LOR from non-ophth D.O...worth it?

[doomlaut]

First of all, just wanted to say thanks for all the work that goes into this being such a great forum. I haven't posted yet but have learned so much from the discussions and information that goes on here. I have been wrestling with this decision for some time with no progress, so am finally relenting and posting here for any insight anyone might have.

Some basic background on me to provide context for my question - I am a third year medical student at a US allopathic school who is going for ophth. I got a 244 on Step 1, have lots of international work/volunteer/career experience prior to starting med school as I took several years off. Only got passes, no honors in preclinical years. Honors/excellents so far in third year rotations. I have one non-ophth poster , but no ophth research so far (working on getting that going, no luck so far).

Our school gives out surgery electives via lottery - I requested ophth but did not get it. I have been trying desperately to get face time with our ophth department but have been unsuccessful at every turn. Will keep trying to get contact but it is very difficult trying to do so while doing the rest of the core third year rotations. Am planning on doing an ocular pathology elective right away in July of fourth year to hopefully get a LOR/pub out of that, but of course nothing is guaranteed until it happens.

Here is my question - during a month long required neurology rotation at a small academic hospital, I spent three weeks working with an older D.O. neurology attending. He was absolutely phenomenal, I worked intensely with him every day in multiple settings, and he undoubtedly knows me better than any other attending I have spent time with. He wrote superlative, stellar comments on all sections of my evaluation and I got high honors in the rotation. He expressed again and again how impressed he was with my skills, knowledge base, and ability to connect with patients. He said repeatedly towards the end of the three weeks that I was one of the best students he has ever worked with.

Needless to say, these comments were great to hear and it will be nice to have them on my dean's letter. However, this far into third year with no success in spending any time whatsoever in Ophth... I am starting to wonder whether or not a letter from him would be appropriate for my application? From my understanding, it is best to try to get a letter from a core rotation at a large academic center. Is it a deal-breaker that he is a D.O. from a non-core (not IM or surg etc.) at a smaller, not well known academic hospital? He undoubtedly knows me better than any other attending so far, and likely that will continue to be the case. It's also hard for me to ignore such strongly positive feedback - I know he would write a glowing, personal letter. Not sure whether to ask for a letter or not - any and all feedback would be appreciated. Thanks so much.

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[HereEyeAm]

Get a letter from him. You can always change your mind later and choose not to submit it, but it sounds like he will write you a great letter. I personally would not be concerned about the fact that he is a DO. I solicited 5 letters of recommendation throughout third year (3 ophtho, 1 surgery, 1 pediatrics) and then made the choice later about which ones to use.

My submitted non-ophtho letter was written by a community pediatrician who knew me very well. My other two letters were from ophthalmologists with academic positions, but not huge names. I was told by two interviewers that my letters were the best they had read all year. Strong and personal letters can make a big difference in your application.

 

[HereEyeAm]

Oh and I would ask for the letter soon, while the rotation is fresh in his mind. I completed my general surgery rotation in October of third year and asked for a letter one week later. The attending was thankful because he said he is usually asked to write letters at the end of the year and it's difficult to remember students who rotated earlier in the year.

 

[elementals]

Agreeing with HereEyeAm -- I got more letters than I used as well, and the ones I ended up turning in weren't from huge names or bigwigs or whatever. The only one that was even remotely "known" was probably the chair of my dept -- and I only used that one because I thought we really clicked well, same as the other two letters. Got told several times on the trail that my letters were glowing, gushing, amazing, enter superlatives here. I think the only time the position/rank/name of the letter writer matters is if the residency committee happens to personally know the letter writer -- and that's such a crapshoot that I'd really just go with whoever knows and likes YOU.