LOC Question

[lillac]

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I am a post-baccalaureate student currently and will not be applying for two more years to medical schools. I work as a medical scribe (for privacy not saying which company), but the hospital I work for changed management and did not hire back our company. This was not due to poor performance, but because the new management had a relationship with another scribe company. The scribe company I work for is attempting to make a contract with another hospital, but it has not been finalized and it is unclear if it even will be.

I've only worked at the hospital for four months, but have gotten to know one of the doctors well enough to write me a letter or recommendation; however, I will not be applying for two more years and he may be going back to India. Should I ask for a LOR from him now or just not ask for one from this hospital and take a chance with this potential new hospital?

My other question is if I found another clinical job (in the case of the new contract not working out), should I just not list scribing because I don't have a LOR and only worked there for 4 months?

Any advice is appreciated!

 

[allantois]

Physician letters are of little value.

You don't at all need LORs from scribing. List everything you can.

 

[mehc012]

Physician letters are of little value.

You don't at all need LORs from scribing. List everything you can.

I always think that this is foolish on the adcoms' part. There is a difference between "this dude shadowed me and his tie was crisp" compared to "this person spent 12hr shifts with me when things were really busy, communicated well, understood what was going on around them and how to interact as part of a team, was always on time, professional, and willing to step up when the situation warranted it, interacted well with patients, kept the nurses happy, etc."
Even if physician letters are always positive, they don't always have much to say. If adcoms can't discern the difference between the two, they may as well not bother reading LORs.

Ignore the fact that it's a "physician letter"...it's a letter from a boss who worked very closely with OP in a healthcare environment.

OP. I'd be straight-up with the guy: "Hey, I know it's only been 4mo, but I felt that we always worked well together and I had been hoping to ask you for a letter when I applied to medical school. With everything switching around, I'm concerned that you'll forget me, so I was hoping you'd consider writing me a letter now instead."
If he's not willing, he's unwilling...never force a LOR. But you won't get a good one in 2yrs, so there is no harm in asking now.