LOR from daddy

[gpugems1]

Advertisement - Members don't see this ad

Hey guys, I have a bit of an interesting dilemma. I have no letters of recommendation from ophthalmology and am only going to be doing my first elective in ophthalmology in october. My dad is an opthalmologist and so my question is if it would be a total no no to get a LOR from him?

 

[JMK2005]

Don't do it.

Why are you doing your first elective so late? Not doing one at your home program?

 

[gpugems1]

I go to a foreign medical school. My first elective is for radiology because that is another field I was interested in and I wanted to make sure to get a LOR first in that. I was sort of a last minute decision for choosing Ophthalmology but still not sure in which I want to pursue. Any more insight you could possibly give me in ophthalmology? I really like being able to help people with their vision, wide array of subspecialities I can go into including working with kids, good lifestyle, good pay, and the one big advantage over radiology, getting to interact with people on a regular basis.

 

[JMK2005]

I assume you are applying for a US ophthalmology residency. If so, it is still a competitive process, and being an FMG will be a disadvantage.

I suppose you can get a letter from your father or even a colleague of his, but it would be make a bad impression if the interviewer found this this was the case. USMLE and academic accomplishment are big aspects to the application, but we also like to see a commitment and passion for the field.

It would be difficult to convince me that you are committed to ophthalmology without even having done a rotation. Personally, shadowing your daddy's practice is not enough.

 

[KHE]

Hey guys, I have a bit of an interesting dilemma. I have no letters of recommendation from ophthalmology and am only going to be doing my first elective in ophthalmology in october. My dad is an opthalmologist and so my question is if it would be a total no no to get a LOR from him?

I normally would not comment on these types of application questions but I gotta ask you....isn't there really a certain amount of "lameness" in having your father write your LOR? I mean, could you really live with yourself if you did that?

 

[JMK2005]

Haha... I was trying to say it tactfully.

 

[Kashf Oyoun]

It depends, does your dad like you?

 

[speyeder]

I wouldn't do it. LORs are supposed to give the reader an unbiased assessment of the applicant's character, intelligence, work ethic, personality and intangible qualities. Your father writing you a letter is a conflict of interest.

 

[MAYOphtho]

DONT do it. This is what your situation is, in short, as listed above.

If you don't do an Ophtho rotation, then most (if not all) programs are going to question your commitment to the field...with your dad being your ONLY Ophtho letter writer, that would honestly do nothing for you. You need to get at least 1 Ophtho rotation under your belt and get a LOR from that one.

Maybe you should consider applying in a year and doing research, Ophtho rotations, etc to augment your application.

Being an FMG you are already at a disadvantage...so unless you scored 270+ on Step 1 or something insane like that, you really need to do more than have your own father write your only Ophtho letter...really

good luck

 

[gpugems1]

Ok I understand where all of you are coming from and it is sort of Lame to get a LOR from my "daddy" but I don't have much other options. We were not allowed to do ophtho rotations at our school until the fourth year and like I said my first elective only begins in October and there is nothing else I can do about it now. What about getting a letter from one of his collegues? Do you think that they will also think something is up and how could they find out they were in contact with each other?

I scored well on my step I 258 and have honored all of my clerkships. I also go to a pretty well known foreign school.

 

[JMK2005]

The advice has already been given to you. Your commitment to ophthalmology may still be questioned since you did the rotation so late.

US medical students usually do their first ophthalmology rotation their last year as well. But they choose it to be their first rotation.

What rotation are you currently doing?