i know a friend...

[realruby2000]

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hey everyone,

I know a family friend who's an emergency physician in springfield IL. I will be spending most of my time this summer with family but wanted to get some clinical exposure in the field ( and possibly a future letter of rec from him) Since, there is no "official externship" offered at this hospital, If i were to shadow him for 2 or 3 weeks and got a really awesome letter from him, how much would it weight if I applied for residencies?

 

[felson]

The letter from him probably won't do any good and I am assuming that he does not have an academic rank and is not associated with an EM residency program. Your time with him will also be too brief. However, you would probably enjoy the experience as you are still doing basic sciences according to earlier posts.

 

[shindog]

Originally posted by felson
The letter from him probably won't do any good and I am assuming that he does not have an academic rank and is not associated with an EM residency program. Your time with him will also be too brief. However, you would probably enjoy the experience as you are still doing basic sciences according to earlier posts.

Interesting question and reply. What if the physician was an attending at an academic residency program?
Felson, you mentioned that 2-3 weeks is too brief. How long is long enough?

 

[felson]

If he was an attending at an academic institution that I think it certainly does not hurt, as his opinion will be viewed as being more objective and incisive since he is expected to understand what makes a quality resident. A typical rotation (four weeks) is much better since the first week or two you would just be familiarizing yourself.

 

[realruby2000]

last time i talked to him, he mentioned that students from SIU med did some rotations there...i didnt ask him about it being part of an academic institution or anything. However, If i do do it, i might be able to stretch it to 4 weeks. I'm sure that this experience would be a good one, but is it somthing I can put on my CV so if an attending ( in 3rd year) asks for it cuz he wants to write me letter?

thanks


btw... i was wondering, if most students do their EM rotation their 4 th year, and are applying to schools in their 3rd year, how do they get a letter from an EM attending when they' do their rotations after they apply?

 

[mikecwru]

Originally posted by realruby2000
last time i talked to him, he mentioned that students from SIU med did some rotations there...i didnt ask him about it being part of an academic institution or anything. However, If i do do it, i might be able to stretch it to 4 weeks. I'm sure that this experience would be a good one, but is it somthing I can put on my CV so if an attending ( in 3rd year) asks for it cuz he wants to write me letter?

thanks


btw... i was wondering, if most students do their EM rotation their 4 th year, and are applying to schools in their 3rd year, how do they get a letter from an EM attending when they' do their rotations after they apply?

My feeling is that this experience and even the letter will be positive things for you, regardless of academic ties. True, it should not be your only experience and you should get a letter from someone with academic rank, but some of the programs look positively on having one academic center rotation and one community ED experience.

mike

 

[realruby2000]

i found out that he's actually the medical director or the emergency dept at his hospital... how would his letter stand now? is that equiv to getting a letter from an attending?

thanks for the responses