Letters of Recommendation

[blkatki]

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I would like to know what letters of recommendations (clinical ones besides radiology) would be great for applying to radiology programs. I have to select only 3 or 4 letters of recommendations total, to apply to radiology programs. I will have one upcoming radiology letter from radiology attending, but I already have additional letters of recommendations from neurology attending, pediatrics attending, two internal medicine attendings, and psychiatry attending. Please provide any advice/suggestions for which letters of recommendations (clinical ones) would be weighted more than others, since I need to select them as soon as possible. Thanks.

 

[2012mdc]

I would like to know what letters of recommendations (clinical ones besides radiology) would be great for applying to radiology programs. I have to select only 3 or 4 letters of recommendations total, to apply to radiology programs. I will have one upcoming radiology letter from radiology attending, but I already have additional letters of recommendations from neurology attending, pediatrics attending, two internal medicine attendings, and psychiatry attending. Please provide any advice/suggestions for which letters of recommendations (clinical ones) would be weighted more than others, since I need to select them as soon as possible. Thanks.

Assuming all the non rads letters are of equal strength I would definitely choose one medicine and one peds. The third would be a tossup between a 2nd medicine and the neuro.

If you feel your psych letter is by far your strongest then don't hesitate to use it though

 

[hidoc]

 

[eeeeeek]

Do people use letters from a researcher they've been working with for a long time during medical school although the PI is a PhD only?

 

[PhysicsIsBest]

Does anyone know if some schools in particular require 4 LORs? I know three is standard and have those in but wondering if 4 is required/suggested by a majority of schools. If so, do you think a really strong psych letter or a potential research mentor letter would carry more weight (rads research, but not sure how fast I culd get this letter?)

Thanks.

BTW: for the prelim LORs, if you used your specialty LORs is it ok that all those specialty LORs were talking about you being a radiologist (even the med one says blah blah would make a great radiologist...).

Sorry for the lengthy post. Enjoy sunday everyone🙂

I looked up info on over 60 rads programs (didn't apply to that many though). None of them required 4 letters. Most just said "3 letters of recommendation," but it's usually understood that you can send another. Per Dr. TLM on Aunt Minnie, the 4th letter should be a research letter if you have one. Otherwise, the people who review your application only want to read 3. Sending a 4th clinical letter is not necessarily bad (in my understanding), it's just that they might not read it. I'd offer to send you the info I put together, but I just did it as I went through adding programs to ERAS, and didn't keep a record.

Prelim programs understand that you are one and done. It shouldn't be an issue if a letter says you would be a good radiologist. However, you might want to consider which specialty each of the letters is coming from. Medicine and surgery letters are the best if the content is otherwise comparable. An awesome letter is still an awesome letter, so use judgement and common sense.

A radiologist letter is probably less helpful for prelim, since most of us have limited experience doing meaningful work in the rads department. I'm really really good at holding a chair down - they never escape and I have unparalleled skill in finding an extra one if needed. Other than that and a few "How did you know that!" comments in anatomy pimping sessions, I didn't do much that was amazing in the reading room. I definitely used my other letters for prelim and just sent one rads letter to rads programs.

 

[hidoc]

I looked up info on over 60 rads programs (didn't apply to that many though). None of them required 4 letters. Most just said "3 letters of recommendation," but it's usually understood that you can send another. Per Dr. TLM on Aunt Minnie, the 4th letter should be a research letter if you have one. Otherwise, the people who review your application only want to read 3. Sending a 4th clinical letter is not necessarily bad (in my understanding), it's just that they might not read it. I'd offer to send you the info I put together, but I just did it as I went through adding programs to ERAS, and didn't keep a record.

Prelim programs understand that you are one and done. It shouldn't be an issue if a letter says you would be a good radiologist. However, you might want to consider which specialty each of the letters is coming from. Medicine and surgery letters are the best if the content is otherwise comparable. An awesome letter is still an awesome letter, so use judgement and common sense.

A radiologist letter is probably less helpful for prelim, since most of us have limited experience doing meaningful work in the rads department. I'm really really good at holding a chair down - they never escape and I have unparalleled skill in finding an extra one if needed. Other than that and a few "How did you know that!" comments in anatomy pimping sessions, I didn't do much that was amazing in the reading room. I definitely used my other letters for prelim and just sent one rads letter to rads programs.

Wow, thank for your awesome response! Helps me make some decisions for sure. I too will continue looking over websites for optho/ rads... Good luck