LORs

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Etomidate

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If you are doing an away rotation, who do you ask for letters? Will any attending suffice or should you ask for one from the PD?

And what if you don't work directly with the PD, or only for a few hours? Do PDs usually write letters based on feedback from the attendings and residents if they didn't work closely with you?

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Get a LOR from an attending (in your desired field) you worked with whom you feel knows you fairly well and that you had good rapport with. Don't get a letter from the PD unless he happens to be an attending who qualifies as above or he offers to write you one. (Get a LOR from anyone who offers you one. It never hurts to have extra LORs to choose from, and if they were so impressed by you so as to offer you one, then chances are it would be a great letter). Generally, the better the attending knows you and likes you, the better the LOR. Also keep in mind that some attendings are well known in their field for their publications or research and that their LORs may carry a lot more weight because of this...it is very possible that you don't know how prominent your attending is in their field.
 
Thanks for the reply.

Your response touches on something I'm confused about.

It makes sense that a LOR from a PD or prominent attending with lots of research would carry more weight in interviews.

But I assume that when you do a visiting rotation you have very little control over who you work with.

So my question was, should you get a letter or two from who you worked with the most, or simply ask the PD and/or prominent attending that you may not have worked with at all?
 
I don't think a letter from someone you've never worked with, especially someone from another institution who therefore has no vested interest in you, makes much sense. Yeah the name might look better but what in the world is he or she going to say?

Best case: "This person rotated here and, while I did not work directly with them, colleagues of mine said good things about blah blah...."

What specialty might I ask?
 
I second the above. Get one from someone you worked with. Some programs have a format for this. For example, at UNM in EM, it was the attending who dealt with students that would write one (based on comments from others). But you could always ask another attending to write one as well.
 
Also, when do you ask them to write the LOR? If you have a 4 week rotation, should you ask toward the end of the rotation?
 
Peeshee said:
Also, when do you ask them to write the LOR? If you have a 4 week rotation, should you ask toward the end of the rotation?

Yes, but It also depends on how quick and how well you guys get along. For example, if your attending is buying you pizza and offering you a ride home 2 weeks ito your rotation, then I would ask him/her then. ;)
 
Peeshee said:
Also, when do you ask them to write the LOR? If you have a 4 week rotation, should you ask toward the end of the rotation?

The flip side to the advice given above is that if you ask early (a week in) --

"Dr. X, I know I haven't worked with you for very long, but I wanted to let you know that I am hoping you will write a letter for me at the end of my rotation here"

may mean that that attending pays more attention to you over the next few weeks and is able to write a better letter for you. It's a tricky line though.
 
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