LOR from Pathologist?

[DrMeowMeow]

Hey everyone! Need a little advice here. I already have a LOR from an FM and a psychiatrist. I'm waiting on two more (another FM and another psychiatrist), but it has been months and I've been sending them reminders. I told them they are due by Sept. I'm really nervous they both won't submit their letters.

Anyway, this month I'm rotating with the chairman pathologist and we talked about a lot of interesting topics like Freud and how to analyze personalities. I feel I've learned a lot of useful things for psychiatry from him. He seems to like me a lot too. I was thinking about asking him for a LOR in case the other 2 doctors end up not submitting their letters since most programs require 3.

How bad would it be to have one of your LOR be from a pathologist for a psychiatry residency? Thanks!

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[psych md jd]

IMHO, I would say that would be OK.

After all, aren't all psychiatrists psychopathologists?

[Except for me, of course, I'm an alienist. Although some of my employees contend there is nothing "ist" about me. Live long and prosper.]

"It appears to be a case for an alienist. The old gentleman's cerebral processes were disturbed by the love affair." --The Case-Book of Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

 

[heyjack70]

Couldn't hurt, especially if it's a strong letter.

 

[splik]

it would certainly be different. actually many of the early neuropsychiatrists were neuropathologists- Pinel, Nissl, Alzheimer, Kraepelin, Meyer...

Freud, who wasn't a psychiatrist was also a failed pathologist...

If you can't get anything else it would be okay. You only need 3 letters for the vast majority of places anyway.

 

[675015]

Hey everyone! Need a little advice here. I already have a LOR from an FM and a psychiatrist. I'm waiting on two more (another FM and another psychiatrist), but it has been months and I've been sending them reminders. I told them they are due by Sept. I'm really nervous they both won't submit their letters.

Anyway, this month I'm rotating with the chairman pathologist and we talked about a lot of interesting topics like Freud and how to analyze personalities. I feel I've learned a lot of useful things for psychiatry from him. He seems to like me a lot too. I was thinking about asking him for a LOR in case the other 2 doctors end up not submitting their letters since most programs require 3.

How bad would it be to have one of your LOR be from a pathologist for a psychiatry residency? Thanks!

I had a psychiatrist, a family medicine, and the head of trauma surgery. You have your psychiatry letter. The rest are just about someone who is willing to say you would be a good colleague, you are a normal person, and that you a hard working and reliable.

 

[shan564]

As long as you have one from a psychiatrist, I doubt that it'd have a significant negative impact on your application. At my program, it might even be seen as a positive.

 

[chicagochildpsych]

I had psych, internal med, and a glowing surgery letter. Several interviewers said they liked the idea that I excelled in surgery, showed I was a well rounded applicant (fwiw, this was 7 years ago).

 

[MacDonaldTriad]

The few times I have seen residents bail out of psychiatry, I’m fairly sure their applications were full of LORs from psychiatrists. We receive letters from a wide variety of specialties and it is all about the quality, not the source. LORs need to talk about the attributes of the applicant and sound like the writer actually knows the applicant. Other than that, who has time to worry such details?

 

[DrMeowMeow]

Thanks for all of your inputs. This makes me feel a lot better!

 

[shan564]

I had one LOR from a psychiatrist, one from an ER doc, and one from a rheumatologist. Throughout the interview trail, everybody told me that my letters were a strong point of my application. Nobody mentioned the specialties or sources, but they mentioned that they were well-written and clearly showed that the attending knew me well and supported the notion that I was a good student.