Heme/Onc LOR question

[fischer]

I am going to apply to heme/onc next year, and I have the age old question about LORs. We don't have a heme/onc fellowship program at my school unfortunately. I can get one good LOR from one of the heme/onc attendings at my institution. Where should I look to get my others? It seems like I need two heme/onc LORs- should I do any away rotation to get a LOR? Also, should I do an away rotation at a place I really, really want to go? Any input and your experiences would be helpful. And, to verify, typically need 3 LOR and PD letter, right? What about a chair letter? Does that count as one of the 3???

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[onc2b]

I am going to apply to heme/onc next year, and I have the age old question about LORs. We don't have a heme/onc fellowship program at my school unfortunately. I can get one good LOR from one of the heme/onc attendings at my institution. Where should I look to get my others? It seems like I need two heme/onc LORs- should I do any away rotation to get a LOR? Also, should I do an away rotation at a place I really, really want to go? Any input and your experiences would be helpful. And, to verify, typically need 3 LOR and PD letter, right? What about a chair letter? Does that count as one of the 3???

3 letters of rec and one PD letter is correct.

Like everything LOR's are subjective. You certainly need one letter from a Heme/Onc doc but after that I would focus on receiving EXCELLENT LOR vs LOR from heme/onc docs. A mediocre LOR can be more damaging than I think any of us realize. In a perfect world we would all want stellar letters from well known Heme/Onc physicians but this isn't always available; so I would focus on getting letters from docs you've worked with that know you well and will give a great recommendation.

Also, if you are interested in research you can ask some of the PI's you've worked with for a letter as well.

Hope this helps

 

[coarctation]

Since there is no heme-onc forum by itself - not sure where to post this. How much research do you need for a good applications? Are we talking about an abstract or two? Or a few pubs in JCO? Any thoughts appreciated!