Doctor who wants me to write my own letter of recommendation

[Signifier]

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I know this is a standard occurrence; I see the other (5 year old) posts about it. Basically, a physician I shadowed with (quite a bit) asked me to write my own letter of recommendation. He will then "edit it" and submit it. Now, he says he asks all candidates to do this and I believe him.

I am not asking "how to do this"; I have written many letters of recommendation and I'm sure I can write a simple one for myself. What I am wondering is if you guys think I should do it.

I have lots of letters of recommendation from other people - research advisers, science professors, etc. This would be my only letter of recommendation from a physician. He is a great guy, and I know he does support me, but getting one would involve writing my own letter of rec and having him edit it.

What do you think - is it worth doing, to have a physician recommendation? Or should I just stick with the PhDs who wrote recommendations on their own?

Thanks for your advice/insults! 👍

 

[common man]

although i don't have much experience with these things, in all honesty, i don't see what's wrong with you cooperating with the physician's wishes. you deserve a letter from him. this is how he wants to write it. ultimately, he will approve everything that is in the letter.

it's good that you're being honest - but i don't see anything dishonest here. you shouldn't be unnecessarily stringent and give up on a rec that you deserve and hurt yourself.

 

[deleted357625]

Go for it, i don't think it would hurt at all. Also, that just adds an extra LOR rather then just having the one from the PhD's. I don't see anything negative about it so i would recommend doing it.

 

[Mr Hippopotamus]

Go for it. If you're honest there's nothing wrong with it. Particularly since he is going to read it and sign off on it. It'll round out your letters file nicely.

 

[tabascosauce]

Go for it

 

[kiwifruit487]

Nothing wrong with it. But just really try to think of your strengths and examples of what makes you great... I feel like people who tend to write their own letters tend to downplay themselves... or stick to more strict facts on achievements.

So go for it. Some adcoms may spot that it is written by you (my PI can often spot them), but as far as I know, those letters are not actually perceived negtively.

 

[PrinceVersed]

I wrote my MD letter of rec. Not a big deal. Go for it.

 

[patel2]

go for it and be sure to write a glowing review of yourself, but that isn't outrageous and silly. This letter is definitely not the time to be modest.

 

[wolverinepwns]

man you should be excited he's letting you write the letter. this is your chance to write a killer LOR for yourself.

 

[SFO-IST]

don't make the mistake of writing a letter that is obviously written by yourself. Stick to "meaty" points and not fluff.

 

[NickNaylor]

I'm not sure where the point of controversy is.

 

[StudyShy]

I didn't know that sort of thing was allowed.

 

[Compass]

Sell yourself without lying. None of this "Oh, StudentY is the best thing to grace my office since I started private practice and will be the world's best neurosurgeon." Imagine it as a non-personal statement, in other words. Talk about things that you've done that the MD will remember.

 

[Signifier]

I'm not sure where the point of controversy is.

I didn't know that sort of thing was allowed.

🙂

I am going to do it, because I know the physician actually will edit it. This will definitely be a challenge, but I am going for it. Hopefully I can speak honestly about myself without going wild.

 

[CADupin]

watch out. take this opportunity conservatively. a doctor i was working with, who used to read apps and LORs, once told me that student-written LORs are very easy to spot. as tempting as it may be, avoid being too outlandish (for example, using phrases like "once in a lifetime", or "best candidate i have ever seen"). apparently for LORs that seemed too good to be true, he would actually call the supposed writer to confirm everything they wrote. definitely take the opportunity to write it, but have a little restraint when it comes to hyperbolically positive statements.

 

[LizzyM]

There is nothing wrong with drafting a letter for your boss' signature. That said, most letters from physicians who have been shadowed are worthless. They neither help nor hurt.

 

[muhali3]

There is nothing wrong with drafting a letter for your boss' signature. That said, most letters from physicians who have been shadowed are worthless. They neither help nor hurt.

Is this a common belief among adcoms or not?

Because then I don't know why DO schools require DO LOR and why my pre-health commitee requires at least two letters from healthcare professionals.

 

[Signifier]

Hi Lizzy,

I would definitely like to hear more about this - and I do trust your opinion (experience) here. Somewhere I got it in my head that at least one letter from a physician would be a good idea for applying to MD schools. My research advisers and professors know that I am hard working, smart, interested in medicine - but I have only sat and talked at length about medicine and life as a doc with the physicians I have shadowed. This is what motivated me to get a physician rec.

I definitely have other people who have already written me good LORs, so I suppose that this physician recommendation is not worth the extra effort?

 

[LizzyM]

DO schools want to see that you've become familiar with osteopathic medicine and have one of their own endorse your candidacy. MD schools do not have the same requirement.

If a pre-med committee wants to assure that every student has clinical experience, they may require the MD letter as a way of documenting that clinical exposure.

Some med schools may like to see a MD letter but my (unnamed) school does not require one and I've never heard anyone comment favorablly about one.

Most MD letters from someone you have shadowed are bland and minimally informative. Typically the applicant was well groomed and dressed appropriately, showed up on time, was respectful, asked good questions, was curious,and learned quickly (didn't have to be told twice). Most have nothing negative to say and the positives are usually so bland (because the shadow hasn't been asked to demonstrate any skills such as the ability to carry on a conversation, calm a distraught child, maintain a professional demeanor during a challenging encounter) as to be meaningless.

Your motivation for medicine should come through in your AMCAS essay. We don't take the word of the doc you shadowed for that, we look to you.

 

[bmcd]

I've heard that it's not a good idea to write letters for yourself for a couple reasons. If this person doesn't want to put forth the effort to write a LOR for you then maybe you're better off finding someone else who will. Plus, everyone has a distinct writing "voice" so it might be obvious that the letter came from you when compared to your other essays.

Maybe you could ask him again and say that you're not comfortable writing your own letter like that?

 

[LizzyM]

I've heard that it's not a good idea to write letters for yourself for a couple reasons. If this person doesn't want to put forth the effort to write a LOR for you then maybe you're better off finding someone else who will. Plus, everyone has a distinct writing "voice" so it might be obvious that the letter came from you when compared to your other essays.

Maybe you could ask him again and say that you're not comfortable writing your own letter like that?

If you know the person well enough, you know their style. My boss asked me to write my own letter when I applied to grad school but I'd been working for him for 4 years so I knew how he'd say it... he just didn't want to be bothered to confirm dates and specific work projects or what sort of things I'd want to emphasize.

 

[StudyShy]

DO schools want to see that you've become familiar with osteopathic medicine and have one of their own endorse your candidacy. MD schools do not have the same requirement.

If a pre-med committee wants to assure that every student has clinical experience, they may require the MD letter as a way of documenting that clinical exposure.

Some med schools may like to see a MD letter but my (unnamed) school does not require one and I've never heard anyone comment favorablly about one.

Most MD letters from someone you have shadowed are bland and minimally informative. Typically the applicant was well groomed and dressed appropriately, showed up on time, was respectful, asked good questions, was curious,and learned quickly (didn't have to be told twice). Most have nothing negative to say and the positives are usually so bland (because the shadow hasn't been asked to demonstrate any skills such as the ability to carry on a conversation, calm a distraught child, maintain a professional demeanor during a challenging encounter) as to be meaningless.

Your motivation for medicine should come through in your AMCAS essay. We don't take the word of the doc you shadowed for that, we look to you.

How about LORs from MDs who you collaborate with on a daily basis who have seen you put clinical knowledge into action?

 

[LizzyM]

How about LORs from MDs who you collaborate with on a daily basis who have seen you put clinical knowledge into action?

Working with physicians as an employee is a lot different from shadowing which often means following someone around like an adoring puppy for 8 hours and done. Keep in mind, too, that people often shadow people they know well and that know them because they are family friends, neighbors, etc and they tend to be very "nice" but uninformative. (What would a friendly neighbor who has known you since you were 8 years old say about you?)

Still, schools seem much more interested in academic potential and ability to think criticially, and communicate well in writing and orally in small groups, rounds, etc. If a doc has seen you in action in those ways, then great.

 

[StudyShy]

Working with physicians as an employee is a lot different from shadowing which often means following someone around like an adoring puppy for 8 hours and done. Keep in mind, too, that people often shadow people they know well and that know them because they are family friends, neighbors, etc and they tend to be very "nice" but uninformative. (What would a friendly neighbor who has known you since you were 8 years old say about you?)

My neighbor would say, "That girl hasn't changed at all!" 🙂

This is good to keep in mind since I didn't know that MD LORs were kind of seen as neutral (neither detracting or adding to an application), and I'll probably just try to stick with more traditional, scholastic LORs.

I literally sit next to a physician all day long either on the floor or in the ER doing case man. It's been a great learning experience for me since I get to see and hear what they do. I usually play a personal game and predict what any particular physician will order for a patient in the ER, what the diagnosis will be before I get the admission for review, and what I would order if I were the ER doctor. I then compare my thoughts with the actual diagnosis and plan of care and see where I was wrong and determine how I can improve. It's fun and keeps my job interesting.

I'm not afraid to ask them questions, and I learn a great deal during our conversations. Usually, I have "white coat" syndrome but not with the ER docs and hospitalists. Fortunately the physicians who I work with are fairly sociable, and they are known to occasionally ask my opinion about a patient in terms of what status someone should start off as (obs or inpt) or where a patient should be placed (such as an intensive outpt treatment program or an inpt treatment program for substance abuse). This makes me feel good and part of the team.

 

[tomh98]

in some countries, students/employees/interns writing their own letter of recs to be signed by the recommender is commonplace, even expected.