No idea what to do with LoRs

[zero0]

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Hey guys, it's about time to submit ERAS and I'm having a much harder time picking which of my letters to use than I thought I would.

Here's what I have to work with:
IM doc (probably good)
cardiologist (pretty strong)
PhD I knew for years and did bench research with, including a few national presentations on anesthesiology research (probably good)
community hospital anesthesiologist (likely generic)
cardiac anesthesiologist at anesthesiology residency (likely generic)
**letter from anesthesiology PD that I don't have yet but supposedly will sometime soon (probably good)

I'm going to assign the full 4 letters to each program. Which ones should I use? I was thinking of using all of the anesthesiology ones I have since I'd assume those carry the most weight but I have no idea... Is it worth waiting on the PD letter that might never come? Or should I submit 4 of the letters I already have?

 

[morri493]

Personally, I'd go with whatever you think are going to be the strongest/make you stand out the most. I didnt have a single anesthesiology LoR, and each interview I went on commented on how strong my letters were. I wouldn't recommend going the "no anesthesiologist LoR" route.... but I do strongly suggest you go with whatever you think is going to be the strongest letters, more or less regardless of the writers' background/CV.

 

[DM27]

I agree with the above, and if your med school deans screen the letters I would 100% make use of that. My med school would screen our letters and it was very beneficial. I had a letter from an attending that was filled with grammatical errors and I was told by my dean that this is an issue with this attending almost every year and that while she writes letters with thoughtful content they are almost embarrassing to read due to poor grammar, so they always go unused.

 

[Gern Blansten]

I agree with the above, and if your med school deans screen the letters I would 100% make use of that. My med school would screen our letters and it was very beneficial. I had a letter from an attending that was filled with grammatical errors and I was told by my dean that this is an issue with this attending almost every year and that while she writes letters with thoughtful content they are almost embarrassing to read due to poor grammar, so they always go unused.

The Dean's office should stand up and solve the issue by informing the letter writer and then offering assistance with editing for that faculty member's letters. To continue to allow that Dr. to waste time on unused letters when everyone except the letter writer knows it is an issue is not fair. A simple conversation identifying the issue and offering a solution would fix everything. Instead, they have apparently danced around the issue for years.

 

[DM27]

That is the correct thing to do, but like most administrators they likely did not want to enter an uncomfortable situation that was more work for themselves.

 

[zero0]

Personally, I'd go with whatever you think are going to be the strongest/make you stand out the most. I didnt have a single anesthesiology LoR, and each interview I went on commented on how strong my letters were. I wouldn't recommend going the "no anesthesiologist LoR" route.... but I do strongly suggest you go with whatever you think is going to be the strongest letters, more or less regardless of the writers' background/CV.

Fair enough. I found out my IM one is pretty strong, so if I'm not necessarily just using all my anesthesia ones my best 3 are that one, the cardiologist, and either the PhD or community anesthesiologist. The cardiac anesthesiologist has apparently never written one before and that frankly makes me kinda nervous. I just wish that PD would submit his but I don't think I can wait. I really want to have all my letters ready to go the day apps go out.

Unfortunately, my school doesn't review letters. We're completely in the dark and the aforementioned scenario sounds awful. Thanks all!