Thought on Letters of Recommendation from Interns/Residents?

[squirrelnutkin]

Hi everyone,

First time post. I was just wondering if any of you had any thoughts on getting a letter of recommendation for the VMCAS from a veterinary intern or a surgical resident, or if any of you had done this in the past when applying.

I work at a fairly large equine practice as a technician, where there are 4 interns (all DVMs) and 1 surgical resident (also DVM). I have most of my day to day interactions with them as opposed to the partners of the practice, so I feel as if they know me best and might offer the most personal letter of recommendation. My only hesitation is that even though they are veterinarians and are practicing in this capacity, they are also currently undergoing some sort of training.

Any thoughts would be appreciated!

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[MusicManiac19]

Hi, I applied this current cycle and of the two recommendation letters from veterinarians, one was from an intern (who is a resident now) and the other from my advisor who is a veterinarian (but she was listed as an advisor on VMCAS) so I technically only had one from the intern. I personally chose him as my recommendation letter because he was the veterinarian who knew me best and could attest to me as a person and future veterinarian more precisely. I had the chance to have other letters from other veterinarians who had done their residencies years ago but I do not think they would have been really good as they do not know me as well. I have been accepted to a veterinary school to matriculate this fall so I do not think the committees thought anything was wrong with it. I should also say that he practiced for a couple years before returning to complete a residency. I don’t know if that really factors into anything. I hope this helps. I was worried at first as well but like you said they are veterinarians which is all VMCAS requires.


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[supershorty]

One of my letters was from a resident. I asked her because she knew me the best of the vets in that group, since I spent the most time with her. I don't think it hurt at all that she was still in a training program - it didn't change that she was already a practicing DVM.

 

[meningealworm]

I think the only way it could count against you would be if your only DVM letter was from an intern. Nothing against interns - I'll be one soon myself - but when you've only been a practicing vet yourself for a few months, it's hard to attest that you can vouch for someone else's success in the field when you're still figuring that out for yourself. If the interns are generally supervised by a senior vet, maybe you can ask your favorite interns to provide some input for the senior vet to write you a letter?