letters from shadowing physicians

[kayak30]

Advertisement - Members don't see this ad

Hi all,

I'm concerned, or more like confused. A doc I am shadowing and who I worked for as a nanny said that it would be better if I didn't get a letter of rec from them (stating that it would not be a bad letter, but just that shadowing and babysitting are not actually experience in medicine). I thought many people obtain letters of recommendation from shadowing physicians or employers?? The doc said to just add on resume and provide them as a contact for secondaries.

With things becoming more and more competitive, can someone advise on how many letters of recommendation is ideal for MD and DO schools? I know what they require, but to those who got accepted how many did you actually submit? And I know about the quality vs quantity, but assuming they are all great quality letters what's ideal.

Are the following enough:

Two professor letters
Lab PI
MD where I volunteered and worked part time for a few years and helped with transferring medical records and interacting with patients and occasionally helping with tech duties (I guess counting as medical field experience)...totaling 4 letters.

Is this enough? 😕 I guess I would be listing the shadowing physicians under the resume section only, and as references (an MD and a DO).
Do you guys think I need to talk to other docs to try to get letters?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

 

[ChE04]

Hi all,

I'm concerned, or more like confused. A doc I am shadowing and who I worked for as a nanny said that it would be better if I didn't get a letter of rec from them (stating that it would not be a bad letter, but just that shadowing and babysitting are not actually experience in medicine). I thought many people obtain letters of recommendation from shadowing physicians or employers?? The doc said to just add on resume and provide them as a contact for secondaries.

With things becoming more and more competitive, can someone advise on how many letters of recommendation is ideal for MD and DO schools? I know what they require, but to those who got accepted how many did you actually submit? And I know about the quality vs quantity, but assuming they are all great quality letters what's ideal.

Are the following enough:

Two professor letters
Lab PI
MD where I volunteered for a few years and helped with transferring medical records and interacting with patients and occasionally helping with tech duties (I guess counting as medical field experience)...totaling 4 letters.

Is this enough? 😕 I guess I would be listing the shadowing physicians under the resume section only, and as references (an MD and a DO).
Do you guys think I need to talk to other docs to try to get letters?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

You don't need letters from doctors (for MD school). What you need are letters from people who can speak to specifics about your character and/or academics. Unless you really know this doc you are shadowing, it'd likely be a throwaway letter ie, "kayak30 was really great at watching me while I worked, and was definitely interested the whole time." Not including a letter is better than having a mediocre/lukewarm letter, in my opinion.

 

[cabinbuilder]

Hi all,

I'm concerned, or more like confused. A doc I am shadowing and who I worked for as a nanny said that it would be better if I didn't get a letter of rec from them (stating that it would not be a bad letter, but just that shadowing and babysitting are not actually experience in medicine). I thought many people obtain letters of recommendation from shadowing physicians or employers?? The doc said to just add on resume and provide them as a contact for secondaries.

Are the following enough:

Two professor letters
Lab PI
MD where I volunteered for a few years and helped with transferring medical records and interacting with patients and occasionally helping with tech duties (I guess counting as medical field experience)...totaling 4 letters.

Is this enough? 😕 I guess I would be listing the shadowing physicians under the resume section only, and as references (an MD and a DO).
Do you guys think I need to talk to other docs to try to get letters?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

Working as a nanny is not "shadowing" a doctor even though that is your employer's profession. The whole point about getting a letter is showing that you have taken the time to be in a doctor's office and understand what a doctor's life if all about. So you know what you are getting into in a sense. The paperwork, the demanding patient's, the beeper, the labs/test results, the referrals that never end, the drug seekers, etc. The letter is a support of you knowing about the life and your commitment to medicine.

 

[Chip N Sawbones]

Most, but not all, DO schools require a LOR from a DO. I didn't know any DOs, so I cold-called until I found one who would let me shadow him. He knew perfectly well that I was only interested in a letter, but he didn't seem to mind writing a short one for me after half a day of shadowing.

 

[kayak30]

Working as a nanny is not "shadowing" a doctor even though that is your employer's profession. The whole point about getting a letter is showing that you have taken the time to be in a doctor's office and understand what a doctor's life if all about. So you know what you are getting into in a sense. The paperwork, the demanding patient's, the beeper, the labs/test results, the referrals that never end, the drug seekers, etc. The letter is a support of you knowing about the life and your commitment to medicine.

Thanks, I did shadow this physician at the hospital as well outside of just babysitting for them that is why I guess I was confused. I do appreciate the advice though and I will go ahead and stick to just one MD letter at the clinic where I had hands on things vs. just watching surgeries.

 

[kayak30]

You don't need letters from doctors (for MD school). What you need are letters from people who can speak to specifics about your character and/or academics. Unless you really know this doc you are shadowing, it'd likely be a throwaway letter ie, "kayak30 was really great at watching me while I worked, and was definitely interested the whole time." Not including a letter is better than having a mediocre/lukewarm letter, in my opinion.

Makes sense, thanks for putting it in those terms!

 

[kayak30]

Most, but not all, DO schools require a LOR from a DO. I didn't know any DOs, so I cold-called until I found one who would let me shadow him. He knew perfectly well that I was only interested in a letter, but he didn't seem to mind writing a short one for me after half a day of shadowing.

Great, this answers my question about DO! I'll be sure to at least get one shadow letter but from a DO who could write a positive letter for me. I'll keep cold-calling as well, so far no luck.