DO LOR, should I just ask for one w/o shadowing?

[cee]

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ok, well i know how annoying and lingering LORs can be, so i want to get it outta the way ASAP (preferably this winter break once i finish my fall classes).. with that being said, my dad's a family practice doc (MD, but thats beside the point) and i know from a logistic stand point that the last thing my dad would want is for some 20-something kid to be following him around for a day [shadowing]..

i was thinking of instead of shadowing my local primary care DO, i could maybe setup an appointment for a short 10-15 minute interview with them after office hours one day instead of having to shadow them.. my rationale would be that it would be much quicker and a little less awkward, but immediately after i was thinking of asking them to write me a recommendation based on our meeting.. to me, it seems like these LORs are more of just a technicality than anything.. does anyone think this is a good idea?

 

[-Goose-]

ok, well i know how annoying and lingering LORs can be, so i want to get it outta the way ASAP (preferably this winter break once i finish my fall classes).. with that being said, my dad's a family practice doc (MD, but thats beside the point) and i know from a logistic stand point that the last thing my dad would want is for some 20-something kid to be following him around for a day [shadowing]..

i was thinking of instead of shadowing my local primary care DO, i could maybe setup an appointment for a short 10-15 minute interview with them after office hours one day instead of having to shadow them.. my rationale would be that it would be much quicker and a little less awkward, but immediately after i was thinking of asking them to write me a recommendation based on our meeting.. to me, it seems like these LORs are more of just a technicality than anything.. does anyone think this is a good idea?

sounds fine to me (not pre-do, though), just make sure your LOR writer will definitely write it b4 hand (i had a bad experience with this-- hunting down that bastard for months to no avail.)..... grrrr.

 

[cee]

sounds fine to me (not pre-do, though)

what do you mean "not pre-do".. you're not pre-do?

 

[medicalbound]

ok, well i know how annoying and lingering LORs can be, so i want to get it outta the way ASAP (preferably this winter break once i finish my fall classes).. with that being said, my dad's a family practice doc (MD, but thats beside the point) and i know from a logistic stand point that the last thing my dad would want is for some 20-something kid to be following him around for a day [shadowing]..

i was thinking of instead of shadowing my local primary care DO, i could maybe setup an appointment for a short 10-15 minute interview with them after office hours one day instead of having to shadow them.. my rationale would be that it would be much quicker and a little less awkward, but immediately after i was thinking of asking them to write me a recommendation based on our meeting.. to me, it seems like these LORs are more of just a technicality than anything.. does anyone think this is a good idea?

I do not think that this is a good idea at all. Your DO letter is far from a technicality, but can be a major deciding factor in the adcoms decision to admit you or not. What is the doctor going to be able to recommend you for after talking with you for 15 minutes? He can only regurgitate what you tell him as he wouldn't know you from Adam. In fact, the worst thing that could happen is that the DO would tell the adcom the truth ("I've known chuckcamp for less than an hour, he tell's me he's great. Please consider him for a position at your school, or not, whatever.") 😉

I'm guessing that any DO worth his salt will not agree to write you a letter under these circumstances anyways.

Read through the SDN archives, and I'm sure you'll find horror stories about students getting bad (or worse) LORs that prevented them from getting accepted.

 

[-Goose-]

what do you mean "not pre-do".. you're not pre-do?

correct. i mean, i originally applied to a few do schools, realized it wasn't my bag and withdrew. so, i may not be the best source of info... i was just sharing my difficult experience that i had trying to get the do i shadowed to write my letter (after he swore up and down, w/o asking, that he would write me a 'great' letter)>...

...

 

[cee]

I do not think that this is a good idea at all. Your DO letter is far from a technicality, but can be a major deciding factor in the adcoms decision to admit you or not. What is the doctor going to be able to recommend you for after talking with you for 15 minutes? He can only regurgitate what you tell him as he wouldn't know you from Adam. In fact, the worst thing that could happen is that the DO would tell the adcom the truth ("I've known chuckcamp for less than an hour, he tell's me he's great. Please consider him for a position at your school, or not, whatever.") 😉

I'm guessing that any DO worth his salt will not agree to write you a letter under these circumstances anyways.

Read through the SDN archives, and I'm sure you'll find horror stories about students getting bad (or worse) LORs that prevented them from getting accepted.

sure, thats the intention of the LOR, but let's be realistic here-- i bet there are a lot of people on this message board who got their aunts/uncles/godmother/godfather (who are docs and have different last names than themelves) to write an LOR for themselves.. i'm not naive, i know this occurs and i know there is no way of the admissions proving it. i bet more often than not, a DO will write a simple and generic positive LOR rather than throwing you under the bus stating that they only "know you for less than an hour, etc".. sure, there are bad docs out there who would, but in general, if a doctor (or any person) got a good impression of you from an interview, they'd reflect you in a positive light.

has anyone gotten an LOR w/o shadowing?

 

[LusuR]

I think you should actually shadow a DO. The intent of a letter isn't just the recommendation, it's also proof that you've seen the good and bad of a DO's day; that you can act professionally around patients; that you don't giggle when someone says "bowels" (but really, who has that kind of control??). And even more importantly, it'll give you something to talk about in an interview, or write about in a personal statement.

And on a more vindictive level, I did it so now you have to too. 🙄

 

[mtDNA]

well, I spent lots of time shadowing a DO in an ER. Actually though, I did speak with a med student there (DO, or course) who did pretty much exactly what you are thinking of doing. Lets put it this way...Im sure plenty of people have done this. I don't think it is optimal though, becuase when you interview it will be obvious to your interviewer that you didn't do any shadowing, which is a downer for you. You don't have to shadow for a long time either...I shadowed an FP doctor so that I could get his recommendation for my allopathic applications, and I only saw him a few times.