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When asked to write a letter for you, an attending says for you to write it yourself. He will print it, sign it and send it.
What do you do?
What do you do?
Letter of Recommendation - Write your own?
- Thread starter larryj
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well, it happened to me, too. The attending is a big shot and he is just so busy with giving lectures all over the country, writing grants, etc. He knew me pretty well and just asked me to go ahead and write it myself. He didin't give me any guideline on how to write a letter but just asked me to include "all the facts." The hardest part of writing this letter,of course, is the descriptive and the adjective part. People always told you how lucky you are to write your own letter from a big shot doc....I really don't know about that. Well, since this is my career on the line, I guess I'll try not to be so modest when I recommend my self 🙂
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I was told to write a letter about myself from a Trauma Surgeon (I applied for EM)... he was just so busy and kept saying "I'll write it, I'll write it" but two months came by and he never did, so I spoke with his nurse and she said to go ahead and write it and he'd be fine with it (he had done it in the past before).
I wrote it in about a half an hour and had my brother proofread it (he's a lawyer)...
Anyways, on my interviews this past year, several faculty (and interviewing residents) said "THIS is the kind of letter we wish all the applicants had in their file!"
🙂
Q, DO
I wrote it in about a half an hour and had my brother proofread it (he's a lawyer)...
Anyways, on my interviews this past year, several faculty (and interviewing residents) said "THIS is the kind of letter we wish all the applicants had in their file!"
🙂
Q, DO
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Man I hope some attending let's me write my own letter like the rest of you guys, as most of them don't like me too much.
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I haven't laughed this hard in a while...
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What's wrong with that letter? I saw an actual letter written by an attending for a student and it was along those lines.
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hey y'all. i actually asked one of my attendings (who i knew very well and who really, really liked me as a student) for a LOR. and of course, he gave me the letter to proofread. now, the guy meant well and everything, but his letter was horrible...so many grammatical errors and his thoughts were just random. when he saw the look on my face as i read the LOR, he asked me if i wanted to write some words as well. so that's how i ended up writing my own lor. it was hard...i didn't know how to brag about myself without sounding cheesy or mushy. but after a few days, the finished product turned out to be decent.
good luck to you guys with the LORs!
good luck to you guys with the LORs!
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Could someone please describe the elements of a good letter? Does the above letter address appropriate topics? It seems rather inflated.
Anyone care to post an example of a GOOD letter?
Anyone care to post an example of a GOOD letter?
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If I can find my letter, I will... I just got a new computer (ShuttleX!!!!!!!!!!!!) and I think the LOR is on my old computer...
I most readily agree with Dr. Cuts, though, have someone who is a good writer proofread it several times before your attending signs it (I had my bro sign it who is a lawyer, he's a much better writer than I! I used to be a decent writer but lots that skill once I got into medical school).
Q, DO
I most readily agree with Dr. Cuts, though, have someone who is a good writer proofread it several times before your attending signs it (I had my bro sign it who is a lawyer, he's a much better writer than I! I used to be a decent writer but lots that skill once I got into medical school).
Q, DO
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Again...laughter
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Don't worry...you aren't.
I kept searching for the sentence about the applicant's ability to walk on water.
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This letter reminds me of a friend's personal statement. He was a last minute type of guy and this was no exception. He typed it up late at night and sent it to ERAS without having anyone proofread it. By the time he realized that it was peppered with bad grammer and horrendous spelling errors, all of the programs had already downloaded it. Fortunately for him, he matched at the only program that offered him an interview...out of pity.
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It's not unusual for students to encounter attending physicians who ask you to write your own letter of recommendation. After you write the letter, the faculty member may simply sign it or modify it before signing it. If you are presented with such an offer, you should certainly consider it but accept the offer only after thinking about the following:
1. If you are like most students, you probably haven't been asked to write a letter of recommendation before. Having the ability to write a strong letter of recommendation is not an innate quality - it is one that is learned through practice. There is a chance that your inexperience may result in the development of a weak letter. See Dr. Cuts previous reply.
2. A letter that you write may end up being similar to your personal statement or other parts of your application. If so, it may not add much to your application. In contrast, letter writers who use their own words offer multiple perspectives on your performance, achievements, and overall strengths.
3. By asking you to write the letter, the faculty member has made it clear to you that he is not that enthusiastic about you and your residency application. Ask yourself what this individual might say if a residency program calls to ask questions about you (which is not unheard of). In addition, if he hasn't written the letter, then how well will he be able to talk about its contents?
If you decide to write your own letter, I agree with some of the other posters, who encourage that it be proofread by others. Remember to back up any praise that you include about yourself with specific examples. These are the details that convince a reader that the praise is actually true. For example, it's not enough to say that "I was impressed with his problem-solving skills". You need to back it up with a real life example. That's the type of letter that gets an applicant noticed.
Good luck,
Samir Desai, MD
Assistant Professor of Medicine
Baylor College of Medicine
1. If you are like most students, you probably haven't been asked to write a letter of recommendation before. Having the ability to write a strong letter of recommendation is not an innate quality - it is one that is learned through practice. There is a chance that your inexperience may result in the development of a weak letter. See Dr. Cuts previous reply.
2. A letter that you write may end up being similar to your personal statement or other parts of your application. If so, it may not add much to your application. In contrast, letter writers who use their own words offer multiple perspectives on your performance, achievements, and overall strengths.
3. By asking you to write the letter, the faculty member has made it clear to you that he is not that enthusiastic about you and your residency application. Ask yourself what this individual might say if a residency program calls to ask questions about you (which is not unheard of). In addition, if he hasn't written the letter, then how well will he be able to talk about its contents?
If you decide to write your own letter, I agree with some of the other posters, who encourage that it be proofread by others. Remember to back up any praise that you include about yourself with specific examples. These are the details that convince a reader that the praise is actually true. For example, it's not enough to say that "I was impressed with his problem-solving skills". You need to back it up with a real life example. That's the type of letter that gets an applicant noticed.
Good luck,
Samir Desai, MD
Assistant Professor of Medicine
Baylor College of Medicine
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bump
quinn? quinny? did you ever find that fab letter? we are all waiting with bated breath.....muchos g.
quinn? quinny? did you ever find that fab letter? we are all waiting with bated breath.....muchos g.
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too bad this link has nothing useful for us in this situation to draw upon... I have heard that this attending always asks folks to write their own letters (so I don't think he somehow singled me out). But still it's pretty tough and I have been sitting on this task for about a month now. No, more than a month... Any advice, pleeeeease!!!😕
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That's one of the more impressive thread bumps I've seen yet...almost 8 years! 😱
My advice would be to find another attending to write your letter. Ask someone who has worked with you and can convey in a one-page letter the attributes you possess which will make you an asset to a residency program. I'd rather get an authentic letter from someone who cares about your future enough to make an effort on your behalf than 10 letters from a "name" that just recounts your CV or makes generic comments that can apply to any medical student. I really hate the idea of students writing their own letters. Applicants complain about programs' reliance on USMLE scores, but I don't feel like I have much choice when I can't trust that the content of the LOR actually comes from the attending who signed it.
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