Letters of rec MD/PhD

[SnicknameU]

Good afternoon SD!
I am an overrepresented minority at a small state school.
Major: Biological engineering & philosophy
Masters: Biomechanical Engineering (concurrent to BS)
MCAT: 527

I am planning to apply to manly upper teir MD/PhD programs this coming 2019 cycle. I was wondering if anyone could provide some advice concerning letters of rec.

This my current list:
Civil Engineering Professor (PhD, PE) (took 3 upper-level classes with him and he offered)
Focus: Aptitude as a traditional engineer, and how those skills may be utilized in medicine

Biological engineering professor (MS/PhD) ( took 1 class, was my masters and undergraduate research mentor, published several papers with)
Focus: General info about me as a scientist: skills, passion, aptitude

Philosophy professor (JD/PhD) ( took 3 ethics and law-oriented classes with, published papers with, and fairly enthusiastic)
Focus: how philosophy can help me as a doctor and scientist, plus advantages of having a formal education in ethics and law

Hospice patient family member (N/A) ( family member of a patient who took care of)
Focus: compassion, empathy, communication skills exhibited in hospital

I was wondering if these were sufficient because I think they paint a good picture of me, but none of these are traditional pure science professors. Should I move forward with asking these people, or should I try and replace them and if so which ones.
Thanks in advance!!

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[ValentinNarcisse]

You need some letters from MDs.

 

[grizzly1093]

You'll need letters from every PI with whom you've had significant research experience, biomedical or otherwise. A letter from an MD or MD/PhD would also help.

Are you aiming for a more traditional PhD? Or engineering? Or social/anthro sciences?

I'd also advise that you apply to more than just Ivies. There are plenty of non-Ivy programs that are just as good or better than Ivies depending on your field (WashU, UCLA/Caltech, UWash, Hopkins, Duke, Stanford, UCSF...the list goes on). The whole process is unpredictable, and it's good to spread a wide net no matter one's stats or experiences.

 

[Lucca]

Ivy as a distinction does not make any sense for med school (first of all because it’s an undergrad football conference). Some of the best programs in the country (UCSF, Michigan, etc) are not even private schools.

Most important MD/PhD letters are going to come from research mentors in the disciplines (broadly defined) you hope to obtain your PhD in. Also, a lot of medical schools require science professor letters regardless of how you are applying so you will need those as well...

From your current list, I would toss out the hospice letter and keep the other 2 in addition to your other research mentors (if any) and any other letters you need to fulfill the requirements of schools on your list. Every school is different. Read their websites.

 

[SnicknameU]

Thank you, everybody, for your help. I'm not sure why it didn't dawn on me that I would need a letter from an MD till now.

 

[moggat]

You definitely don't need a letter from an MD.

You will need letters from every PI you've had. Otherwise your professor letters look great! I don't know how the hospice patient letter will be taken tbh, it's non-standard.