MD Advice: Writing my own residency letter of recommendation - points to hit & topics to include

[Welshman]

Hi everyone,

I've been lucky (IMO) to be tasked with writing my own LoR for a surgeon I've worked closely with throughout medical school, mainly in a research capacity but a few cases in the OR. My main question is what do PDs/reviewers like to see in these letters?

I'm planning on hitting some of the major traits like fund of knowledge, teamwork, self-sufficiency, leadership, and communication but is there anything specific that you really look for or value outside of those? Or perhaps a certain way of framing those virtues that add more value than simply stating them with an example.

Additionally, are there any specific phrases I should be sure to include? So far from searching and advice from schools advisors, I've found including something along the lines of "we will rank him to match at our program" is like a dog whistle for reviewers. Can you guys think of any other phrases which will make for a kickass letter? a la John Forbes Nash's style

Spoiler: best letter of recommendation ever

I've known this was coming for a while and I've kept good notes of things they've told me I've done well and my accomplishments with them over the years so I have plenty of specific examples of things to draw upon while writing. Any help you guys can give would be greatly appreciated!

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[Lawpy]

Writing your own letter isn't really a great thing since your attending should make the time to write a strong letter for you

Some good advice can be found here: Writing my Own Letter of Recomendation

 

[Welshman]

Writing your own letter isn't really a great thing since your attending should make the time to write a strong letter for you

Some good advice can be found here: Writing my Own Letter of Recomendation

Thanks for the link! I read through as well but thought I'd phrase it a bit differently and ask in the MD forum since that post wasn't met with much fanfare.

I definitely understand that. however, I feel that with most attendings, I can hit on some of my more salient points and use specific examples more reliably than they could. Yes an amazing letter would be written entirely by the attending, include personal anecdotes, and the whole nine yards, but with the vast majority of attendings, while they may love us as students they don't have the mental bandwidth, nor do we have the priority, to keep all of these small but meaningful interactions in their mind for 3-4 years. With this attending in particular (non-native speaker and, since I understand his native language, sometimes writes as if it went through a mental google translate) I feel like I can give him a strong base from which to make edits.

 

[GoSpursGo]

Writing your own letter isn't really a great thing since your attending should make the time to write a strong letter for you

My mentors haven't submitted a letter that I haven't written at least in the last 5 years. Being a fellow at the time is clearly different from being a medical student, but the bottom line is that there isn't anything "wrong" with the practice unless they are just blindly submit it without editing. Invariably they're going to read what you wrote and make sure you don't overstate things. In general, if done strategically I do think it is advantageous to be able to write your own letter, as you can emphasize points that are also emphasized in the primary app, or you can make it complimentary to emphasize things that AREN'T in other parts of your app.

I think the linked thread is indeed helpful. The list of high points you mention are good, you just have to back them up with specific examples. Decide on a top 3-4 things to emphasize, as with anything else you don't want to go much longer than a page. Additionally, you could ask for some examples of letters that they have recently written and build your letter using that as a template. And yes, you should end with some borderline over-the-top line like " @Welshman is in the top 1% of students I have worked with." Again, if your mentor is uncomfortable with anything you write, they'll just edit it.

 

[operaman]

I’ve never done this is medicine but did it frequently in my past professional life. I would typically write glowing over the top letters and never had anyone edit them. For a student I would put typical buzz word phrases. Things like “one of the finest students I’ve ever encountered in my career,” and “I give my very highest recommendation.” Maybe list a couple of key accomplishments, that you are highly thought of by the entire department, etc. If you’re really brave, maybe even “will be at the top of our rank list and I hope they will chose to stay here with us, but will be a star where ever they ultimately decide to train.”

Go big. Most people don’t take the time to edit.

 

[mrbreakfast]

Writing your own letter isn't really a great thing since your attending should make the time to write a strong letter for you

I may be mistaken, but it is my impression that this is quite common in surgical fields.


In terms of letter advice, I agree with the comments above in the sense that you don't just need to paint yourself as a superior candidate, but as a candidate who is specifically superior to other candidates. Cutthroat, perhaps, but welcome to medicine.

 

[Lawpy]

I may be mistaken, but it is my impression that this is quite common in surgical fields.


In terms of letter advice, I agree with the comments above in the sense that you don't just need to paint yourself as a superior candidate, but as a candidate who is specifically superior to other candidates. Cutthroat, perhaps, but welcome to medicine.

This is... ... interesting. But hey, in that case, that's the game that should be played.

 

[Welshman]

Thanks for the awesome advice guys.

What would you guys recommend for length? I'm assuming that since it'll look like it was written by a colleague and it's more direct/concrete than a personal statement they are more likely to read something a bit longer. Right now I'm at a page and a half (1000 words). I think its a good length given this is a 3+ year relationship and will be my most detailed letter by far. Letterhead and signatures would probably fill out 2 full pages. I don't want to push it too far though...

 

[aldol16]

People aren't really going to read letters in depth after a page or so. I would try to keep it to about a page (could run into the next page just a little bit with the signature line and letterhead and stuff). So probably aim for 1.5 pages with the letterhead and signature included.

 

[GoSpursGo]

Thanks for the awesome advice guys.

What would you guys recommend for length? I'm assuming that since it'll look like it was written by a colleague and it's more direct/concrete than a personal statement they are more likely to read something a bit longer. Right now I'm at a page and a half (1000 words). I think its a good length given this is a 3+ year relationship and will be my most detailed letter by far. Letterhead and signatures would probably fill out 2 full pages. I don't want to push it too far though...

I generally agree aim for a page, but if you wind up at 1.5 and thus 2 pages with letterhead/etc, that's fine too.