attending wrote I would be great for a specialty I'm not applying to!!!

[dingleberry007]

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hello everyone...

I am applying to Internal Medicine for the match, and I was talking to one of my ER attendings today that wrote me a recommendation letter. I did ER many months ago and at the time I was interested in ER but over time I decided on IM. My ER attending wrote me a very good letter, but he told me today that he wrote something to the effect of "I think this student would be great for ER".

I've included this letter to a lot of IM programs. Will this cause a huge issue during an interview? Will people think that ER is my first choice and IM is a backup???

any suggestions on what to do?
thanks everyone...

 

[PlutoBoy]

hello everyone...

I am applying to Internal Medicine for the match, and I was talking to one of my ER attendings today that wrote me a recommendation letter. I did ER many months ago and at the time I was interested in ER but over time I decided on IM. My ER attending wrote me a very good letter, but he told me today that he wrote something to the effect of "I think this student would be great for ER".

I've included this letter to a lot of IM programs. Will this cause a huge issue during an interview? Will people think that ER is my first choice and IM is a backup???

any suggestions on what to do?
thanks everyone...

You tell them that IM residents rotate in the ER, too. 😀

 

[lipomas]

People can be well suited for multiple fields. Just because he/she said you were a great ER candidate does not mean you are also not a great IM candidate. Unless of course the letter said something like, "this student is well suited for EM and I cannot see them in any other field." If the letter predominantly focuses on your aptitude for EM residency training then it is probably not going to be as helpful. But if it is a general praiseworthy letter which happens to be from an EM physician it is more helpful.

 

[dingleberry007]

People can be well suited for multiple fields. Just because he/she said you were a great ER candidate does not mean you are also not a great IM candidate. Unless of course the letter said something like, "this student is well suited for EM and I cannot see them in any other field." If the letter predominantly focuses on your aptitude for EM residency training then it is probably not going to be as helpful. But if it is a general praiseworthy letter which happens to be from an EM physician it is more helpful.

From what I gather, it is praise worthy in terms of work ethic and personality and less so with the specifics of ER. I was just worried that I'll get bombarded with doubt at an interview and them thinking I don't want IM and won't be ranked.

If it comes up, and I use the truth (what I stated above about being interested in ER initially and then changing my mind), do you think they'll be ok with that?

is this offense serious enough to warrant de-assigning this letter to programs? I would HATE to do this since I think this is a very good letter on my behalf. But I don't want to scare people off...

this is what I get for not talking to him before he sent it out just to make sure! i didn't even consider this issue at the time! lol

 

[lipomas]

I would be ok with that. I have more doubts about the applicant who was born wanting to be a neurosurgeon, went to med school wanting to be a neurosurgeon, and now is applying to neurosurgery than I have about the applicant who was born wanting to be a neurosurgeon, went to med school wanting to be a plastic surgeon, and is now applying to be a pediatrician. Motivations can change, as can career choices. The key questions are why they are changing and if they are likely to change again.

 

[lowbudget]

If you're a homerun applicant, I don't think it'd be a big deal but it does raise questions from people (adcom) who don't know you and have a little time to make an impression of you. It does raise a question about your commitment to the field and whether you're a flight risk.

If the letter is good, the letter is good. You can always justify it in the interview if it's a question or a flag. It's your decision if you want to de-assign it. Still got time to have him reassign it? It had that happen to me when I asked a surgical attending to write my primary care recommendation. I think it might have devalued the letter because it calls into question whether the attending knew me well enough.

Didn't you tell him what specialty you were applying to?

Anyways, regardless, if attendings are going to write this kind of crap, at least say something like, "while I would love to have him as a emergency medicine resident, s/he would be a great physician in any residency".

 

[Shadowboricua]

Our surgery residency program director used a LOR for an applicant which stated that the applicant will be a great anesthesiologist as an example of a bad thing to have. He said that the letter automatically got him rejected from being considered for an interview, even though the rest of the application was great. Remember, programs don't see if you are applying to other specialties. A letter like this one says: #1 The writer does not know you very well, #2 you might be applying to other specialties and are unsure of what you want.

 

[Pkboi24]

Our surgery residency program director used a LOR for an applicant which stated that the applicant will be a great anesthesiologist. He said that the letter automatically got him rejected from being considered for an interview, even though the rest of the application was great. Remember, programs don't see if you are applying to other specialties. A letter like this one says: #1 The writer does not know you very well, #2 you might be applying to other specialties and are unsure of what you want.

Agree with above. My first reaction would be "Wtf?". If you were truly a great candidate, I would interview you and give you a chance to explain. If not, I probably wouldn't bother. That is, of course, given that they even bother to read LoRs before sending out interview invites. I know some don't.