LoR from MD vs PA

[kabooya]

Hey guys. I'm trying to figure out who I should ask for a LOR. I've worked closely with a physician's assistant for the last 10 months. He knows me very well and I think he would write me a great letter. However, at the same practice, there is also an MD that I've worked with. She knows me, just not as well. I'm sure will write me a good letter...just not AS enthusiastic/ positive as the PA. Should I ask the PA who knows me very well for a LOR, or should I ask the MD. I can only use 1 more LOR.

I already have a LOR from an MD and a DO as well as some profs. Thanks in advance!

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[BABSstudent]

If you already have a letter from an MD and a DO then you are fine with non-professors. What is this one going to add that the others didn't already say? Besides, you are going to go over the letter limit at many schools. I, personally, would only go with one of the MD/DO/PA letters with an emphasis being on the MD since you are applying to MD schools.

 

[modelslashactor]

I did some (limited) admissions work at my school and I don't think I ever saw a letter from a PA. for better or worse there is a strong hierarchy in medicine and med schools generally want to hear from their own kind. would it be possible to have the PA write the letter and have the doctor cosign it? that might be a nice way to combine the familiarity of the PA with the weight of an MD on the letter.

for what it's worth i did have a letter from somebody with just a BS when I applied to med school from my volunteering work - I only sent it to one school (UCLA), which I think wanted some sort of community service letter, and got in. come to think of it maybe I should have sent it to more...

 

[Geebeejay]

Why not both?

 

[byaaaaaaah23]

 

[1012526fs]

Agree with modelslashactor. I'd suspect applying to be a future physician, you'd need a physician LOR opposed to a mid-level LOR. However, since you already have one, I also don't see an issue with a non-physician LOR such as the PA as another mentorship letter.
Another possibility is getting the PA to write it and have them both sign it.

Also on a side note, it's "physician assistant" not "physician's assistant." No possessive s on it.

 

[SpecterGT260]

Also on a side note, it's "physician assistant" not "physician's assistant." No possessive s on it.

That is about the most semantical thing I think I have ever heard
The title is expressly understood to be "assistant to a physician" and not "physician + modifier", at which point, there must be a physician in order to assist him or her making the possessive plural synonymous with the original meaning.

Is this a sore spot for some?

 

[galaxyx]

That is about the most semantical thing I think I have ever heard
The title is expressly understood to be "assistant to a physician" and not "physician + modifier", at which point, there must be a physician in order to assist him or her making the possessive plural synonymous with the original meaning.

Is this a sore spot for some?

PAs get upset about it. I've heard it compared to "assistant manager" vs "assistant to the manager" The Physician Assistant is an assistant to the role of physician, not an individual physician's "assistant."

 

[502623]

PAs get upset about it. I've heard it compared to "assistant manager" vs "assistant to the manager" The Physician Assistant is an assistant to the role of physician, not an individual physician's "assistant."

The physician owns the assistant like a slave, lol.

Totally kidding, guys.

 

[chopes31]

pas get upset about it. I've heard it compared to "assistant manager" vs "assistant to the manager" the physician assistant is an assistant to the role of physician, not an individual physician's "assistant."

 

[byaaaaaaah23]

View attachment 23012

thats exactly what i thought of haha

 

[occams_razor]

I would definitely have the PA write the letter and the MD co-sign it

 

[BABSstudent]

I don't think some of you are seeing everything. I will bold it for you.

Hey guys. I'm trying to figure out who I should ask for a LOR. I've worked closely with a physician's assistant for the last 10 months. He knows me very well and I think he would write me a great letter. However, at the same practice, there is also an MD that I've worked with. She knows me, just not as well. I'm sure will write me a good letter...just not AS enthusiastic/ positive as the PA. Should I ask the PA who knows me very well for a LOR, or should I ask the MD. I can only use 1 more LOR.

I already have a LOR from an MD and a DO as well as some profs. Thanks in advance!

What is this new letter going to say that is any different than what the previous letters have said? Some people are saying to just get a letter from the PA and the MD, but that is going to bring the total of letters from health professionals to 4! That's way too many. I think even having 3 from MD/PA/DO/etc. would be too many because you will go over the letter limit at some schools.

If you have the 2 science, 1 nonscience professor letters plus the 2 the OP already has, he is at 5 letters. That's fine! Add in the committee letter and this will be at 6. Perfectly fine.

If the OP gets another letter or two, like some suggest, that is going to be 8 letters once the committee letter is made. That is too many and some schools won't let you submit that many. You will have to trim down your letter quantity.

 

[Lollygag]

That is about the most semantical thing I think I have ever heard
The title is expressly understood to be "assistant to a physician" and not "physician + modifier", at which point, there must be a physician in order to assist him or her making the possessive plural synonymous with the original meaning.

Is this a sore spot for some?

It's probably just a sore spot. Kinda like how SDN hates it when someone says their going to be taking the "MCAT's" instead of "MCAT"

 

[earf]

Why not both?

I agree. Ask for letters from both people to have both letters stored in your AMCAS. Then you can pick and choose which ones you want to send when you're actually applying to schools. Might be better to have both anyways regardless of whether you'll send both to schools since you might want to send different letters to different schools (maybe even both if the school allows it).

I also agree with having both people co-sign the letter.

Question: Does the MD you already have the letter from know you better than this MD? Or maybe a better question might be, who would be the more enthusiastic supporter/writer/evaluator of your strengths? The reason I ask is because of the possibility of replacing your current MD letter with this one.

 

[1012526fs]

That is about the most semantical thing I think I have ever heard
The title is expressly understood to be "assistant to a physician" and not "physician + modifier", at which point, there must be a physician in order to assist him or her making the possessive plural synonymous with the original meaning.

Is this a sore spot for some?

Not a sore spot, just pointing out which term is actually the correct one. I'm a PA and don't particularly care one way or another, just don't want anyone to sound stupid by using the incorrect term.
But I have to say that if my MD's or DO's ever need my assistance in anything, it's in discussing a diagnosis or plan of care, not asking me to get them anything or hold their hand through a procedure.

 

[kabooya]

Thanks for the replies. The answer to the "porque no use both" is because I'm only allowed so many letters and I only can use 1 more. I think I'll go the MD co-sign route. Is that a common thing to do? I've never heard of it before this thread.

And thanks for the physician assistant correction. I didn't know that.

 

[sakata8242]

If you think the MD can still write you a good letter, go with her. PAs are great at what they do but they are not MDs. They don't get the same level or depth of training as an MD who's gone through a residency and possibly a fellowship. Most of the PAs I've worked with are about equivalent to a 4th year medical student or resident, depending on their experience level.

Even if this PA you worked with is outstanding and highly experienced, a letter from him likely won't carry as much weight as one from the MD, unfortunately.

But if you already have a letter from a DO and MD, plus some professors, I would think you'd be set. Do you really need another letter? Most programs don't want to see more than 3-4 letters, so you need to choose carefully.

 

[earf]

Thanks for the replies. The answer to the "porque no use both" is because I'm only allowed so many letters and I only can use 1 more. I think I'll go the MD co-sign route. Is that a common thing to do? I've never heard of it before this thread.

And thanks for the physician assistant correction. I didn't know that.

You already have 10 letters? Because that's the amount allowed by AMCAS. You have to pick and choose which letters you want to send to each school and it doesn't have to be every single letter that you've sent to AMCAS.

 

[IncognitoGuy]

You already have 10 letters? Because that's the amount allowed by AMCAS. You have to pick and choose which letters you want to send to each school and it doesn't have to be every single letter that you've sent to AMCAS.

Also, some searching will reveal that adcoms do not enjoy reading more letters than they have to. You might do your application a disservice if you send 10 letters to each school.

That is, redundancy is not suggested. Will each letter reveal something new about you?

 

[mvenus929]

Couple things.

1) Just as attendings carry more weight than residents when applying for residency, MD carries more weight than PA. Just the way things work.

2) I don't think clinical letters are of any use. If you worked with an MD/PA/whatever, then having them write you a letter as a supervisor is fine. If you shadowed them, the letter is worthless. If you're applying DO, I get that you have to have a letter from a DO, but otherwise... worthless.

3) If you ALREADY have TWO letters from physicians, WHY are you seeking out a THIRD? What the heck is it going to improve on your application? Surely you have other places you can bolster your application besides the LORs, which unless they're bad, probably don't add that much to the overall picture adcoms get.

 

[werd]

get another letter from a physician. people who have been to medical school are the most qualified to assess whether you are right for medical school.

 

[earf]

Also, some searching will reveal that adcoms do not enjoy reading more letters than they have to. You might do your application a disservice if you send 10 letters to each school.

That is, redundancy is not suggested. Will each letter reveal something new about you?

I never said you had to send all 10 letters to each school. I said that you can store 10 letters and then choose which letters and how many to send to each.

 

[earf]

get another letter from a physician. People who have been to medical school are the most qualified to assess whether you are right for medical school.

+1

 

[IncognitoGuy]

I never said you had to send all 10 letters to each school. I said that you can store 10 letters and then choose which letters and how many to send to each.

What I'm saying is since OP is approaching the limit, they should think about what letters would be strongest and most relevant. There's also something to be said about deciding what letters to send for each school, unless they know the contents of the letter?

I know some DO schools require a DO-written letter, etc. but beyond that, I'm curious why OP is gathering so many letters. As for OP's original post, if you already have a MD letter, what would another MD letter say differently about you? Do you really need this additional letter?