Letters from Aways

[trueDJ]

I should start off by saying I come from a midwestern med school with no home program. With that in mind, what do you think about asking 2 different faculty members during the same away for letters? For example, one from the chair and another from the attending you work with most. Would doing a 2-month away rotation at this particular program change your opinion?

This is a question I have never seen discussed, and without a home program it is particularly important for me. Thanks for your input!

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[ZagDoc]

For you, I think it would be entirely appropriate. Sometimes away letters are seen as lesser than home institution's (I got the off-handed "well I'm glad they liked you so much, why don't you want to go there?" comment at one interview) but since you don't have a home program, they should be seen as essentially equivalent.

 

[Schnozberries]

I also went to a midwestern program with no home program (maybe even the same place you do). I got 2 letters from 1 of my aways, 1 from another away, and 1 from the single ENT attending that my school had. This didn't seem to be a problem on any of my interviews. Retrospectively, I probably wouldn't have even gotten the letter from my home program because his letter was very generic and nobody knew who he was on the trail anyway. I ended matching at my #1 so in the end it worked out just fine.

Re: a 2 month away rotation. I think is likely not necessary, and it may end up hurting you. If a program likes you after a month, that is really all you can ask for. At that point your goal should be to get out of there as fast as possible while they have a positive memory of you in their mind. It's like George on Seinfeld leaving the conversation on the high note when the audience wants more. That second month may trip you up. I hope some of this helped, and best of luck to you this interview cycle.

 

[trueDJ]

Thanks Zag and Schnoz for your advice. I feel a bit more at ease about the situation. As for the 2-month rotation, it is research-oriented so I hope this means I will get on people's nerves at a slower rate. I guess we'll see. Thanks again!