Requesting LOR from DO

[hojjung33]

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Hi everyone,



So after numerous calls and waiting, I finally found a DO doctor in family medicine that would let me shadow him. However, unlike what I hoped for.. due to his busy schedule..
I was only able to schedule for one day(half-day) to shadow him.
This will be my first time shadowing a DO doctor ever..
I will be asking if there would be any other times available during the Summer ..but
since the app cycle starts in June..I was wondering if it would be ok to ask for LOR after
one visit...I know after just first meeting, the doc will not know be enough.. but I feel like I have no option.. 🙁 I have told the assistant nurse that I will be applying this upcoming cycle.. so I'm hoping that she kinda got a sense that I will need a LOR..

Also, since I have very limited exposure to DO.. I am planning to volunteer at osteopathic hospital from next month.. and continue til end of summer. thay way I can kinda see how they work .. eventhough I'm not exactly shadowing them..



Thanks in advance!

 

[wjs010]

i am in your exact situation because there are no DO's in my town. I have to travel 30 minutes for one day a week starting thursday. I am probably going to ask him after a few visits...he's a DO so he has to understand one of the most important reasons I called to shadow him was to obtain that DO letter...i just hope he's not a douche

 

[hojjung33]

Good luck with shadowing. I don't have lot of DO's in my town either. only few.. but all of them are either hard to reach or didn't even respond. So I'm searching for ones in other cities.. which I have to travel at least an hour... I hope the DO that allowed me to shadow has some time space so I could shadow some more.. how long or how many times are you planning to shadow?

 

[Amberofthemomen]

This same thing happened with me.

I called the DO, he offered a date that I could show up at the practice, we talked for about an hour about the profession, then he showed me around, we met with some nurse practitioners, he went over some patient reports with me, and that was about it. He ended up agreeing to write me a letter.

He said that it was pretty hard to actually go and watch a doctor diagnose patients, but many people seem to do it anyway.

Now that I have the DO letter, I'm going to start contacting MDs (there are way, way, way more of them where I live) and try to get some solid shadowing experience.

 

[hojjung33]

This same thing happened with me.

I called the DO, he offered a date that I could show up at the practice, we talked for about an hour about the profession, then he showed me around, we met with some nurse practitioners, he went over some patient reports with me, and that was about it. He ended up agreeing to write me a letter.

He said that it was pretty hard to actually go and watch a doctor diagnose patients, but many people seem to do it anyway.

Now that I have the DO letter, I'm going to start contacting MDs (there are way, way, way more of them where I live) and try to get some solid shadowing experience.

Yeah there are way more of MDs in my area too...

So when you did your shadowing.. when and how did you ask for the LOR? I was thinking of bringing my resume/CV and personal statement with me to first meeting, and ask about LOR after I get done with the shadowing that day..

 

[dsoz]

The DO letter is not sent in with the primary application. You can send in the primary without it. The schools each request letters with the secondary, and some will even grant interviews without it, if you send it before the interview day.

There is even one school (LECOM-B) where there was a DO on site on interview day that woul talk with you for a few minutes about why you want to go DO, then will write a DO letter for you. A few people on my interview day did this.

Interfolio is a great resource because then you ask for only one letter, have the physician send it to interfolio and then you pay $5 to each school to send it out. Otherwise you have to ask for one letter to send to EACH school. That may be an inconvenience for the physician.

Set up the interfolio before you ask for the letter, then you can print out the letter request form.

dsoz

 

[hojjung33]

The DO letter is not sent in with the primary application. You can send in the primary without it. The schools each request letters with the secondary, and some will even grant interviews without it, if you send it before the interview day.

There is even one school (LECOM-B) where there was a DO on site on interview day that woul talk with you for a few minutes about why you want to go DO, then will write a DO letter for you. A few people on my interview day did this.

Interfolio is a great resource because then you ask for only one letter, have the physician send it to interfolio and then you pay $5 to each school to send it out. Otherwise you have to ask for one letter to send to EACH school. That may be an inconvenience for the physician.

Set up the interfolio before you ask for the letter, then you can print out the letter request form.

dsoz

Oh I see. Thank you for your advice. I didn't know that DO letter is not sent with the primary application.

 

[Amberofthemomen]

He asked me ahead of time if I needed a letter. He understood the application process, and I wasn't the first person who he had written a DO letter for, for the sake of the applications.

btw, I think it's a good idea if you print out the Interfolio request form and hand it to the doctor. I think the electronic request forms can be filtered into spam.

 

[oOKawaiiOo]

Im having trouble finding a DO to shadow simply because I do not know how to ask. So did you just call around or visited the clinic/hospital?

 

[Jwalker]

This same thing happened with me.

I called the DO, he offered a date that I could show up at the practice, we talked for about an hour about the profession, then he showed me around, we met with some nurse practitioners, he went over some patient reports with me, and that was about it. He ended up agreeing to write me a letter.

He said that it was pretty hard to actually go and watch a doctor diagnose patients, but many people seem to do it anyway.

Now that I have the DO letter, I'm going to start contacting MDs (there are way, way, way more of them where I live) and try to get some solid shadowing experience.

I had a similar experience to the above posters. I contacted a DO who agreed to let me shadow. At the beginning of the day, I introduced myself and described why I wanted to gain insight into osteopathic medicine. I followed him around until lunch time - he even let me assist with some procedures. Right before lunch break he offered to write me a letter saying he knew what I was there for and was familiar with the application process. Needless to say, I happily accepted. It was a great letter as well - seeing as I got into both my top choices!

 

[LaughingMan]

I had a similar experience to the above posters. I contacted a DO who agreed to let me shadow. At the beginning of the day, I introduced myself and described why I wanted to gain insight into osteopathic medicine. I followed him around until lunch time - he even let me assist with some procedures. Right before lunch break he offered to write me a letter saying he knew what I was there for and was familiar with the application process. Needless to say, I happily accepted. It was a great letter as well - seeing as I got into both my top choices!

LOL--I wish my shadowing experiences go like that!

 

[wjs010]

The DO I shadow is very cool but never hints that he understands that I severely need his LOR. Maybe it wasn't like that for him when he went to school. I guess I have to ask at some point

 

[TriagePreMed]

Getting a letter is easy. Just tell the doc from the get-go that you would like to earn a letter from them. Note it's earn, not get. The ball will roll from them.

 

[WillburCobb]

Similar experience as the ones mentioned above. I'm sure he knew the main reason I was there before I said anything. I was only able to secure 2 days with a DO (about 16 hours) and he really only talked to me at the end of the day or to occasionally answer questions. Wrapping-up our conversation at the end of the second day he said, "Well that's all I've got unless there's anything else...". I started to mention that some the schools I was considering strongly prefer or require a LOR from a DO, and knowing perfectly well what I was about to say he interrupted me about 2 seconds into that before I even mentionedLOR and said something along the lines of "Yes, I know DO schools pretty much all require a DO LOR, and I'd be more than willing to do that for you."

 

[wjs010]

Wow that is a nice DO 😀 the one I'm shadowing is an ortho surgeon and he is very cool. Maybe I should just blurt it out. I've been shadowing him for a few months and haven't mentioned it