Recommendation letter from Physician

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Uranium-235

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Hi guys,
If I were to shadow a doctor 2 or more years before I plan to apply, how would I request I letter knowing that I won’t apply right away after finishing the shadowing. Thanks in advance.

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Hi guys,
If I were to shadow a doctor 2 or more years before I plan to apply, how would I request I letter knowing that I won’t apply right away after finishing the shadowing. Thanks in advance.
There is no need for more than 40 hours of shadowing (especially if a significant portion is primary care).
A large majority of MD schools do not need or want a physician letter. We especially dismiss shadowing letters!

If you plan to apply to DO schools, they do love a DO letter, however. DO physicians know and accept this.
 
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Why? What's the point?
 
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Just wondering about a physician letter for scribing. Because here they can speak to your work ethic and provide more valueable information than what I could imagine a shadowing letter could even say?
 
You are getting a letter from an employment supervisor who happens to be a physician. The OP here is talking about a letter from a shadowing physician which are perhaps the least useful and impactful of any LOR

I started to sweat a little. One of my confirmed (and stronger) LOR's is from the medical director I frequently scribed for in an almost x3 year span.
 
You are getting a letter from an employment supervisor who happens to be a physician. The OP here is talking about a letter from a shadowing physician which are perhaps the least useful and impactful of any LOR
My school actually requires a shadowing letter for their committee letter. They say that the types of questions you ask can say a bit about you.
 
There is no need for more than 40 hours of shadowing (especially if a significant portion is primary care).
A large majority of MD schools do not need or want a physician letter. We especially dismiss shadowing letters!

If you plan to apply to DO schools, they do love a DO letter, however. DO physicians know and accept this.

So would the letter be looked at negatively? What if you shadow long enough that the physician really gets to know you and your values?
 
So would the letter be looked at negatively? What if you shadow long enough that the physician really gets to know you and your values?

To tell you the reasoning I have seen before: It's not that you shouldnt shadow for more than 40 hours because that's the cutoff somebody pulled out of their pocket. It is because if you are going to be somewhere for more than 40 hours you should be put to good use somehow and actually accomplish something. A shadow is useless and if anything more of an annoyance.
 
So would the letter be looked at negatively? What if you shadow long enough that the physician really gets to know you and your values?
Shadowing is not a service to others. It is a way to observe what doctors do before committing to a lifetime of service.
Physician shadowing letters are useless because we are congenitally incapable of anything but fluffy praise (and everybody knows it). Besides that, they are already doing you a favor by letting you tag along. Adding to their burden hardly seems right...
If you are applying to AZ, UT or RFU, you can use it for a "clinical" letter, though.

A DO letter does warm the hearts of DO schools.
 
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Shadowing is not a service to others. It is a way to observe what doctors do before committing to a lifetime of service.
Physician shadowing letters are useless because we are congenitally incapable of anything but fluffy praise (and everybody knows it). Besides that, they are already doing you a favor by letting you tag along. Adding to their burden hardly seems right...
If you are applying to AZ, UT or RFU, you can use it for a "clinical" letter, though.

A DO letter does warm the hearts of DO schools.
To follow up my wise colleague, in nearly 20 years of being an Adcom member, I've only seen two bad clinician LORs.

We want letters of evaluation, not testimonials
 
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My school actually requires a shadowing letter for their committee letter. They say that the types of questions you ask can say a bit about you.
This is so silly. I feel badly that you have to put up with this nonsense (and that so many undergrads have to put up with similar circumstances). These people generally aren't even in medicine, right? A bunch of gatekeepers on a power trip.
 
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