Anesthesia letter of recommendation

[SigmaChadwick]

Hey everyone, I just wanted to ask whether having all anesthesiology letter of recommendations would be a negative as opposed to a diversified set.

Currently I have:
My anesthesia mentor that I do clinical and research with (closest relationship, extremely strong). Treats me like family and started my interest into anesthesiology. Non-negotiable inclusion

Research year LOR from anesthesia PI (extremely strong). Institution I did my research year at is my #1 choice and he’s the chair of research there

School Anesthesia advisor that I have extensive clinical experience with. co-runs clerkship for anesthesia (extremely strong). He’s written me a LOR before and it’s the best I’ve ever read

Anesthesia residency director I have extensive clinical experience with. Also Co-runs anesthesia clerkship. (Above average)

My concern is that, if I had to remove one, I’d probably drop the letter from my home PD. It feels odd to not include it, given that they’re the PD, but I’m wondering if it might be better for diversity to swap it out with a letter from my Internal Medicine clerkship director. I’ve worked with this person on our admissions subcommittee of 4 people, and alongside the letter being likely above average, it would provide another dimension outside of anesthesia (IM + extracurriculars).

What do you think—should I stick with the home PD letter, or swap it for more diversity in my application?

Note: I also have yet to do an away rotation. I’ve heard a letter from an away is essentially mandatory if you end up doing an away. If I get an away letter, does that change things?

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[Gern Blansten]

What you have listed will be fine. If you want to add an away letter, just pick one of the existing to leave out. Just recall that whoever you leave out will likely notice, when they see your local application, that you didn’t use their letter. Letters of recommendation take time to write, so be respectful of those you ask and don’t waste their time if you don’t plan to use their letter.

 

[AKMD_1984]

Drop the research one
Not the clinical ones

 

[nimbus]

Drop the research one
Not the clinical ones

Even if the letter writer is from their 1st choice program?

 

[AKMD_1984]

No but the research activity will reflect on the cv and can be discussed.

I personally think it’s bad look that you’re dropping the attending that you did clerkships with. I think that’s important

If the research faculty is not active clinical faculty I’d drop it…it’s not an easy answer

If they’re lab based then I don’t know if I’d value that unless you’re going to be continuing research during residency in some capacity… and you expect that to be a major point of conversation,

Most if not all residents are focused on getting clinically proficient studying for ITE and passing boards and surviving vs looking at research

I don’t know. I’m speaking as a pp doc. I’ve come across docs that could give nice lectures but had two left hands…

This is a good problem to have but it would be awkward to use someone for their letter and not use it at their program

 

[SigmaChadwick]

Would two letters of recommendation focused on clinical performance be considered sufficient? I have two attendings I did clerkship with (anesthesia mentor and advisor). My main concern is that it could be seen as a red flag either way—whether I don’t include a letter from my anesthesia program director or from my research PI during my gap year.

The letter from my research PI will include some clinical observations, but it will naturally be less hands-on compared to my home institution due to legal limitations. For instance, at my home hospital, I was more involved with procedures like placing A-lines, IVs, and airway access. During my research year, my clinical exposure is mostly observational; however, the research itself is clinical research in nature and spans the entire department at a top 10 hospital. I plan on continuing research during residency and doing fellowship down the line.

That said, my clinical abilities will already be well-supported by letters from my anesthesia mentor and my school’s anesthesia advisor.

 

[AKMD_1984]

You’ll be fine either way I think

Just go with your gut