Hospital LOR...?

[InsulinJunkie93]

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I went to my hospital volunteering orientation earlier today. I really enjoyed all of the people, but the guy in charge was especially nice. We were talking about my plans and he told me that the hospital writes LORs for committed pre meds. I was surprised that the hospital would write a LOR. Is this pretty normal? How helpful are LORs from a hospital you volunteered at? If this is a stupid question I am sorry LOL

 

[Geebeejay]

I went to my hospital volunteering orientation earlier today. I really enjoyed all of the people, but the guy in charge was especially nice. We were talking about my plans and he told me that the hospital writes LORs for committed pre meds. I was surprised that the hospital would write a LOR. Is this pretty normal? How helpful are LORs from a hospital you volunteered at? If this is a stupid question I am sorry LOL

The volunteer office at the hospital I volunteered at offered this sort of LOR. I ended up not asking them for a letter. Almost every premed in the world probably has the same letter, and I doubt these letters are very strong.

 

[redshadow]

I have a LoR from the administrator of my department that I used to work under when I worked in a hospital. Can't hurt, IMO.


Aside from showing how you work in a real-life environment, rather than what your professors know of your ability to regurgitate information, it also shows that you have some experience in a hospital environment and have invested some time in your decision to pursue medicine.

 

[InsulinJunkie93]

Ok, thank you guys for responding

 

[sankri92]

I've been volunteering at a hospital for 7+
years (since Grade 9). When I am getting ready to submit, I'll ask them for a LOR. What I assume separates me from other pre-meds who have the same LOR is the length of commitment. Just my opinion.

 

[IniestaDeMiVida]

I think LizzyM mentioned that a lot of hospital volunteer LORs are not very effective because they generally list the duties and hours. But if you begin to make a meaningful connection and impact at the hospital you volunteer at, and the director knows about them, it definitely wouldn't hurt.

 

[InsulinJunkie93]

ok, the director seems to be very nice so i am hoping to make a connection beyond just job duties. I will just have to wait and see i guess 🙂

 

[Gerudo]

The volunteer office at the hospital I volunteered at offered this sort of LOR. I ended up not asking them for a letter. Almost every premed in the world probably has the same letter, and I doubt these letters are very strong.

+1

I was offered the same thing. I would say if your volunteering position allowed you to regularly/significantly interact with the person actually writing the letter then you should go for it.

However, I can easily imagine the hospital offering a nice gesture with a simple letter stating that you worked x hours and what you did in your position. On the other hand, some schools require a letter of this kind so it may not matter if the letter will be generally good versus outstanding.