LOR addressed to triple board residency director, still use for peds?

[Sink You Fool]

Hey y'all, I have two letters from pediatricians and one from a child psychiatrist from a triple board program. I plan on applying to some triple board programs, but I am pretty limited by location and will also be applying to peds. The child psychiatrist just sent me a copy of the LOR and it is great, but it's addressed specifically to "Triple Board Residency Director". Can I still use it for my peds apps? I'm almost positive both the pediatricians probably directed their letters to pediatric residency directors and not triple board. It sure would be nice if we had advisers for this sort of thing.

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[Marie0123]

It's a red flag for Peds programs. Not a huge red flag, more like burnt orange.

 

[Sink You Fool]

Thanks! I'm kind of in a pickle because I don't feel I have any other letter writers on the back burner. I worked very closely with all 3 of my letter writers for at least a month and I wouldn't feel as comfortable asking for letters from pediatricians I worked with much earlier in 3rd year and not for any extended length of time. Especially since applications go live in a month. Would it be appropriate to ask her to minorly tweak the triple board letter for peds? Should I address it in my personal statement? Or should I just cross my fingers and roll with it? My step 1 score is average but my step 2 score is 85th percentile and my grades probably put me in the 2nd quartile of my class. I'd like to end up in a medium sized program in Chicago. Do you think that letter would be a deal-breaker?

 

[Marie0123]

I don't think the letter would be a deal-breaker at all. As a reviewer, I'd think one of two things:
(1) Is Peds this person's "safety" match? If this person matched into Peds, would they leave our program early to go elsewhere?
(2) Is this a typo? Did the letter writer get this person confused with another student?

Really, it would only be an orange/red flag if you keep programs wondering. I suggest being upfront with your intentions in your personal statement and then in your interviews.