Hello, I was wondering how important is it to have a DO letter of recommendation for DO schools? I've only shadowed one DO for a day, and she's a little famous because she wrote a book and is in media. But I don't think I can get her to write a letter of rec for me because I only shadowed her for a day. Also, I don't know what doctors you shadowed can write about, I heard that it's better to have PI letter of rec than letters from docs you've shadowed. Is it okay if I have a letter of rec from a MD who is a chair of department and who I have worked directly under? Would his position have any weight?
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Shadowing DO
Started by medshoes
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DO LORs would be much better though MD LORs are perfectly fine as well. You will need to justify "why DO?" in your secondary essays and during your interviews. Without some specific, personal experience to talk about, you are at a disadvantage admissions wise. Having said that, plenty of people (including me) got in without DO LORs, and I wouldn't be too worried as long as you have all the LORs you need.
It's hard to get an LOR from someone who has only known you for a day. Try spending more time with her before you drop the question and build rapport with her.
Really an LOR from a physician is just confirmation that you were actually there in the first place. There's not much impact unless you've been with the doc for a few years and even then...they can't really speak for your work ethic (which is what adcoms look for).
I would def get the LOR from the department chair if you worked with him.
The weight of a letter will depend on both the seniority of the professor writing it as well as what they say. It's much more common to get neutral letters than to get spectacular letters ("this is the best student I've worked with in my entire medical career" followed with concrete examples of such).
I shadowed my DO letter writer for a day and got a letter anyway. I was actually hoping to shadow her more but it seemed like she thought I had generally seen what her practice was like. I totally agree with that, actually, I guess I was just looking for more "hours" for my application... Eh.
Either way, after shadowing I emailed her at least a few times (letter of rec reminders) and always added something that related to our discussions. Something I read about osteopathic medicine, etc. I also sent my cv and personal statement.
I got a really good letter from her, I think I just got lucky that she actually spent a lot of time talking to me, even though I shadowed for just a day.
But! I had to wait for a couple of months for that letter. And because I shadowed only for a day, I felt like I had no power at all to influence her to write it faster. And I was complete really late this cycle because of that so be careful...
Either way, after shadowing I emailed her at least a few times (letter of rec reminders) and always added something that related to our discussions. Something I read about osteopathic medicine, etc. I also sent my cv and personal statement.
I got a really good letter from her, I think I just got lucky that she actually spent a lot of time talking to me, even though I shadowed for just a day.
But! I had to wait for a couple of months for that letter. And because I shadowed only for a day, I felt like I had no power at all to influence her to write it faster. And I was complete really late this cycle because of that so be careful...
