Question about ER Volunteer LOR

[prettyslick]

Hey guys:

currently, I volunteer in the ER..and spoke to the volunteer coordinator for LOR. She agreed to write me a LOR.

My question is...since my volunteer coordinator hasnt seen me actually volunteer in the ER. Should I also ask a charge nurse for LOR so they can comment on me interacting with patiends and talk about clinical side..

Or is it a better idea to ask the charge nurse to write a short letter/note with comments to the volunteer coordinator so she can include it in her LOR.

or would my LOR from volunteer coordinator be meaningless if she won't be able to inclue about my interacting with patients in there? better to ask charge nurse for additional LOR?

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[chad5871]

Ask the charge nurse to write a short letter/note to the volunteer coordinator and have the volunteer coordinator write the LOR. You could also request the nurse to draft the LOR and have the volunteer coordinator look at it and change it as she sees fit.

 

[prettyslick]

Ask the charge nurse to write a short letter/note to the volunteer coordinator and have the volunteer coordinator write the LOR. You could also request the nurse to draft the LOR and have the volunteer coordinator look at it and change it as she sees fit.

Thanks chad. Good point...I can have charge nurse write the letter and then send it to volunteer coordinator...is there a such thing as "a LOR written by two ppl"..like both of them signing it?

 

[Terpskins99]

Should I also ask a charge nurse for LOR so they can comment on me interacting with patiends and talk about clinical side..

Or is it a better idea to ask the charge nurse to write a short letter/note with comments to the volunteer coordinator so she can include it in her LOR.

or would my LOR from volunteer coordinator be meaningless if she won't be able to inclue about my interacting with patients in there? better to ask charge nurse for additional LOR?

Its appropriate to ask anyone you feel comfortable writing a letter on your behalf.

Just fyi... while I would want to see a letter from someone that was best able to evaluate your performance, the reality is too many admissions departments look at the status of the letter-writer first. An ER attending or resident would have been ideal.

The same rings true when you're in medical school looking for letters for residency application. Residencies only care about letters written by program directors or senior attendings. A letter from a chief resident, for example, is effectively meaningless to them.

 

[prettyslick]

Its appropriate to ask anyone you feel comfortable writing a letter on your behalf.

Just fyi... while I would want to see a letter from someone that was best able to evaluate your performance, the reality is too many admissions departments look at the status of the letter-writer first. An ER attending or resident would have been ideal.

The same rings true when you're in medical school looking for letters for residency application. Residencies only care about letters written by program directors or senior attendings. A letter from a chief resident, for example, is effectively meaningless to them.

hmm..so should I ask an ER doc for LOR..would that be a better letter?

 

[Terpskins99]

hmm..so should I ask an ER doc for LOR..would that be a better letter?

For a medical school application, absolutely.

 

[prettyslick]

For a medical school application, absolutely.

Does it matter if he's a DO or MD? Because the doc who I believe would be able to write me the best LOR would be a D.O

 

[doomknight]

imo you need not just any doctor, should be M.D., with a solid reputation, ideally known throughout the medical community. Think Dr. House calibre

 

[Terpskins99]

Does it matter if he's a DO or MD? Because the doc who I believe would be able to write me the best LOR would be a D.O.

A recommendation letter from a DO would help you more in an application towards an osteopathic medical school for obvious reasons, but as long as the letter is from a physician that can speak of your potential as a medical student I don't think it matters too much.

Just my opinion, but a glowing letter from a DO comes across better than a bland letter from an MD. Anyhow, why not ask both?

 

[prettyslick]

bump

 

[KSDeacon]

yeah i'm kind of in this same boat. I was thinking about getting 2 different letters from ER staff...one is a charge nurse who i work with a lot who i know will write me an awesome rec, and the other is one of the main physicians there.
Anyone think it's a bad idea for me to have 2 rec letters coming from within the same department?

 

[Terpskins99]

yeah i'm kind of in this same boat. I was thinking about getting 2 different letters from ER staff...one is a charge nurse who i work with a lot who i know will write me an awesome rec, and the other is one of the main physicians there.
Anyone think it's a bad idea for me to have 2 rec letters coming from within the same department?

At first I was going to say no, but I can see it being good and bad.

Yes, it seems to be redundant having two people from the same department writing a letter. Plus, you might want to be careful how you ask, since you don't want to unintentionally offend the charge nurse. Its likely that the nurse will know you asked the er doc as well.

Anyhow, most of your rec letters should come from academic professors that taught a class you were in so I don't know how much better it is to have a plethora of extracurric letters.

 

[KSDeacon]

well i already have 3 faculty from my university writing letters for me, since i am using my schools Health Professions Committee, so I'm covered fairly well from that end. I don't think I need to worry about offending the charge nurse, but i just know that she'll write me a very very strong LOR.