Should I read this LOR

[Luftwaffle]

---

Members don't see this ad.

So I shadowed this DO for 30ish hours, it wasn't the greatest experience, mostly because I am awkward and didn't want to interrupt her when she was charting so I barely asked any questions and also couldn't tell her much about myself. Oh and I also fell asleep twice (once in a patient room 🙁 , not cause I was bored, but because my body doesn't do well with little sleep, like I literally fell asleep during the MCAT, I might have a condition lol)

On my last day she asked me if I needed a letter (I was vascillating between asking and not asking) and I said yes. Now I have some reservations about sending her letter to DO schools and I do have an MD letter from a doc who knows me better.

So I have 2 questions:

1)The schools on my list accept MD or DO LORs but prefer DO, should I just use the MD letter I already have or send hers in?
2) If I send her a letter request, would it look bad if I didn't waive my right to see it?

 

[Angus Avagadro]

Although not required, a LOR from a D.O. is important to me. If you are applying to an osteopathic medical school, having a letter from a D.O. shows to me you were interested enough to seek out a D.O. and shadow them. If you did not take advantage of the shadowing experience, that might say something about your interest in becoming a D.O. If you are from a very rural area and no D.O.s are around, I might understand.

 

[Moose A Moose]

Tough call, but an attending physician generally wouldn’t offer to write a letter unless they like you to some extent.

Don’t ask to see the letter itself, that’s be a faux pas. What you can do is ask her to evaluate you based on the time to two spent together. Tell her you want constructive criticism, both the good and bad of how she perceived you. Form your basis for submitting the letter she’s offering you off of that.

 

[DokterMom]

For what it's worth, go to a doctor about the sleep thing! While shadowing and during the MCAT?! Better get that checked out

 

[Xanias]

Did you say you fell asleep when taking the MCAT ?


Sent from my iPhone using SDN mobile

 

[Luftwaffle]

Did you say you fell asleep when taking the MCAT ?


Sent from my iPhone using SDN mobile

Heh yep
Tho to be fair I couldn't really sleep the night before because of nerves. Despite the fact that I tried to train my body to sleep earlier a week beforehand.

 

[Goro]

So I shadowed this DO for 30ish hours, it wasn't the greatest experience, mostly because I am awkward and didn't want to interrupt her when she was charting so I barely asked any questions and also couldn't tell her much about myself. Oh and I also fell asleep twice (once in a patient room 🙁 , not cause I was bored, but because my body doesn't do well with little sleep, like I literally fell asleep during the MCAT, I might have a condition lol)

On my last day she asked me if I needed a letter (I was vascillating between asking and not asking) and I said yes. Now I have some reservations about sending her letter to DO schools and I do have an MD letter from a doc who knows me better.

So I have 2 questions:

1)The schools on my list accept MD or DO LORs but prefer DO, should I just use the MD letter I already have or send hers in?
2) If I send her a letter request, would it look bad if I didn't waive my right to see it?

1) Use the MD LOR since there is a risk that the DO might write you (rightly) a bad LOR. A bad LOR will mean the end of your medical career.
2) Yes, it would look bad. These things are supposed to be confidential so that the writers can be honest in their evaluations. If I saw a LOR that didn't have the waiver checked, I'd be calling the LOR writer to find out why. We never see these things unchecked!