LOR overkill?

[sophiejane]

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So far I have asked for and received good (some very good/excellent) LORS from all of my core electives (FM,IM,surg). I plan on asking for a letter from OBGYN, Psych, and Cardiology if all goes well this semester.

I know that seems like overkill, and I may not submit all of them, but I was wondering if this is a good strategy. Should I also try to get letters from attendings early in my 4th year? I plan on doing EM in September and a family medicine Sub-I in October at two of my top choices. Should letters from these rotations be a priority?

What about the "Department Chair" LOR that's supposed to be so important? I have no contact with the FM Chair at my school (nor do other students), but know the director of the rural track program quite well. Should I get a letter from him and not worry about the dept chair letter?

I know how "uncompetitive" FM is supposed to be, but I'd rather not have any surprises on match day, and it's important for me to be in a certain geographical area for my family. My class rank, shelf exams and boards so far have been above average but not way above average.

Thanks

 

[veloG]

I think its a good policy to get recommendations from pretty much anyone who will write one for you -- the best ones come from people that ask to write one for you. Second best are ones from people you really feel like you want to ask -- this will not be every attending you meet but you'll know who they are. I suspect the letters you've had written come from these people but that one or two might just be letters you asked for because you thought you needed one from a given rotation.

In the end, you'll probably only submit a max of 4 -- programs don't really want to read more than that, I think, but will most will accept as many as you submit. The chair letter in FM is not important but may help if your chair has 1) a special connection with you and can make real comments on your character, patient interactions, etc. and 2) connections with the programs you are applying to.

Pick 4 of the best ones, remember you'll have a dean's letter that will compile your evals from your rotations. Don't submit letters that will say the exact same thing as your dean's letter.

I had 4: one from my clinical advisor, one from my thesis advisor, one from an attending at a FM program I rotated in as a 3rd year (who I knew would write very personalized letter) and one from an IM attending that I knew had made an impact on. The last one I asked for was from my clinical advisor and I decided to ask because he had first-hand and second-hand knowledge of my clinical skills, leadership (interest group) and because he helped me make the decision to apply to FM.