Trouble with DO LOR

[Phlame217]

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Okay since I am only applying in state (Oklahoma) and that means only one DO school, OSU, I am in a predicament.

I have my pre-med committee letter locked in, along with my Professor LOR for OU, but getting a DO letter is becomming quite a task. I have a few options though.

I've been shadowing two DO surgeons and I recently mentions LOR's to both just to get ready for the fall (as I will only shadow them for another week or so each) and both expressed the opinion that they would rather not do it and so thats shot.

With that, I've called around and found another DO to shadow and I mentioned the LOR up front and the secretary told me they just plug my name into a template and she'd do that if I wanted.

Option two, my fiance's uncle is a DO and I've talked to him about the process a few times from the times I've been to his house but seeing as how he lives in Wyoming, I haven't had the chance to shadow him. He offered to write a letter but I am not sure if it would be looked upon in the right light.

opinions?

 

[time2go]

id go with the template, you should get into OU or OSU with your stats easy

 

[Hill Country]

Scrolling through thread titles, I thought you were having problems with pain...missed that little space in between...

Anyway, to get on topic...I'd opt for the fiance's uncle, while the relative issue is a little worrisome, to get a form letter wouldn't help all that much, although if you've got the stats then maybe you don't need the help!

 

[Chocolate Bear]

If you go with the uncle, make sure he doesn't say anything about being in your family--that would kill the letter.

It's a tough call, since I have no idea what the form letter is going to look like.

I'd probably go with the uncle, if he knows you relatively well and can attest to your commitment to DO via your extensive shadowing, etc. It just needs to be sincere; it doesn't usually have to be from someone you've actually shadowed (check OSU's requirements for the DO LOR).

 

[pietachok]

I agree w/ chocolate bear.
The form letter sounds like a bad idea--they've probably seen it before. And while your stats are good, it's not going to say anything to impress them.

Your fiance's uncle can "meet with you" over the phone and discuss osteopathy and write a compelling letter about your commitment and your understanding of what osteopathic medicine entails, how you have the right character to pursue it, etc.

He can/will use specific references to you.

If it ever gets called into question why the D.O. who wrote your LOR wasn't the DO you shadowed, I would simply disclose that after x amount of time shadowing DO's, you discovered it was their policy not to write LOR's.

 

[TexasTriathlete]

You should be more concerned with the pounding that the longhorns are going to lay on the sooners this year.

 

[deleted212936]

It's a pain that a this is a requirement for many DO schools.
I am trying to get a DO LoR myself.
I need some help on this matter, too:
Should I first send the DO I shadowed an email saying I'll be asking for his LoR (so that he's informed about it)? Then I'll meet him in person. Is it rude asking for LoR via email, though?

 

[lastcall]

It's a pain that a this is a requirement for many DO schools.
I am trying to get a DO LoR myself.
Should I first send the DO I shadowed an email saying I'll be asking for his LoR? Then I'll meet him in person.

Yeah. At least, that's what I did for the MD and DO physicians. That way, if he/she doesn't want to write a LOR (I'm not saying that will happen to you, just tossing a scenario) it's less ackward to see it via email than being told in-person.

If he/she agrees to write you a LOR after you send out the e-mail query, then I would follow-up with an e-mail asking if he/she wants a copy of your CV, personal statement, etc. etc. or to answer any other questions. Then you can bring whatever item(s) he or she wants to see during your next meeting.

 

[deleted212936]

Ahh thanks! I'll do that.

Btw, what do schools want the DO's LoR to say? Testify your interest/commitment, comment on your academic, personality, or all ?

 

[Semicolon]

Ahh thanks! I'll do that.

Btw, what do schools want the DO's LoR to say? Testify your interest/commitment, comment on your academic, personality, or all ?

Pretty much all of that. If the DO uses OMM, maybe he'd mention your interest in that, too.

 

[bellakk]

at OSU-COM's website, there is an evaluation form you can use as kind of a template for what to put in the letter. stuff like interest in osteopathy and medicine in general, maturity of applicant, character, intelligence....

 

[engineeredout]

I wouldn't necesserly e-mail him about it ahead of time, you're better off seeing him two or three times first. Make sure you have your resume/PS on hand anyway, sometimes they'll simply offer without you asking anyway.

 

[Phlame217]

You should be more concerned with the pounding that the longhorns are going to lay on the sooners this year.

And who has more national titles under their belt...

 

[TheGoodGoodTime]

I was very much in the same boat when it came to LOR. For my committee they expected 5 letters from PhDs. Having jumped through 100 hoops to get those, I was then told it would be advantageous to have physicians letters. Alright...so I sign up for this preceptorship and shadow a Flight Surgeon (MD) out at an AF base. Coolest guy ever, so when I asked like two weeks later he had no problem writing me a two page letter.

Fast forward. Oh ****, some DO schools need a DO letter. So I start freaking out having no idea what to do. Call my mom and bitch about how ridiculous it is that I need to have 7 letters of recommendations. Luckily she works for an orthopedic office and one of the surgeons there is a DO. So she gives me his number and I call him basically asking for one but since I was in school could not shadow. You know what he said, "When I was applying to MED school I was in the same boat. I knew nobody. So I asked my gf's uncle who was a DO and he wrote me one. Bottomline is sure, I'd love to write you one."

Ironically, doing both of these things turned out to be the best decisions ever. At all of the schools I interviewed at, every single one of them commented on how amazing my DO letter of recommendation was. Then at my #1 choice school my first interviewer was in the Air Force. He decided to call up the doctor I shadowed in advance, and talked with him for 20+ minutes. The doctor raved about me. Bottom line is I know its a lot of work and you'd rather not pester strangers about getting letters, but you never know when its gonna pay off.

If I were you I'd go the route of your fiancé's uncle. The form letter will not be personal at all, and probably come off poorly at schools. Best of luck to you.

 

[DrMom]

Okay since I am only applying in state (Oklahoma) and that means only one DO school, OSU, I am in a predicament.

I have my pre-med committee letter locked in, along with my Professor LOR for OU, but getting a DO letter is becomming quite a task. I have a few options though.

I've been shadowing two DO surgeons and I recently mentions LOR's to both just to get ready for the fall (as I will only shadow them for another week or so each) and both expressed the opinion that they would rather not do it and so thats shot.

With that, I've called around and found another DO to shadow and I mentioned the LOR up front and the secretary told me they just plug my name into a template and she'd do that if I wanted.

Option two, my fiance's uncle is a DO and I've talked to him about the process a few times from the times I've been to his house but seeing as how he lives in Wyoming, I haven't had the chance to shadow him. He offered to write a letter but I am not sure if it would be looked upon in the right light.

opinions?

Go with the uncle. What OSU is looking for in the DO letter is that you have some idea of what DOs are. It doesn't have to be tied to shadowing.

 

[yezzur]

Sorry this is not answering any questions...but i have a question related to letters of rec for DO schools...

Do i need one from a DO or would a MD be just as fine?

 

[obbobbo]

I'd probably go with the uncle, if he knows you relatively well and can attest to your commitment to DO via your extensive shadowing, etc. It just needs to be sincere; it doesn't usually have to be from someone you've actually shadowed (check OSU's requirements for the DO LOR).

Chocolate Bear mentioned that your shadowing hours should show your commitment to DO. However you mention on your on your mdapplicants profile you have: University of Oklahoma (MD): "Applying Summer '09 - First Choice!"

It may be a good idea to remove the "First Choice." It may not be very likely that OSU will look at it during the application process, but if they do they might pass you over thinking that you would just turn them down in the long run. That would be quite unfortunate.

 

[obbobbo]

Sorry this is not answering any questions...but i have a question related to letters of rec for DO schools...

Do i need one from a DO or would a MD be just as fine?

Most schools say that they would like a letter from a DO, but it's not required. With that said, I made sure that I had a DO write my letter.

 

[DrMom]

Some schools do require a DO LOR. You just need to check for each school you consider...or just have a DO LOR.

 

[Chocolate Bear]

Sorry this is not answering any questions...but i have a question related to letters of rec for DO schools...

Do i need one from a DO or would a MD be just as fine?

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/attachment.php?attachmentid=10677&d=1217108730

It's best to shadow a DO and get a letter from them, but this isn't always possible. I and others were successful without one, but I would recommend getting one if possible, since you're limiting your choices of schools if you don't have one (those schools that actually REQUIRE a DO LOR).

 

[bubble5687]

I have had a really hard time getting LOR from a DO. One DO I contacted had NO TIME barely enough to shadow. Then I signed up for the mentor program and three DO's replied but all of them said they were too busy to take on any students.....I'm about to go emailing random doctors in the area..... I have a lot of clinical/observational experience but those were all with MD's