Physician LORs and proof of shadowing questions

[grindtime1]

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If a physician has agreed to write an LOR for me and I do not apply for another few years, how would this work? Does she send me the letter through email and I save it until I send in my application, or am I not allowed to read it?

Also, how can medical schools verify the number of hours you shadowed? Do you get a signature from the physician or something like that? Could you make up the number of hours and get way with it?

 

[Asyouwereatrio]

If a physician has agreed to write an LOR for me and I do not apply for another few years, how would this work? Does she send me the letter through email and I save it until I send in my application, or am I not allowed to read it?

Also, how can medical schools verify the number of hours you shadowed? Do you get a signature from the physician or something like that? Could you make up the number of hours and get way with it?

I doubt any willl ask for proof. They can judge you on the basis of how you answer the questions about shadowing experience. Also, it's not a big deal how many hours one has shadowed (at most schools, except UWash). Shadowing is to show what you know about the profession and what a doctor does. If you can answer those questions, you'll be good to go.

To answer your first question, you'll want to have the physician hang onto the letter until you can have it processed via your own letter service at your university, AMCAS LOE service, or Interfolio (your own choice as to which one you use).

 

[Lokhtar]

Save it on interfolio. I've had recommendations from 3 years ago that I am using this app cycle (from work, etc).

 

[grindtime1]

So just to make sure I understood correctly, I could put down 20 hrs shadowing a cardiologist even if I've never done so in my life?

 

[flip26]

So just to make sure I understood correctly, I could put down 20 hrs shadowing a cardiologist even if I've never done so in my life?

👍

Sure, go for it, Booger. It's what all the top applicants do!

 

[grindtime1]

You sound really mad. No need to take it personally.

So I'd like to know what the chances are that a kid could get away with putting down 200-300 hours volunteering at a hospital and shadowing 3-4 different MDs ~ 15 hrs each if he's never done either of these in his life.

Not trolling or saying that it's what I plan to do, but I'm really interested in knowing.

How can medical schools verify that the applicants have done any of these things?

 

[flip26]

You sound really mad. No need to take it personally.

So I'd like to know what the chances are that a kid could get away with putting down 200-300 hours volunteering at a hospital and shadowing 3-4 different MDs ~ 15 hrs each if he's never done either of these in his life.

Not trolling or saying that it's what I plan to do, but I'm really interested in knowing.

How can medical schools verify that the applicants have done any of these things?

I sound mad? No.

You sound like a total douche.

Stop trolling and go play in the street.

 

[grindtime1]

You're really mad... and derailing my thread. Please take your whining elsewhere.

Can anybody answer my questions?

 

[flip26]

You're really mad... and derailing my thread. Please take your whining elsewhere.

Can anybody answer my questions?

Here is the answer: each med school determines the credibility of an applicant, and any one of these schools could seek to verify your claims.

If you are found to have lied on your AMCAS, you will never get into any med school in the US, and if you have already matriculated and this comes to light, you will be kicked out of school.

So go for it, Booger!

 

[grindtime1]

Never asked for the penalty for being caught lying, as most people have enough common sense to know what it is.

The question is very, very simple: Are the chances of a random applicant being able to get away with false volunteering/shadowing hours, presuming that he can discuss these activities knowledgeably during the interview, good or bad?

 

[flip26]

Never asked for the penalty for being caught lying, as most people have enough common sense to know what it is.

The question is very, very simple: Are the chances of a random applicant being able to get away with false volunteering/shadowing hours, presuming that he can discuss these activities knowledgeably during the interview, good or bad?

How in the hell would anyone here be able to tell you the answer to this question?

What else you planning on lying about? I see from your posts that you have also been asking about the chances of getting away with applying falsely as a URM...

 

[orthomyxo]

How in the hell would anyone here be able to tell you the answer to this question?

What else you planning on lying about? I see from your posts that you have also been asking about the chances of getting away with applying falsely as a URM...

Wow...some people

 

[grindtime1]

Because topics like these spark my curiosity. I ask simple questions and hope for answers, not for people pretending to know my "plan" for interviews derailing my thread.

Can anybody else stay on topic and answer my questions?

 

[BigRedder]

In answer to your questions:

1) Ask her to write the letter and save it until you need it. You can explain that you want her to write it while you are fresh in her mind. I'm sure that she'll understand. If she wants to share it with you she can.

2) Theoretically, the school could ask you who you shadowed if it was suspicious, then you might be screwed. If you said you shadowed some random doctor on a random day, they will just assume you are telling the truth. Shadowing is really not a big part of your application. As another poster mentioned, it is just to show that you know what you are getting yourself into.

Volunteering, on the other hand, could be a bit riskier to fake. Most places would have records of volunteers, and they do ask for contact information on AMCAS.

People fake or exaggerate their resumes all the time. From time to time there are random news stories about big shot academics and government employees who are forced to resign after it comes out that made up degrees and even military service. So, people slip under the radar, but eventually people often get caught. It would be a pretty shady way to start a medical career, that's for sure.

 

[Ioriscrub]

For better or worse, the odds of an ADCOM actually verifying your shadowing hours are very low. But as the others have said, if you are actually caught lying, it will mean the end of your career in medicine. Think of it this way. Would you rather get in knowing you were honest about all of your activities, or knowing that you fudged your numbers and really haven't put in the same effort your peers have in making it to medical school?

 

[familyaerospace]

I have an MD letter sitting in my Interfolio account which talks about how I shadowed him.

Technically, yes, you could lie but I would hope a future doctor wouldn't do that. In the section I have for shadowing, I include the doctor's name and contact information so if adcomm wished to verify the information, contact information is at their fingertips. The doctors I had didn't make a note of exactly how many hours I was there, but they can certainly say I was there for at least a day (due to my signed forms) and might remember I was there for several days.