Writing My Own LOR

I've been volunteering at a Medicaid clinic since September, and last week I asked the director for a rec letter. She told me that if I write one myself, she'll sign it. I know this isn't uncommon, but I wasn't expecting to ever be in this situation, so I have never thought about whether I would do it. If it was any other person, I probably would look elsewhere for a letter, but she is the director of where I volunteer and an MD, so I really would like a letter from her.

So my question is has anyone else written a letter themselves? What did you write in it? And also, are there ethical issues I should be aware of in doing this, that is, can I get in trouble for doing this?

I don't know about the ethics because it might be kind of questionable, but I don't see anything that you can get in trouble for because in the end, she IS signing the letter. So although she isn't actually doing the brainstorming and writing in the letter, she is signing her name to it and thereby essentially giving her consent to what the letter says. Presumably, if she reads what you write and decides that she doesn't think it's true, she could refuse to sign it. It doesn't sound illegal to me. The questionable thing is if schools believe you waived your right to see the letter and you not only read it, but actually wrote it, it might be a little bit misleading. If you don't waive the right to see your LORs, they supposedly have a lot less weight with the committee. Then again, I'm not sure if there is a rule against waiving your right to read the letter and then the writer offers you the chance to read it and you do. Like can you waive your right to read it, but then read it if the letter writer volunteers it? I'm not sure about that.

i think the deal is that you waive your rights to request to see it from wherever you are sending it. there's nothing in that rule that says you haven't seen it before it's sent out. that's how i interpret that rule, anyway.

scentimint said:

i think the deal is that you waive your rights to request to see it from wherever you are sending it. there's nothing in that rule that says you haven't seen it before it's sent out. that's how i interpret that rule, anyway.

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i like your reasoning...are you sure you don't want to go to law school? 🙂

haha, i've thought about it, but i think i'm sticking with medicine.

scentimint said:

i think the deal is that you waive your rights to request to see it from wherever you are sending it. there's nothing in that rule that says you haven't seen it before it's sent out. that's how i interpret that rule, anyway.

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Exactly, when you waive your right to see it, you are waiving your legal to see the letter. It says nothing if you are allowed to see it, have written it, etc... Heck, you could even ask the school to see the letter (not that I would recommend that), you just can't exercise your legal right to do so 😉

No one has really addressed the ethical issue yet.
Ethics is, of course, concerned not only with what is right/wrong, but why a given action may be right or wrong. It gives one guidance in situations where no one is looking, and I think that this is certainly one of those times, since only you and the physician will know what really happened.

My opinion is as such: The schools request a letter of evaluation from Dr. X. While I never saw anything explicitly stating that it had to be written by Dr. X, I believe that it is implicit that it the evaluation be written by the requested party. To write your own evaluation (your intellectual property), give it to another to pass off as his/her own work seems dishonest, and unethical.

Either way, it is a pretty bad position for that doctor to put you in. While it could be a test to see if you go for it, more likely it just feels insulting that this person won't take time to do this for you. I know professors and physicians are busy people, but they all were in our shoes at one point.

Speaking as someone that was in this situation a year ago. Don't think too much into it...

I asked my pre-med advisor (contrary to popular experience, I had a damn good one). Yes, while you waive your right to see the letter, this is for the author's protection. There is nothing saying you haven't, if the author decides to show it to you, this is fine and dandy. Or in this case, you may know the contents of the letter that the doc is signing for you.

When I wrote my own, the doc I worked with reviewed it, suggested changes (all for the better) and had me revise it. Don't worry, the doc won't put his/her name on something fraudlent.

This is not uncommon in academic circles, don't worry about the ethics, don't worry about anyone finding out. It's no big deal... really.

Now, what to put in it?

I would write about specific qualities you have that will make you a good doctor, then follow up with specific examples of things you've done in clinic demonstrating those qualities. This is not a time for modesty, it's someone else speaking for you, so go nuts.

You have a great opportunity here, be sure to take advantage of it.

I wrote my LOR from my employer. I asked/emailed my coworkers about the attributes I bring to my job. I took their responses and fit them into my letter. It was glowing. I will PM you my letter so that you have an idea.

I had a doctor do the same thing to me. I would have preferred the physician to write the letter than have to write it myself. After all, I'm not a physician, I don't know yet what makes a good physician and am not capable of writing a rec letter like a physician. Anyway, I wrote the letter because in this scenerio the doctor didn't give me a choice. I didn't feel it was unethical because I sent the letter to the doctor and he said he would make some changes and then sent it on. I didn't see the end result so really have no idea what he added. I also was very careful to write only things in the letter that were true and things that he knew about me, giving actual examples from the time we've known eachother.
Anyway, its a situation that I would have preferred not to find myself in but I hope I handled it the right way.

Karl_Hungus said:

No one has really addressed the ethical issue yet.
Ethics is, of course, concerned not only with what is right/wrong, but why a given action may be right or wrong. It gives one guidance in situations where no one is looking, and I think that this is certainly one of those times, since only you and the physician will know what really happened.

My opinion is as such: The schools request a letter of evaluation from Dr. X. While I never saw anything explicitly stating that it had to be written by Dr. X, I believe that it is implicit that it the evaluation be written by the requested party. To write your own evaluation (your intellectual property), give it to another to pass off as his/her own work seems dishonest, and unethical.

Either way, it is a pretty bad position for that doctor to put you in. While it could be a test to see if you go for it, more likely it just feels insulting that this person won't take time to do this for you. I know professors and physicians are busy people, but they all were in our shoes at one point.

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Actually, it is very common for professors to ask students to write their own LOR. It is definitely NOT unethical as long as they are signing their name on their document. This shows that they have read the letter that you wrote (for yourself) and that they agree with the content.

To the OP: This is a great opportunity to write an amazing LOR for yourself so take your time with it. Go on Google and look at the different types of sample LORs to see how they should be worded and what kind of stuff should be included in them. Put yourself in your MD mentor's shoes and write about what he or she thinks is unique about you. If possible, recall any specific incidents where you may have made an impact while volunteering and write about that as well. I suggest that you don't finalize the letter completely but rather send a polished rough draft to your mentor for approval and any finishing touches that they may want to add. This way, you are providing your guy with an outline of what you want in the letter and they can then add or subtract from it (or leave it the way it is) and send it off to the school.

One last thing, don't be shy while writing the letter. Put down your best qualities and qualifications and don't be ashamed to talk about yourself positively and present yourself in a strong light. You are getting the unique opportunity to write a letter about yourself - it is almost like being able to supplement your personal statement so milk this for all its worth. Good Luck.

Karl_Hungus said:

My opinion is as such: The schools request a letter of evaluation from Dr. X. While I never saw anything explicitly stating that it had to be written by Dr. X, I believe that it is implicit that it the evaluation be written by the requested party. To write your own evaluation (your intellectual property), give it to another to pass off as his/her own work seems dishonest, and unethical.

Either way, it is a pretty bad position for that doctor to put you in. While it could be a test to see if you go for it, more likely it just feels insulting that this person won't take time to do this for you. I know professors and physicians are busy people, but they all were in our shoes at one point.

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Writing a draft at the recommender's request is NOT equivalent to falsifying a LOR and signing another person's name to it. I have also written LORs for myself, and I disagree that doing so at the recommender's request is unethical. In fact, any time a student of mine has asked me to write him/her a LOR, I ALWAYS ask the student to write me a draft first. This does two things: it lets me know what the student thinks are his/her important accomplishments and relevant attributes, and second, it saves me time. It's a lot faster for me to edit the student's letter than it is for me to write one from scratch, and considering that the LOR means a lot more to the student than it does to me, I think it is fair to ask the student to spend the bulk of the time and effort needed to compose it. If the student writes something that I think is over the top or inaccurate, I am free as the final writer to delete it and subsitute something more suitable. Interestingly, I usually find that the students are too modest, and it is *I* who am adding extra superlatives.

OP, go ahead and write the draft like your recommender asked you to do. In it, try to specifically describe examples of what you think makes you a good candidate for medical school and to be a physician. In other words, give specific examples of things you did while volunteering at that clinic that show your compassion and commitment to a career in medicine. When you give the draft to your recommender, also give her a CV with all of your AMCAS activities, your college transcript, and a copy of your PS. She is then free to make any changes she likes, or, to use your letter as is. Assuming you are not holding a gun to her head to force her to sign it, or forging her name on something without her knowledge, you are not doing anything unethical.

My boss had me write my own LOR this year, and it was a good experience. In addition to the reasons listed above, consider your audience. Med schools are looking for specific things and your prof may not know how to write to that audience. They will write about what they think is important, instead of providing evidence that you have the attributes med schools are looking for. Writing your own LOR gives you the opportunity to ensure that your target audience will have their questions answered.

RxnMan said:

My boss had me write my own LOR this year, and it was a good experience. In addition to the reasons listed above, consider your audience. Med schools are looking for specific things and your prof may not know how to write to that audience. They will write about what they think is important, instead of providing evidence that you have the attributes med schools are looking for. Writing your own LOR gives you the opportunity to ensure that your target audience will have their questions answered.

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So what kind of details did you include that you thought your boss would miss? Would you mind PMing me the letter?

i agree with those who said it's a good exercise to write the LOR. you'll certainly get a lot out of sitting down and thinking about your characteristics and qualities that make you a great candidate for medical school. you know the target audience. you know your strengths. and there's nothing unethical about it since your boss will ultimately decide what stays and what goes. it can save yourself on the little details, too. my boss wrote a letter for me that said i got a 4.0 gpa. i had to politely inform him afterward that i didn't quite have a 4.0 (maybe he was rounding way up??), but it was too late to change it.

but after re-reading the OP, it kind of sounds like your boss just wants you to write something and she will sign it. i hope she intends to look it through and make sure she approves everything.

another suggestion (if you're uncomfortable with writing the letter yourself) is to ask your boss if she can sit down with you for 15 minutes or so to talk about what you'd like to have included in the letter. it sounds like your boss is a busy person, but maybe this would work. just a suggestion.

Most of you here are overanalyzing the situation. You were asked to write a draft of the letter. So write it. Unethical? It might be near the line, but not over it. And it certainly is legal.

And who cares that you know what is in the letter? I sometimes give a copy of the LOR to the student for whom I wrote it. If I was uncomfortable in showing a letter to a student, then I wouldn't have written it in the first place. And students always appreciate knowing what was written about them.

scentimint said:

it kind of sounds like your boss just wants you to write something and she will sign it. i hope she intends to look it through and make sure she approves everything.

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thanks for the input. sorry i didn't write more clearly, but she definitely is going to look over it. i really just posted originally because i wanted to know if there was anything wrong in doing this and what i should write in a LOR.

to be completely honest, i think she asked me to write the letter because her english skills aren't exceptional. she came from india several decades ago but still works almost exclusively within the local indian community (the clinic is located in an indian neighborhood in chicago, and the majority of patients are recent immigrants without insurance). she probably asked me just because i could write a better letter in english than she could.