Shadowing Semantics

[musashi]

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What is the general consensus as to where letters of recommendation should come from? I initially wanted to apply to PA school and started shadowing a couple of PA’s this past year. I have decided instead to apply to medical school, but have acquired around 300 shadow hours between the University Hospital E.R. where I live in San Antonio and down in the valley at a rural health clinic. I know for a fact that these 2 PA’s who both have nearly 20 years in the profession each would each write me solid letters. How would a medical school admissions board view letters coming from a PA? I know I can say that instead of “shadowing” a PA I have “volunteered” for said amount of hours at an ER an a family practice. At both the ER and the family practice I have cultivated relationships with different physicians who I know would allow me to shadow them. Should I start shadowing a couple of physicians to establish a great rapport for solid letters of recommendation down the road? I am still going to continue to shadow said PA's as they both allow me to perform tasks (ordinarily reservd for clinicians) such as taking history's and the other night I was able to participate in stapling a superficial laceration on the back of the skull. What do ya'll think?

 

[relentless11]

What is the general consensus as to where letters of recommendation should come from? I initially wanted to apply to PA school and started shadowing a couple of PA’s this past year. I have decided instead to apply to medical school, but have acquired around 300 shadow hours between the University Hospital E.R. where I live in San Antonio and down in the valley at a rural health clinic. I know for a fact that these 2 PA’s who both have nearly 20 years in the profession each would each write me solid letters. How would a medical school admissions board view letters coming from a PA? I know I can say that instead of “shadowing” a PA I have “volunteered” for said amount of hours at an ER an a family practice. At both the ER and the family practice I have cultivated relationships with different physicians who I know would allow me to shadow them. Should I start shadowing a couple of physicians to establish a great rapport for solid letters of recommendation down the road? I am still going to continue to shadow said PA's as they both allow me to perform tasks (ordinarily reservd for clinicians) such as taking history's and the other night I was able to participate in stapling a superficial laceration on the back of the skull. What do ya'll think?

Yes, I would shadow some physicians just because you are applying to become an MD/DO. You can probably call your work with PAs as clinical experience.

Two things to remember in terms of letters of recommendation:

1) Get one who knows you well, and who can write you a STRONG letter. A person can say good things about you, but as I learned over the years, some people actually know what to say (keywords) that are stronger than others.

2) Endeavor to have a diverse set of letters that emphasize a lot of your strengths, not one.

In all honesty, it is great that you have PA experience, BUT I wouldn't put all my eggs into one basket. Academic performance, extracurricular (clinical and non-clinical), and miscellaneous things are also important. Beyond that, I see nothing wrong with having PA experience on your list of ECs. I've had friends who had some veterinary experience too (however they had more experience with humans).

You will find that extra-curriculars, although great to have, are merely icing o the cake. So don't get an ulcer about the semantics😉. Remember, some of us on SDN were previously certified EMTs, nurses, dentists, pharmacists, veterinarians, and clinical scientists. I have yet to hear any of these people be shunned by med schools. If you have good grades, and a good MCAT score, you're relatively treated the same way as a mere undergrad. What gets you into med school is who you are as a person and what makes you unique as a person among the thousands of applicants. Good luck!

 

[Rock Solid]

Dont forget to include current PAs going back to medical school on your list. 🙂

 

[relentless11]

Dont forget to include current PAs going back to medical school on your list. 🙂

Haha, yes PAs too. I could've sworn i put in an "etc" in there, but i guess I didn't. My fault😳