Getting great LORs

[sdnetrocks]

As a fourth-year student at a top medical school that has a derm department with several "gods", how do I go about having one (or more) of them write a letter of recommendation for me?

I'm currently taking the general dermatology clinical elective at my school, where I am not responsible for knowing or doing anything (we just quietly shadow the residents). Most clinics are staffed by younger, non-god attendings - so the gods don't even see me standing at attention, listening intently, and otherwise showing as much interest as I can, given my nonexistant role.

I'm definitely thinking about research, and I will be discussing this with the derm advisor early next week, but I'm pretty sure that most of the older gods no longer have active projects, much less something that I could do for a month or two and be "productive".

Also, as far as away rotations, when is the latest time that they can be done - i.e. that if they're done any later, than they become essentially useless?

Thanks.

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[dermabe]

As a fourth-year student at a top medical school that has a derm department with several "gods", how do I go about having one (or more) of them write a letter of recommendation for me?

I'm currently taking the general dermatology clinical elective at my school, where I am not responsible for knowing or doing anything (we just quietly shadow the residents). Most clinics are staffed by younger, non-god attendings - so the gods don't even see me standing at attention, listening intently, and otherwise showing as much interest as I can, given my nonexistant role.

I'm definitely thinking about research, and I will be discussing this with the derm advisor early next week, but I'm pretty sure that most of the older gods no longer have active projects, much less something that I could do for a month or two and be "productive".

Also, as far as away rotations, when is the latest time that they can be done - i.e. that if they're done any later, than they become essentially useless?

Thanks.

Snagging a letter from a derm "god" is definitely a difficult task, given the nature of dermatology rotations for students involves mostly shadowing different attendings. This makes it difficult to develop a relationship with one attending, especially a well-known one. I think a research month with a "derm god" gives you a much better opportunity to develop a relationship with an attending, and you will also be able to shine more while doing research than just shadowing in a clinic. Even if you don't get a publication out of a research month, you can still put it on your ERAS app and have something derm-related to talk about during your interviews.

As far as a rotation time-line, I did an away in October and was able to score a great letter, and I got it submitted to ERAS just before the Nov 1st deadline. Most derm programs don't even look at apps until after Nov 1st.
Good Luck, its a very stressful process....

 

[sdnetrocks]

Snagging a letter from a derm "god" is definitely a difficult task, given the nature of dermatology rotations for students involves mostly shadowing different attendings. This makes it difficult to develop a relationship with one attending, especially a well-known one. I think a research month with a "derm god" gives you a much better opportunity to develop a relationship with an attending, and you will also be able to shine more while doing research than just shadowing in a clinic. Even if you don't get a publication out of a research month, you can still put it on your ERAS app and have something derm-related to talk about during your interviews.

As far as a rotation time-line, I did an away in October and was able to score a great letter, and I got it submitted to ERAS just before the Nov 1st deadline. Most derm programs don't even look at apps until after Nov 1st.
Good Luck, its a very stressful process....

Did the away rotation you did involve anything other than just shadowing? If not, on what basis did you get a letter written, and how was the letter writer selected?

I definitely want to get at least 1 letter from my current month. At this point, my plan was just to ask the course coordinator (who also happens to be the career advisor I will be seeing next week) for a letter of recommendation, assuming that he will just ask the residents what they thought of me...

 

[goodies]

what the heck is a derm god. who counts as a derm god?

 

[PathOne]

Derm is a relatively small field, but with a core group of very powerful, connected and well-respected practitioners, generally known as "gods" (no blasphemy intended). Wouldn't want to mention names, for fear of missing some. But most Dermatologists can easily point out some highly influential Dermatologists, who have the power to greatly help applicants in securing a Residency spot, either through a strong LoR or (even better) some calls made on the applicants behalf. Trust me, they can really make a difference.

I once received a LoR from one of the Gods. It's amazing. He wrote all of four lines, but it was as powerful as it was short, and has been really, really helpful in my career.

 

[dermabe]

If you go to the AAD website and look at the board of directors, it will give you an idea of some of the well-known academic dermatologists.