Question of Letter of Recommendation for Residency

[UCMS2013]

I am a practicing dentist and have been for the last 4 years, and have been working mainly in my mother's dental office. Halfway through working, she transitioned to teaching in dental program and is now a clinical instructor.

Would it be wrong to get a letter of recommendation from her as my employer? I've gotten mixed responses and wanted to get some clarity.

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[AONLINE]

I am a practicing dentist and have been for the last 4 years, and have been working mainly in my mother's dental office. Halfway through working, she transitioned to teaching in dental program and is now a clinical instructor.

Would it be wrong to get a letter of recommendation from her as my employer? I've gotten mixed responses and wanted to get some clarity.

Do you and your mother have the same last name? I would probably avoid it as it’s a bit tacky.

 

[PerioDont]

Is she in the specialty you are applying for? esp if not, I really wouldn't do that could look sketchy

 

[UCMS2013]

Do you and your mother have the same last name? I would probably avoid it as it’s a bit tacky.

We do have the same last name. I understand that, but she is also a practicing dentist and it respected in the field.

Is she in the specialty you are applying for? esp if not, I really wouldn't do that could look sketchy

She is a general dentist, not a specialist. I basically was running her dental practice, seeing majority of the patients

 

[PerioDont]

We do have the same last name. I understand that, but she is also a practicing dentist and it respected in the field.

She is a general dentist, not a specialist. I basically was running her dental practice, seeing majority of the patients

you are applying for a specialty correct? I wouldn't really have GPs write your letters, ideally you would have more of the specialty you are applying for write them.

 

[pab-l0]

The last name is what makes this a no go. Her influence in your application should come more from the fact that you have grown up with dentistry and have been exposed to it for so long. This gives you extra hands-off experience, additional exposure to various areas of dentistry that others don't, etc etc. This, as an argument, will carry more weight than having an evaluator see the letter was written by your mom. Don't take that the wrong way, it just is what it sounds like.

 

[Lemillion]

The last name is what makes this a no go. Her influence in your application should come more from the fact that you have grown up with dentistry and have been exposed to it for so long. This gives you extra hands-off experience, additional exposure to various areas of dentistry that others don't, etc etc. This, as an argument, will carry more weight than having an evaluator see the letter was written by your mom. Don't take that the wrong way, it just is what it sounds like.

I agree wholeheartedly.

 

[T00thDr]

That's a no from me. Worked on admissions committee as a pre-doc and letters from moms and dads caused those applications to go in the "no interview" pile.

 

[SilkyJ]

Come on man, you knew what the response was gonna be.

No, you shouldn’t use your mother as a reference, it looks ridiculous. Also, when you’re applying for a residency, you should be trying to get letters from specialists in the field you’re pursuing. Say that you’re applying for OMFS. No matter what the reference letters say, if you get letters from 2 prosthodontists, an orthodontist, and your mother, you’re not going to be taken seriously. Nothing against prostho, ortho, or your mother, but your reference letters should be specific to field if at all possible.