement for a committee or a school, then you have to bite the bullet and get one from whoever you can. A letter from and MD you did research with or volunteered with would be preferable to a shadowing letter.

Or, in my case, find one that you got out of legal trouble and owes you a favor. Sad but true.

 

[Chamomile Tea]

Even if you shadowed one person every single day for 3 weeks, that will produce a very weak letter of recommendation. In the OPs case, he shadowed multiple people during the time period. It is one thing to get a shadowing LOR because you are doing things last minute and can't get anything better. It is another to tell people that they should do it. Shadowing letters are weak and should be avoided if at all possible.

I guess I should have added a little more detail to my OP. I did shadow multiple people in the three weeks (I was there pretty much every day), but I was technically under one person (the one who set me up to shadow there). I primarily shadowed that person (a PA, if that matters), but the rest of the people there didn't mind if tagged along with them with other patients or in the OR. There were days where the person I was primarily under wasn't in the office so I would shadowed whoever was around.

I understand what you're saying about the shadowing LOR @mimelim . I didn't ask for one when I was there because I wasn't sure about if it was a good idea at the moment (I'm going to be around them some more at a later date). I probably won't ask for one if they aren't that helpful in the long run.

Oh and just for the record, I'm a girl.

 

[Mad Jack]

Family friends are generally seen as nonos.

Most places do not have required letters from physicians. I have no idea what DO schools are looking for in them. If it is a requirement for a committee or a school, then you have to bite the bullet and get one from whoever you can. A letter from and MD you did research with or volunteered with would be preferable to a shadowing letter.

DO schools generally just want a letter that says "kid seems alright, probably not a sociopath, has good intentions, etc" from someone you shadowed. It is more a formality than anything- they aren't looking for something substantive, just a physician to give you a look and decide if your interest in medicine is genuine.

 

[Mad Jack]

I guess I should have added a little more detail to my OP. I did shadow multiple people in the three weeks (I was there pretty much every day), but I was technically under one person (the one who set me up to shadow there). I primarily shadowed that person (a PA, if that matters), but the rest of the people there didn't mind if tagged along with them with other patients or in the OR. There were days where the person I was primarily under wasn't in the office so I would shadowed whoever was around.

I understand what you're saying about the shadowing LOR @mimelin. I didn't ask for one when I was there because I wasn't sure about if it was a good idea at the moment (I'm going to be around them some more at a later date). I probably won't ask for one if they aren't that helpful in the long run.

Oh and just for the record, I'm a girl.

Physician LORs have zero value outside of schools that require them (DO schools, basically), unless you were doing research or something substantive with the physician in question.

 

[Goro]

The COMs require the clinical LOR to show Adcoms that applicants know a doctor's day is like, even though most clinician LORs are fluff. But the key point is getting a DO LOR. That shows us someone is willing to go the extra mile to find out about their future profession. An MD LOR is acceptable (to most DO schools) because not all areas of the country are as DO-rich as the East coast and the Midwest.

Family friends are generally seen as nonos.

Most places do not have required letters from physicians. I have no idea what DO schools are looking for in them. If it is a requirement for a committee or a school, then you have to bite the bullet and get one from whoever you can. A letter from and MD you did research with or volunteered with would be preferable to a shadowing letter.