EMT Letter of Rec

[thelaw986]

I know an EMT quite well at the ER department that I volunteer at. I was wondering how much good would it be for my med school app if I get a letter of recommendation from him? Or should I stick with a doctor or nurse?

As far as I know, getting a letter of rec from the volunteer program leaders isn't really helpful because they don't see you when you are volunteering at the hospital; and so they don't know you very well to write things that are convincing.

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[hopefuldoc97239]

Hey this is just my opinion, but seeing as I'm the first person to respond yet...

Most med schools want a slightly different list of letter writers. My policy is to ask for a letter from everyone whom I think can write me a good letter. Go ahead and ask for a letter. If you don't submit it the EMT will never know!

That said, I'd try to stick to physicians and university professors as much as possible for your top letters. These are usually the most respected letter writers. Anything else can be used to support these letters, but I see these as being key to your application. I'd want four total letters from professors (course work or research) and physicians who you've shadowed with or volunteered under.

Second tier (usually... depends on the particular situation) is other people with some form of doctorate--including MD and PhD--who you worked with but not in a traditional course, research, shadowing, or volunteer capacity.

Third tier for me is other employers/supervisors, etc., who don't have impressive credentials. I'd put the EMT here.

 

[FIREitUP]

I would not ask for a letter from the EMT.

 

[deleted357625]

I would not ask for a letter from the EMT.

👍

 

[equios]

Director of the EMS service? Yes. An EMT? No.

 

[apumic]

Agree with the above. Even an EMT-P has NO clue what goes into medical school or being an MD. Even most RNs are quite limited in their understanding of what it takes to be a physician. I think a letter from an EMT vouching for you would do about as much for you as one from your 6th-grade earth science teacher.

 

[Zorro1019]

A couple of questions:

1) is there a MD there that you can ask for a LOR?

2) is this EMT going to say something really amazing about that you won't have anybody else writing about?

3) Is this EMT your supervisor?

If the answer to #1 is yes, then I would go for that LOR.

If the answers to #2&3 are yes, then I might ask for it just in case as a supplemental letter.

I know I will be asking one of my supervisors (an EMT-P) for a letter because of the really wonderful things that I know the letter will contain. Will it be a primary letter? Probably not, but for schools that want a letter from a supervisor I know it will be outstanding.

It really depends on the exact situation, and it might not hurt to have even if you don't end up using it.

Add: It might be worth it if this is a supervisor and they can write about your amazing work ethic etc.

 

[apumic]

A couple of questions:

1) is there a MD there that you can ask for a LOR?

2) is this EMT going to say something really amazing about that you won't have anybody else writing about?

3) Is this EMT your supervisor?

If the answer to #1 is yes, then I would go for that LOR.

If the answers to #2&3 are yes, then I might ask for it just in case as a supplemental letter.

I know I will be asking one of my supervisors (an EMT-P) for a letter because of the really wonderful things that I know the letter will contain. Will it be a primary letter? Probably not, but for schools that want a letter from a supervisor I know it will be outstanding.

It really depends on the exact situation, and it might not hurt to have even if you don't end up using it.

Add: It might be worth it if this is a supervisor and they can write about your amazing work ethic etc.

Often, the best thing to do in cases like these is to ask someone "qualified" to write the letter but let your direct supervisor know so that they can give some input. For instance, if I asked my medical director to write me an LOR, she would almost certainly talk at least a bit to my charge nurses and clinical mgr or, at minimum, use what she has heard about me from them in the past because her direct interaction w/ me is somewhat limited.

 

[Zorro1019]

Often, the best thing to do in cases like these is to ask someone "qualified" to write the letter but let your direct supervisor know so that they can give some input. For instance, if I asked my medical director to write me an LOR, she would almost certainly talk at least a bit to my charge nurses and clinical mgr or, at minimum, use what she has heard about me from them in the past because her direct interaction w/ me is somewhat limited.

That's a good idea!

 

[45408]

It won't be worth much, and it might make them wonder if you couldn't get someone more "important" to write you a letter. Unless otherwise specified (like a letter from your pre-med advisor), your LOR writers should have an MD, PhD, or both.

 

[CardiacIntensivist]

Often, the best thing to do in cases like these is to ask someone "qualified" to write the letter but let your direct supervisor know so that they can give some input. For instance, if I asked my medical director to write me an LOR, she would almost certainly talk at least a bit to my charge nurses and clinical mgr or, at minimum, use what she has heard about me from them in the past because her direct interaction w/ me is somewhat limited.

to build on this, it might also be work if you can get someone who is more "qualified" to cosign the letter in case they are not comfortable with writing you a letter but trust the letter writer enough to endorse a character statement.

but like TheProwler says....