recommendation from pharmacist

[panadacoke]

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I just started volunteering at a medical pharmacy last week. I asked the pharmacist to write me a recommendation later yesterday and she said "yes". But what she's gonna do is to have me write myself the recommendation then let her sign. That's great, but I just feel weird towards it. I am wondering if this happened to any SDNer before; and what should I write in the recommendation? Thanks.

 

[ndearwater]

I just started volunteering at a medical pharmacy last week. I asked the pharmacist to write me a recommendation later yesterday and she said "yes". But what she's gonna do is to have me write myself the recommendation then let her sign. That's great, but I just feel weird towards it. I am wondering if this happened to any SDNer before; and what should I write in the recommendation? Thanks.

I know what you mean, that would make me feel a little uncomfortable because it's like, What do I write? But I say, write something awesome that you feel appropriately reflects your abilities and when you give it to her say, "If there is anything you feel I should change, let me know and I'll revise it." Make this work to your benefit!

 

[cosmicstarr]

This is an excellent opportunity to go all out in recommending yourself and get a very strong recommendation from a pharmacist. Don't be modest and sell yourself in the letter.

 

[b*rizzle]

This is an excellent opportunity to go all out in recommending yourself and get a very strong recommendation from a pharmacist. Don't be modest and sell yourself in the letter.

I dunno, if I were an adcom it would seem a little odd to get a letter of rec so strong from someone the applicant had only known for a short period of time.

That's not to say that there aren't fantastic people out there who make tremendous impacts on those they meet in short periods of time, but I'd be guarded about it.

I'd focus on saying things like "So-and-so has caught on quickly in the short time she has been here...she is very sharp, and is organized and orderly, which are characteristics of a good pharmacist" instead of "So-and-so is the best thing since sliced bread. If you don't accept her you're crazy."

It's not to say that you'd actually say something similar to the latter in the letter, but I'd focus on qualities of yourself that would make you a good pharmacist.

 

[BTB]

...t what she's gonna do is to have me write myself the recommendation then let her sign...

I had to do that as well. Try to put yourself in the evaluator's shoes, and make sure (as always) that your grammar and spelling are top-notch.

 

[ZpackSux]

A recommendation from someone who's only known you for a week?

Great! 👎

 

[bananaface]

If someone doesn't give enough of a damn to write a recommendation themselves, they aren't too interested in ensuring your success.

 

[ZpackSux]

If someone doesn't give enough of a damn to write a recommendation themselves, they aren't too interested in ensuring your success.

Agreed. That basically sends out the message... "hmm..I don't really know you."

 

[nonyagirl]

If someone doesn't give enough of a damn to write a recommendation themselves, they aren't too interested in ensuring your success.

yeah... actually, I think the admissions people might be able to tell that you wrote the recommendation yourself, just b/c if you're not the pharmacist, the professional, adult... it's hard to write as if you are. Plus, it might not be ethically allowed (if u know what I mean??... does the pharm application small print caution against anything?), if you pretend to be your recommender... and do not disclose that you wrote it yourself.

Maybe you should ask a pharm tech or someone you worked more closely with to write a rec... altho a "Pharmacist" may seem better, anyone who has seen you work in that capacity should be fine. Or... write it yourself but say the pharmacist told u to write it. don't want any potential accusations of nondisclosure or deceit (something like that) after the letter of acceptance.

 

[jplaster]

Sounds like a good deal to me. I mean after all the letter needs to contain reasons why you would be a good pharmacist, and who knows why you would make a good pharmacist better than you. I mean you're willing to sacrifice years of your life and suffer through innnumerable lectures and exams to arrive at that point. Tell them why you think it will be worth it. As far as the adcom's realizing that you haven't known the person all that long, just don't tell them. There's no way they can know how long you've known the person, just don't mention it. As far as ethically I don't think you're bending the rules much, I mean the person does exist and they are going to read the recommendation, so it's not like it's just make believe. Personally I would rather write the recommendation myself so that I can make sure of what is in it and not have someone bad mouth me because of a personal vendetta. Also, nothing against most professionals but I have seen some really worthless rec. letters, from people who either don't have the time, just don't care, or absolutely can't write.

 

[CalGrl05]

I've also been put into this situation by one of my professors who asked me to write a draft for her. I was frustrated at first at the prospect of having to write BOTH my personal statement AND this letter but you should make this work to your advantage. Since she's only known you for a week, she would most likely write two lines at most. So use this to ur advantage but also try to make it as realistic as possible (like what b*rizzle said).

I was just wondering... would you have to unwaive ur right to see the letter if you wrote the letter? Cuz i didnt. Does anyone know wat the purpose waiving/not waiving this right means to adcoms?

 

[b*rizzle]

I've also been put into this situation by one of my professors who asked me to write a draft for her. I was frustrated at first at the prospect of having to write BOTH my personal statement AND this letter but you should make this work to your advantage. Since she's only known you for a week, she would most likely write two lines at most. So use this to ur advantage but also try to make it as realistic as possible (like what b*rizzle said).

I was just wondering... would you have to unwaive ur right to see the letter if you wrote the letter? Cuz i didnt. Does anyone know wat the purpose waiving/not waiving this right means to adcoms?

Even if I wrote my own letter, I would still "waive" my right to see the letter of rec. As far as the adcom knows, you didn't write that letter. I waived my right to see the letters even though a few of my recommenders gave me a copy of what they wrote after they sent them in.

Not waiving the right to see the letter sends up a red flag to an adcom.

They would probably wonder why you were so concerned about what your recommender wrote that made you so desirous of reading it. You've gotta pick your battles on these kinds of things. One of the pharmacists I used to work with has a track record of writing deliberately negative and over-critical LORs. And she prided herself on it.

If I were writing my own letter of rec, I would pick out characteristics that are easily observed in the first few weeks of knowing someone: how quickly you catch on, organization skills, communication skills, enthusiasm and desire to learn, etc and relate them to how this makes you a good prospective pharmacist.

Even so if someone asked me to write the letter for them I'd probably find someone else to write it, if possible. Like you, I'm busy enough without writing my own LORs.

 

[panadacoke]

Thanks for everyone's reply. Well, I think that the pharmacist want myself to write the recommendation because she is very busy. She owns the pharmacy and she is the only one working there. Besides, she is a non-native speaker so she probably thinks that it's better to have it written by myself. I can tell that the pharmacist cares about me alot and she is very willing to help me get in to pharmacy school. Anyways, I'm just worrying that the school would find it out. I have never seen a recommendation from a health specialist and there's no way I can pretend to be one and write it...

 

[CalGrl05]

Pandacoke--
If I were you, I would write try to look for samples online or at the bookstore to give you an idea of how a letter should look like. It really doesnt have to be that hard for you to write it. You are an adult, so try to write it as if a student had asked you to write it... Just don't make it really long or overly detailed. You want to include details but realize that this pharmacist hasn't known you very long. Objectify your point of view.

Everyone--
One of the pharmacists I worked with for ~1 month has written a letter for me and, altho i didnt read it, i saw it from afar and to my dismay it looked really SHORT. I don't know whether I should ask another pharmacist just in case or just have faith that he wrote good things in all 3 of those lines.. 🙁 What would you guys do? Im too afraid to ask him to make it more detailed... In this situation, I wish he had asked me to write it myself too..