Surgery LOR for IM Residency?

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causalinference

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For someone applying to internal medicine programs, how would a letter of recommendation from a surgeon be perceived? I'm planning on going into medicine but I'm enjoying the hell out of my surgery rotation right now. I could just get letters from IM faculty, but wouldn't a letter from a surgeon be something unique to help my application stand out?
 
For someone applying to internal medicine programs, how would a letter of recommendation from a surgeon be perceived? I'm planning on going into medicine but I'm enjoying the hell out of my surgery rotation right now. I could just get letters from IM faculty, but wouldn't a letter from a surgeon be something unique to help my application stand out?

I would be interested to see what the internists here say. For surgery, the only letters from non-surgeons should be extra ones (ie above the required number) and then only from certain medical specialties.

After all, the point of the letter is to discuss whether you would be a good resident physician in that specialty. Most surgeons have never done an internal medicine residency and vice versa.

I'll await responses from those internists but would venture that the answer is only if it is an extra letter and then probably from a SICU attending.
 
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