Physician LOR

[LilEngineThatCould]

Hi,

I'm trying to get a LOR from the physician I've been shadowing, but I'm not sure what the letter needs to include really. MD schools don't require a physician LOR so I'm not quite sure what DO schools are looking for. My advisor said mentioning I shadowed him, that I know a lot about the DO profession (we've talked about this many times) and what he thinks I would be like as a future physician. Is this enough, or is there anything I'm missing?

Thanks in advance!

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[AlteredScale]

I'm sure the physician will know what he needs to write so I wouldn't worry about it!

 

[yanks26dmb]

Hi,

I'm trying to get a LOR from the physician I've been shadowing, but I'm not sure what the letter needs to include really. MD schools don't require a physician LOR so I'm not quite sure what DO schools are looking for. My advisor said mentioning I shadowed him, that I know a lot about the DO profession (we've talked about this many times) and what he thinks I would be like as a future physician. Is this enough, or is there anything I'm missing?

Thanks in advance!

MD schools don't require a doctor letter? really??

 

[AlteredScale]

MD schools don't require a doctor letter? really??

Most only want 2 Science and 1 Science. I think the physician LOR is a hidden requirement since it's more than likely most applicants will have it either through their PI or through a shadowing opportunity.

 

[LilEngineThatCould]

MD schools don't require a doctor letter? really??

Yup, it's pretty surprising isn't it? But like the other poster said, they figure it's inherent since they expect you to shadow and do other things.

 

[LilEngineThatCould]

I'm sure the physician will know what he needs to write so I wouldn't worry about it!

It's actually the first time he's even had someone shadow him, but he was great!! He graduated in a foreign country and did residency here so he's not as well acquainted with the pre-med process. I just wanted to make sure I wasn't missing anything.

 

[TheBoneDoctah]

I think that most schools just want to see that you have actually seen what a D.O. does and possibly the differences between an M.D. and D.O. If you are able to observe OMM, this is a bonus.

The doc isn't really going to know a lot about you unless you spend a good amount of time, which I don't think most D.O. applicants do by reading SDN posts. The doc will probably just write about what you saw and that he thought you were blah, blah, blah, but nothing too personal. Unless you know the D.O. very well, I wouldn't count on the letter being a game changer.

 

[AlteredScale]

It's actually the first time he's even had someone shadow him, but he was great!! He graduated in a foreign country and did residency here so he's not as well acquainted with the pre-med process. I just wanted to make sure I wasn't missing anything.

I knew you were asking because of this! I just didn't want to make assumptions there haha.

Well in this context it would be good to give him a guide for what to write . Ask him first if he feels comfortable writing an LOR and if he doesn't ask for your help then I think he will be fine on his own. Hope that helps!

 

[AlteredScale]

I think that most schools just want to see that you have actually seen what a D.O. does and possibly the differences between an M.D. and D.O. If you are able to observe OMM, this is a bonus.

The doc isn't really going to know a lot about you unless you spend a good amount of time, which I don't think most D.O. applicants do by reading SDN posts. The doc will probably just write about what you saw and that he thought you were blah, blah, blah, but nothing too personal. Unless you know the D.O. very well, I wouldn't count on the letter being a game changer.

Concur most definitely with this. I think some DO programs understand this as well and really don't look for a longitudinal relationship with the student the allow to shadow them. Perhaps more of a formality at the best. BUT that doesn't discount the fact that strong DO letter can really do a lot for the cycle.

 

[LilEngineThatCould]

I think that most schools just want to see that you have actually seen what a D.O. does and possibly the differences between an M.D. and D.O. If you are able to observe OMM, this is a bonus.

The doc isn't really going to know a lot about you unless you spend a good amount of time, which I don't think most D.O. applicants do by reading SDN posts. The doc will probably just write about what you saw and that he thought you were blah, blah, blah, but nothing too personal. Unless you know the D.O. very well, I wouldn't count on the letter being a game changer.

Good to know. Unfortunately I had a hard time finding a DO who would let me shadow. I've been trying for months now, so I had to settle for the MD writing my letter. I wish I had been able to see OMM, but none of the DOs in the hospital I work in use it. I've seen a few DOs around and some students/residents as well, but nothing really seemed different honestly.

 

[LilEngineThatCould]

I knew you were asking because of this! I just didn't want to make assumptions there haha.

Well in this context it would be good to give him a guide for what to write . Ask him first if he feels comfortable writing an LOR and if he doesn't ask for your help then I think he will be fine on his own. Hope that helps!

Haha yeah, he's a great doctor really, but he's just not as familiar with this part of the process. In fact, I've been giving him resources for his son who also plans to be a doctor, which was kind of cool lol

Anyway, thanks for the advice.

 

[TheBoneDoctah]

Good to know. Unfortunately I had a hard time finding a DO who would let me shadow. I've been trying for months now, so I had to settle for the MD writing my letter. I wish I had been able to see OMM, but none of the DOs in the hospital I work in use it. I've seen a few DOs around and some students/residents as well, but nothing really seemed different honestly.

I literally typed up 50 letters and mailed them (snail mail) to all the D.O.'s I wanted to shadow. Out of the 50, I think I remember getting back about 5-6 that would allow me to shadow. You really have to put in the extra effort to shadow a D.O. In my opinion, osteopathic docs are much more easy to shadow once you find them. I had an E.R. doc write me a HAND-WRITTEN response and mail it back to me. Super personal.

 

[LilEngineThatCould]

I literally typed up 50 letters and mailed them (snail mail) to all the D.O.'s I wanted to shadow. Out of the 50, I think I remember getting back about 5-6 that would allow me to shadow. You really have to put in the extra effort to shadow a D.O. In my opinion, osteopathic docs are much more easy to shadow once you find them. I had an E.R. doc write me a HAND-WRITTEN response and mail it back to me. Super personal.

I've been calling and emailing and gotten nothing, but I think I'll keep trying so if I get interviewed they know that I know what it means to be a DO. That's amazing though, I didn't think anybody did that anymore.

 

[AlteredScale]

I've been calling and emailing and gotten nothing, but I think I'll keep trying so if I get interviewed they know that I know what it means to be a DO. That's amazing though, I didn't think anybody did that anymore.

Without a doubt this is one of the more challenging aspects. If I could suggest something while you are putting effort in shadowing a DO: contact an osteopathic medical student, ask them about OMT. I did that first and even got to test it out myself. It's quite amazing!

 

[socialcriticism]

Try getting a part time/full time job as an ER scribe if possible. There are loads of DOs in emergency medicine and when you actually work with them, they tend to also write stronger letters as well. In addition, doctors involved in scribing programs tend to already have the assumption that they'll have letters asked from them, so they have more experience writing good letters as well.

 

[hallowmann]

MD schools don't require a doctor letter? really??

Its not technically a requirement, but others are right in that it's an expected requirement. I don't know anyone who applied MD without a doc LOR. Its kind of like volunteering. Volunteering isn't a requirement at most MD schools, but when 80-90% of applicants have volunteering on their apps, it practically is a requirement.

 

[LilEngineThatCould]

Without a doubt this is one of the more challenging aspects. If I could suggest something while you are putting effort in shadowing a DO: contact an osteopathic medical student, ask them about OMT. I did that first and even got to test it out myself. It's quite amazing!

I have a full time job as a lab tech in a hospital and an on call job too so I haven't been able to get a scribe job (they require more hrs than I can take). But I may just walk into the ER and ask doctors in person lol

 

[LilEngineThatCould]

Update: I finally got a DO who will let me shadow him and he's a specialist in OMM! His practice is 2 hours away but I'm glad cuz I'll finally get to see what all the DO hype is about

 

[cliquesh]

Update: I finally got a DO who will let me shadow him and he's a specialist in OMM! His practice is 2 hours away but I'm glad cuz I'll finally get to see what all the DO hype is about

Dr. Blood?

 

[LilEngineThatCould]

Dr. Blood?

I don't want to be specific just in case. But no not him lol