Letter of Rec from an MD?

[SaltySqueegee]

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How important is it to have a letter of rec from an MD.

I have worked at my local ER for approximately 1.5years, and do not feel comfortable asking them for a letter. This not because they do not know me that well, it is because I know, and have heard that the people I would ask are not very capable in the area of writing strong letters of rec.

The other letters that I currently have on file are:

Strong: Physiology Professor (My major is physiology, I have had three classes and two labs, and one graduate lab with him)

Strong: Analytical Chemistry Professor and Research Advisor (My minor is Chem, have had one lab and lecture with him plus 1.5years of research experience with)

Strong: Comparative Religious Studies Professor (my other minor is RelS. Have had two courses with her)

Strong/Good: Analytical Chemistry Advisor(s)

Strong/Good: my current boss (PhD) at a semiconductor company (worked 7 years with and can write a letter attesting to my character and capabilities in the area of oral communication)

Good: Computational Biology Research Advisor(s) (received publication with)

Are these enough, or should I try to go for an MD rec...

... does the MD rec really make a big difference in the end???

 

[SaltySqueegee]

bump

please vote as it is pertinent to what action I take within the next few weeks...

... your advice is important to me.

Thank you SDN community,

 

[Gleevec]

A letter of rec from an MD is as valid as that from a PhD or a volunteer coordinator. Aside from the recommendation "requirements" (ie 2 science,1 from major, blah blah--and even these are just suggested) get recs from whoever you want, as long as you think they will write a strong rec.

An MD is not required, and its not anymore a bonus than a good rec from a PhD or a volunteer coordinator.

 

[SaltySqueegee]

The only reason why I started this thread was in part because of the advice of an admissions advisor (lewis associates: search the web; fairly reputable) that almost nearly said it's pretty much mandatory to have an MD rec.

This suprised me too, as I thought that the 2sci 1non-sci was pretty much the norm. Is she being too over-anal in saying that an MD rec is nearly required, or is there possibly some truth to her statement... ???

Thank you for posting


Please vote...

 

[Gleevec]

I would just ask your advisor the question you have posed here. I would imagine she would say take the 3 known strong recs.

 

[Paws]

I think the above posters have good comments on this; I was going to add that while these admissions people can provide a great source of information and personalized support, they can sometimes be full of - well, you know what.

My feeling is to take a general concensus of the advisor, your other premed buds, and SDN. In the end, for me SDN is the most accurate information I have found anywhere. A friend used an admissions advisor who seemed ok for his essay, but was also pretty unprofessional in other ways and didn't seem to know her *ss from her elbow in some really critical areas - like which schools were best. She was really terrrible actually and sometimes even criticised him 😱 . .

So he dumped her; too much money for bad advice ...

 

[UCLAMAN]

You DO NOT need a letter from an MD. I had 5 LORs only 2 of them were from actual PhD's, 1 was by a TA and cosigned by a PhD, another was from a volunteer coordinator who only had a bachelors, and the other was from another volunteer coordinator who was a few months away from her PhD. The content of the letters are far more important than having it written by an MD(so long as the writer is credible in some way other than just being your grandfather or something.)

 

[SaltySqueegee]

Thank you everyone for being so very helpful with this topic. I too value the SDN community over my multiple premed advisors. Yes, they do at times know valuable inside information, but honestly from what small experience in this application process I have received, the SDN community, by far, out performs any pre-med advisor I have ever talked with.

Thanks again, and keep those votes comin' ... a would like to have a statistical n>50 😀

 

[SaltySqueegee]

Just an update... I was able to get a letter from my Volunteer Coordinator (ER clinical work), who used my Journal entries from my volunteer experience to write me a letter of recommendation. She worded the letter as though the MD's and Nurses reported about me back to her.

I read the letter and it is very strong. Do you guys think it will be sufficient to cover the clinical letter of recommendation??? I mean... it isn't from an MD persay, but it does cover many of my volunteer experiences.

Your input, as always, is helpful.

 

[doc05]

Originally posted by MDTom
Just an update... I was able to get a letter from my Volunteer Coordinator (ER clinical work), who used my Journal entries from my volunteer experience to write me a letter of recommendation. She worded the letter as though the MD's and Nurses reported about me back to her.

I read the letter and it is very strong. Do you guys think it will be sufficient to cover the clinical letter of recommendation??? I mean... it isn't from an MD persay, but it does cover many of my volunteer experiences.

Your input, as always, is helpful.

granted I don't sit on an admissions committee, but a letter from a volunteer coordinator, especially in the case of an experience as trite as ER volunteering, isn't terribly impressive.

 

[doc05]

Originally posted by MDTom
The only reason why I started this thread was in part because of the advice of an admissions advisor (lewis associates: search the web; fairly reputable) that almost nearly said it's pretty much mandatory to have an MD rec.

This suprised me too, as I thought that the 2sci 1non-sci was pretty much the norm. Is she being too over-anal in saying that an MD rec is nearly required, or is there possibly some truth to her statement... ???

Thank you for posting


Please vote...

no, a letter from an MD is far from mandatory. the fact is that few applicants have enough significant contact with an MD to justify a strong letter. and a weak letter you can do without.

 

[anxiousone]

letters from mds are worthless unless they are faculty...IMO you definitely do not need one. none of my friends that were accepted to medical school asked for an md's rec.

 

[tahitian3]

Is it true that you can read the letters of recommendation people write for you? When I was applying to graduate school, they said it was best if you withdrew your right to see what the person said about you.
😕

 

[zinjanthropus]

It looks much better if you sign away your right to read the LOR

However, you can help assure that you will receive a good letter by asking a potential recommender if they are willing to 'write a strong letter or recommendation' rather then just asking for a LOR