How Important is a PM&R Rec. Letter

[tubocurare]

Hello all,
I am applying to PM&R programs this year and I know having a PM&R recommendation letter is great but due to my school's schedule I am not able to schedule any PM&R rotations until november and thus will not be able to get a PM&R letter in before the deadline. I'm an otherwise well rounded candidate. How much of a disadvantage will this be. Thanks for listening.

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[Jumpu]

That's unfortunate. If I were on the committee that gives out interviews, I would wonder how you arrived to your decision to pursue PM&R? On the other hand, I doubt they look at the content of these LORs until closer to rank time, so if you get them in before that, you might be okay.

 

[axm397]

Did you interact with any physiatrists during your medical schooling? How do you know you want to do PM&R? Who are you getting your LORs from?

If you were or are applying to two specialties and PM&R is a back up and therefore all your LORs are from the other specialty (which I have seen - 3 LORs from Opthalmologists, CV full of Opthalmology research, etc.) then you are going to have a rough time.

Do you have an advisor/mentor? Any contacts at PM&R residency programs?

It really is difficult to answer your question without knowing the full picture. pm me if you'd like

 

[myrandom2003]

let me tell you they are pretty important... a lot of my applications were on hold when i called the programs because my pm&r letter was not in.. i even did a rotation and honored in it, but the guy i asked to write my letter never ended up writing the letter... even though he kept saying he would... but thats another story... point is, get a letter if u can