Letter of Recommendation

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I'm in my 2nd week of an anesthesia but do not know how to go about approaching an attending or pd for a l.o.r., seeming that we don't work too closely with them. any advice would be appreciated. thanks!

 

[scotchnwater]

I'm in my 2nd week of an anesthesia but do not know how to go about approaching an attending or pd for a l.o.r., seeming that we don't work too closely with them. any advice would be appreciated. thanks!

If you are at your own school, then just ask - PDs and Dept Chairs expect to get asked to write LORs every year. Usually there is an administrative assistant you can ask, and they will schedule a time for you to meet with whomever. When you schedule, they'll usually let you know what to bring with you to the meeting (can include: transcripts, USMLEs, Personal Statement, CV, etc.).

Bottom line is not to worry about it - they expect this.

If this is a PD/Dept Chair, I might not necessarily worry about not having a ton of direct contact. Most of the time that contact is not possible and they may ask around the department to get a general impression of you from those that did work with you (maybe...).

The situation is a bit trickier if it's another attending that you were technically supposed to work with but never saw for the whole month - they might not be used to writing lots of letters every year and might not give you as good of one. My suggestion in that case is to ask the residents you work with for their opinions - they went through this process too and will probably be happy to help.

 

[fascinoma]

Use the following guideline to get your LoR:

1. Ask them to write you a letter.

Well, I hope this helps. 👍

Being slightly more serious for a second (though i was being pretty serious before...), they know you'll be asking for a letter--it's letter season, after all. Ask them, but be prepared with your CV and unofficial transcript, too. They might want to set-up a formal meeting where they sit down with you and ask you questions, or they might not need anything and just write you something. But you first gotta' ask. For the PD, I'd make a formal appointment and come prepared with all your papers.

Good luck, dude.

 

[Uegis]

Is that really true? I want to ask the program director, but I barely had a chance to work with the person due to vacation/schedule, etc. It seems a bit difficult to do so if I barely know the person

 

[Mista Suprane]

at the program that you're rotating at, does the PD do cases? try to get in the OR with him/her if you can, or even take call when they are on call. i did this when i was an MS4 and i got a great letter; it gives them a chance to see you work and put some more personal stuff in the letter.

 

[scotchnwater]

Is that really true? I want to ask the program director, but I barely had a chance to work with the person due to vacation/schedule, etc. It seems a bit difficult to do so if I barely know the person

So far you're 2 for 2 on people telling you to just ask. I'd go ahead and do it if I were you.

We were all in your situation - I remember feeling awkward asking for a letter. I didin't know ANY of my letter writers super-well and they all wrote great letters (according to what I heard on the interview trail). Remember, you can also ask for the letter and then end up not using it later if you decide you have better ones. But ask now while you're on the rotation and not a month or two later when you're not even in the department any more.

 

[Uegis]

So far you're 2 for 2 on people telling you to just ask. I'd go ahead and do it if I were you.

We were all in your situation - I remember feeling awkward asking for a letter. I didin't know ANY of my letter writers super-well and they all wrote great letters (according to what I heard on the interview trail). Remember, you can also ask for the letter and then end up not using it later if you decide you have better ones. But ask now while you're on the rotation and not a month or two later when you're not even in the department any more.

Oh don't get me wrong. You already gave me the courage to go ask. The PD doesn't write any letters anymore, but I'll give the RD a shot.