Physician LOR question

[SleepyInsomniac1]

Hi guys so I have a question that I have been trying to get opinions on. I have been unable to get any shadowing in person as most of the clinics and hospitals around me are part of a larger health care system which does not currently allow in person shadowing. As a result, I am unsure how I will obtain a physician letter that some schools require. I am working as a scribe but I scribe for a PA although I am in the process of trying to move around to see if I can be placed with a physician. However, through my other job (which is non-clinical) I know a few retired doctors that have been interested in my pre-med journey. I guess my question is, would asking them for a letter be a good idea so that I can use it as the physician rec letter?

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[mediocrestudent97]

If I were you. I would ask the PA if she has any colleagues that are physicians that she may be able to connect you with... if she can maybe you can just have a couple conversations/shadow *one of her MD/DO colleagues* for a few weeks to get the letter. If you cant do that... I would have in depth conversations with the retired doctors you mentioned. Let them get to know you personally and let them understand why you would be a good physician. That way when they write a letter (if they have to I would say this is plan B) they will be able to attest to the qualities that you have that they think reflect being a good physician. Lastly, if neither of these work might just want to ask the PA to write one as a last resort to attest to your clinical potential... even then in your app it would be good to note that you had trouble working directly with a physician because of the pandemic and this was the best clinical exposure you could get.

Also matters if you're applying DO or not. If you are, you pretty much need a DO LoR to get bites for interviews.

I'm no expert but this is what I would do if I had to do it over again! Good luck!

 

[SleepyInsomniac1]

If I were you. I would ask the PA if she has any colleagues that are physicians that she may be able to connect you with... if she can maybe you can just have a couple conversations/shadow *one of her MD/DO colleagues* for a few weeks to get the letter. If you cant do that... I would have in depth conversations with the retired doctors you mentioned. Let them get to know you personally and let them understand why you would be a good physician. That way when they write a letter (if they have to I would say this is plan B) they will be able to attest to the qualities that you have that they think reflect being a good physician. Lastly, if neither of these work might just want to ask the PA to write one as a last resort to attest to your clinical potential... even then in your app it would be good to note that you had trouble working directly with a physician because of the pandemic and this was the best clinical exposure you could get.

Also matters if you're applying DO or not. If you are, you pretty much need a DO LoR to get bites for interviews.

I'm no expert but this is what I would do if I had to do it over again! Good luck!

Thanks for the reply! I will admit that I am in a tough spot. I will most likely see if I can try to get a scribing position where I can work with a DO and if not, then I guess I would go with Plan B and ask the doctor I know at my other job. Is not having a DO physician letter really a deal breaker when applying to DO schools? I see a lot of them don't require DO letters on the DO explorer.

 

[mediocrestudent97]

Not requiring doesn’t mean it’s not preferable…. Most DO schools I applied too took either a MD or DO but said DO was preferable. I used an MD letter and I got one acceptance at a DO school and I have 6 MD acceptances right now.

everything I heard from friends, physicians etc that it looks a lot better to DO schools when you have a DO’s support. If it doesn’t hurt you it would certainly help a lot if applying DO to have a DO letter

 

[SleepyInsomniac1]

Not requiring doesn’t mean it’s not preferable…. Most DO schools I applied too took either a MD or DO but said DO was preferable. I used an MD letter and I got one acceptance at a DO school and I have 6 MD acceptances right now.

everything I heard from friends, physicians etc that it looks a lot better to DO schools when you have a DO’s support. If it doesn’t hurt you it would certainly help a lot if applying DO to have a DO letter

Gotcha, yeah I figured as much. Well, thanks for your advice.