Obtaining Letters from DO's

[WisePrincess227]

I know that there are a lot of DO's and MD's concerned with Hippa laws etc. I was wondering how you asked DO's for LOR? I was considering sending out a general letter to DO's in my area (which a small city) and waiting for a reply. Any suggestions on contacting them? TIA

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[madscientist50]

I would asked each of them at the start of my shadowing if they felt comfortable being a LOR writer for me based only on my shadowing and speaking with them. It took me 3 shadowings to find one but I got a lot of shadowing which the interviewers liked a lot as well. Just ask, be confident but not cocky or whiny. Good luck.

 

[DragonWell]

I know that there are a lot of DO's and MD's concerned with Hippa laws etc. I was wondering how you asked DO's for LOR? I was considering sending out a general letter to DO's in my area (which a small city) and waiting for a reply. Any suggestions on contacting them? TIA

In person is better than telephone which is better than letter. Best to tell docs of your interest in osteopathic medicine and future plans, get to know them a little and then ask for the letter.

Be VERY nice to the office staff in all interactions; if you can get them on your side, they are your best ally.

 

[t-funk]

Hey MadScientist,

I noticed you were in Lincoln. I am going to start looking for a DO to shadow and there are like only 1 or 2 in the phone book. How did you find your DO? Would you be willing to share that information with me? There is one family practice DO in the phone and I was going to start by calling him. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

 

[WisePrincess227]

thanks!

 

[lrobin15]

Hey MadScientist,

I noticed you were in Lincoln. I am going to start looking for a DO to shadow and there are like only 1 or 2 in the phone book. How did you find your DO? Would you be willing to share that information with me? There is one family practice DO in the phone and I was going to start by calling him. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

Try find a DO on the AOA website. You type in your city and it gives you a list

 

[HunterGatherer]

Princess,

what city do you live in? and what's the closest major city if you do not live in one?

 

[Dr.Inviz]

Try find a DO on the AOA website. You type in your city and it gives you a list

For certain areas, the website is ineffective.

 

[Muscles00GT]

I would just ask in person. I'm going to be shadowing my family physician for some time this summer hoping to eventually get a LOR from him because he is in fact a DO and went to PCOM (the school i want to go to)

 

[HemaOncoDoc]

I know that there are a lot of DO's and MD's concerned with Hippa laws etc. I was wondering how you asked DO's for LOR? I was considering sending out a general letter to DO's in my area (which a small city) and waiting for a reply. Any suggestions on contacting them? TIA

Dr. Inviz may be right, but this is a good start.

http://medicine.nova.edu/admiss/admissreq.html

The worse they can do is mentor you as to find a DO to shadow. Much luck.

 

[GreenShirt]

I sent out 8 letters back in September to DOs asking if I could shadow. I just got a response a week ago from one. Too late! Maybe other people have had more luck, but the letter writing route didn't work for me. It's easier if you network. I'd ask your family physician if they know a DO who owes them a favor and see if they can hook you up. Other thing to try is to contact a professional organization for a specialty you're interested in and see if they can recommend someone.

 

[Slane]

I went to an open house type event for OUCOM at St. Joseph's in Warren, Ohio last week, and I ended up getting hooked up with a DO in their ER that's going to let me shadow him over the summer. My family physician is a DO as well, so I've already been shadowing him throughout the year. I think the best way like people have said is to network. Look for open house type scenarios from DO schools in your area and see if you can get a plug or two from those. Once you can get in and do some shadowing, you shouldn't have a problem getting a good letter if you really make a good impression.

 

[HemaOncoDoc]

I sent out 8 letters back in September to DOs asking if I could shadow. I just got a response a week ago from one. Too late! Maybe other people have had more luck, but the letter writing route didn't work for me. It's easier if you network. I'd ask your family physician if they know a DO who owes them a favor and see if they can hook you up. Other thing to try is to contact a professional organization for a specialty you're interested in and see if they can recommend someone.

That's why I found the mentoring program to be helpful since the DO mentors sign up for it, and as a result, are invested in it. They also receive email notifications instead of snail mail. Although snail mail is professional, oftentimes doesn't produce timely results.

 

[Vix206]

my family and i are friends with our general practitioner, so i felt comfortable enough to see if he could make any connections for me to shadow a DO. however, i feel that anyone who has a decent doc/patient relationship with his/her's can ask that favor. doctors know other doctors, and that's how i've usually made my connections to shadow.

 

[McDoctor]

If there is a AOA Family Medicine residency program in the area, you can probably contact the program and inquire about shadowing opportunities and go from there. Our residency has had college students shadow at our clinic. The attendings have usually been generous about writing letters for interested individuals.

 

[JasonUD]

I called one up that a family friend went to, told him I'm interested in becoming a DO and would like to talk to him about it in person. He had me come down during his lunch break and we talked a little bit about osteopathy. I then asked him if I could volunteer in his office for a few weeks and then at the end of that if he would write me a letter of rec if he felt comfortable with me. He called the office manager in and they actually gave me a job right there on the spot and then I got my letter at the end of the summer.

 

[WisePrincess227]

Princess,

what city do you live in? and what's the closest major city if you do not live in one?

I live in a very small city/town considered under-served and I have found only one DO in the area . I was surprised that this post came back up, but thanks to everyone for their input. I truly believe that if you don't have the connections then they are difficult to establish...trying my best. Wise---Next major city--Tallahassee