Can one interview turn into a DO LOR?

[tdittyx2x3]

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Hey guys,

Couldn't find this in any other threads. Maybe you can offer some advice. Heres the scoop: I've been having trouble finding a DO to shadow, but I called one who agreed to meet with me. I thought the whole "interview" went pretty well, pretty standard really, but it was primarily me asking him questions about the osteopathic philosophies and practices, etc. He happens to practice almost exclusively OMM, so that was pretty interesting.

Nonetheless, he offered to write me a LOR if I give him my resume and my personal statement, but he won't let me shadow him at all. I'm not sure if this is a risk I'm willing to take. I have an MD letter already, but as you all are aware, I really should get a DO one too. The problem is.. I barely know this guy. Literally, less than one hour. My prehealth adviser is actually the one who gave me his contact info, and my adviser told me there was a chance I could get a letter from him in this way.

Is this a terrible idea? This guy is not going to make up some great story about how long he's known me, and if he tells anything near the truth than it will look like a total lack of effort on my part. The good news is he will probably just talk about my resume, which is full of volunteer and clinical experiences. Also, I personally asked the DO about this, being that he didn't know me very well, and he said its been fine for many other people. Should I risk it on this guy? My adviser is telling me that I probably can...

 

[Deepa100]

I shadowed a DO for 1/2 day ( that is all he was willing to offer) and he agreed to write an LOR based on my PS and Resume but so far, has not written one. It as been a month since we met.😕

Now, I am considering the alternatives. I will be shadowing another DO soon and I could ask an MD for the letter...

 

[tdittyx2x3]

After cold-calling 5 DO's, and only getting one response that turns into this.. I'm thinking about just falling badly enough to need ER treatment, grabbing anyone with the letters DO on their name tag and asking them if I can shadow them sometime.

It appears it is the only way.

 

[SJonathan]

I had a hard time finding a DO as well. I made about 25 cold calls until I finally gave up and decided to shadow an associate of mine over an hour away. You'd think DO's would be a bit more empathetic to our situation.

 

[andexterouss]

Hey guys,

Couldn't find this in any other threads. Maybe you can offer some advice. Heres the scoop: I've been having trouble finding a DO to shadow, but I called one who agreed to meet with me. I thought the whole "interview" went pretty well, pretty standard really, but it was primarily me asking him questions about the osteopathic philosophies and practices, etc. He happens to practice almost exclusively OMM, so that was pretty interesting.

Nonetheless, he offered to write me a LOR if I give him my resume and my personal statement, but he won't let me shadow him at all. I'm not sure if this is a risk I'm willing to take. I have an MD letter already, but as you all are aware, I really should get a DO one too. The problem is.. I barely know this guy. Literally, less than one hour. My prehealth adviser is actually the one who gave me his contact info, and my adviser told me there was a chance I could get a letter from him in this way.

Is this a terrible idea? This guy is not going to make up some great story about how long he's known me, and if he tells anything near the truth than it will look like a total lack of effort on my part. The good news is he will probably just talk about my resume, which is full of volunteer and clinical experiences. Also, I personally asked the DO about this, being that he didn't know me very well, and he said its been fine for many other people. Should I risk it on this guy? My adviser is telling me that I probably can...

I'd say risk it and let me tell you why. Your stats are very good for a DO school and as long as the DO's letter is not terrible (forgets your name or something) then you are good to go. I shadowed a DO for over a month and he still asked for my resume when i asked for LOR.He later wrote me a generic letter..."he's a good student blah blah blah". So shadowing doesn't really equate to a great letter because you don't really do much but watch the doctor work. That's why a resume helps the doctor gauge your academic ability, extracurricular habits, social interests etc.

By the way, are you in PA? Your state has the highest number of DOs in the country. Not sure why you had a hard time finding one.

 

[tdittyx2x3]

I'm a PA resident, but I'm doing a Habitat project in Richmond, VA right now, which is actually turning into me feeling like a college student all over again. I've been sleeping on campus on random apartment couches for like two weeks now. You'd think I'd feel out of place having graduated and all, but no.. this life is truly amazing.

Just as an aside, thought I'd share this story about my very brief roommate BUTCH, a 45 year old here in Richmond. So yesterday I go to move in to this new house, just so I'd have a real bed to sleep in while I'm here in VA.. meet Butch, we hang out for a while, get to talking about what he does for a living... The guy is scams people as a day job. Starts telling me about his pyramid scam where he calls "old, divorced housewives" to give him $3,500. He then trains those women to go out and do the same thing, collecting a small profit from the people they get. I was like "dude, thats very illegal and definitely a pyramid scam." After trying to convince me it was legit, he goes, "Yea so I'm going to be getting a lot of money in cash in the mail here, so if anythings missing or something is weird you are going to be the first person I go to."

YEA RIGHT I'm staying there. I gotta drop off his key sometime today. Thank god I didn't leave anything there or give him any of my contact information.

 

[213965]

Wow tdittyx, I hope you worked everything out with that "roommate" :/

Anyway just updating on this board, after spamming 40+ D.O.'s in my area with regards to my lack of shadowing experience/physician LOR and desperately trying to apply this cycle, one person finally wrote me back!!

I have the option of shadowing him a few times over the next month, then having him write me the LOR (so it would be ready by mid-October), OR do a 30min interview with him over lunch next week, bring my CV/personal statement, and have the LOR immediately.

I chose the second option, but would it be better to wait a month and get a potentially higher quality letter, or at this point is it more important to just get my requirements in on time and forget about the "quality" of that one letter?

*EDIT* I will still be doing the shadowing, but the question is really when would be the best time to have that letter written/submitted.

Thanks guys.

 

[Chocolate Bear]

Wow tdittyx, I hope you worked everything out with that "roommate" :/

Anyway just updating on this board, after spamming 40+ D.O.'s in my area with regards to my lack of shadowing experience/physician LOR and desperately trying to apply this cycle, one person finally wrote me back!!

I have the option of shadowing him a few times over the next month, then having him write me the LOR (so it would be ready by mid-October), OR do a 30min interview with him over lunch next week, bring my CV/personal statement, and have the LOR immediately.

I chose the second option, but would it be better to wait a month and get a potentially higher quality letter, or at this point is it more important to just get my requirements in on time and forget about the "quality" of that one letter?

*EDIT* I will still be doing the shadowing, but the question is really when would be the best time to have that letter written/submitted.

Thanks guys.

First, congrats on the letter--what a relief!

Second, I think getting the letter earlier is the smart move. I think one school in the CIB says that they want the doc to have "seen you in a clinical situation" or something. You might want to check for the schools you're really interested in, but it really doesn't seem important enough to go for the shadowing-then-letter option.