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deleted158872
Most residency programs require at least 3 LORs. Assuming I'll only do ONE rotation in the specialty that I want to apply to, from whom can I get LORs besides my rotation attending and the Dean?
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Do more than one rotation in the specialty you're applying for.
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deleted158872
What if I want to apply for residency in [xyz] and also apply for FM as backup?
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You have options!
1. You can work with more than one attending in a rotation, getting letters from two. You can also meet with the chair of your specialty's department, discuss your career with them, get Chair letter.
2. Do research with someone in your field, procure letter that way.
3. Get a letter from your Sub-I attending in med/surg, those are helpful for most fields, including FM.
4. If you want to use FM as a backup, you need to apply in a way that it doesn't look like a backup. So you need a letter from someone in FM and/or IM and/or OB/GYN talking about how good you'll be at FM.
1. You can work with more than one attending in a rotation, getting letters from two. You can also meet with the chair of your specialty's department, discuss your career with them, get Chair letter.
2. Do research with someone in your field, procure letter that way.
3. Get a letter from your Sub-I attending in med/surg, those are helpful for most fields, including FM.
4. If you want to use FM as a backup, you need to apply in a way that it doesn't look like a backup. So you need a letter from someone in FM and/or IM and/or OB/GYN talking about how good you'll be at FM.
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You can assign different letters to different programs. So you can have one set for XYZ, and another set for FM.
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Strong letters are best.
For general fields, fine to have letters 3rd year clerkships like Peds, Ob/gyn, EM, IM, even Psych if they're strong letters and they're able to write it with a bent towards FM and you have an FM letter
For your specialty interest, you have to know what sort of letters they think are applicable, if you were doing ENT then obviously gen surg or ob/gyn could work in addition to ENT (not for reals I cant say that but get some school consulting on what to do, the point is you want strong letters and usually one of the 3 can be field adjacent)
For general fields, fine to have letters 3rd year clerkships like Peds, Ob/gyn, EM, IM, even Psych if they're strong letters and they're able to write it with a bent towards FM and you have an FM letter
For your specialty interest, you have to know what sort of letters they think are applicable, if you were doing ENT then obviously gen surg or ob/gyn could work in addition to ENT (not for reals I cant say that but get some school consulting on what to do, the point is you want strong letters and usually one of the 3 can be field adjacent)
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deleted158872
Can the same LORs be used for both FM and general-IM ?
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Moving to Pre Allo as the OP is Pre Med
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Maybe they listed their status wrong?
This is weird because I can only see this thread making sense for a med student.
This is weird because I can only see this thread making sense for a med student.
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deleted158872
Well, I have 2 acceptances in hand. The reason for this thread is my desire to learn about things ahead. I thought it made sense to ask in Rotations forum bc this is not really premed topic
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Ah geez. Well, try a little online lurking and focus more on first things first.
Your school will help you figure out what to start doing day 1 to prepare/explore specialty and career options, hopefully. Some schools suck at this.
SDN and I think AAMC have quizzes meant to help you identify strength/weakness/interests/motivations for trying to narrow down what fields you might fit you. Know that you don't know what specialty really fits you at this stage until you get more experience, so take those quizzes with a grain of salt. Take the Meyers-Brigg, take academic learning style quizzes. Hopefully the school you go to is good in career support. The recommendation is to revisit those quizzes as you gain more experience in medicine.
It's helpful to figure out early on if you want to be a cutter or not. If you want patient contact or not. Try to do some surgical and clinical shadowing and network as much as you can when you get to school.
The quizzes help you figure out how much emphasis on money, prestige, independence, etc you are into. In general, I suggest being really honest with yourself about what you really suck at, and keep in mind this is a *job* you'll do 50-120 hrs a week for the rest of your life most likely. Try to be more practical than idealistic. People I know who were more honest and practical than dream-chasers or people who didn't really know themselves, get enough exposure to various fields, or had rigid ideas about what kind of doctor they thought they should be or tell people at dinner parties, well, it seems to make the difference between miserable and not.
So I wouldn't worry too much about LORs just yet. You have plenty of work to do and doctors to get to know before you even know what letters you'll be needing.
Your school will help you figure out what to start doing day 1 to prepare/explore specialty and career options, hopefully. Some schools suck at this.
SDN and I think AAMC have quizzes meant to help you identify strength/weakness/interests/motivations for trying to narrow down what fields you might fit you. Know that you don't know what specialty really fits you at this stage until you get more experience, so take those quizzes with a grain of salt. Take the Meyers-Brigg, take academic learning style quizzes. Hopefully the school you go to is good in career support. The recommendation is to revisit those quizzes as you gain more experience in medicine.
It's helpful to figure out early on if you want to be a cutter or not. If you want patient contact or not. Try to do some surgical and clinical shadowing and network as much as you can when you get to school.
The quizzes help you figure out how much emphasis on money, prestige, independence, etc you are into. In general, I suggest being really honest with yourself about what you really suck at, and keep in mind this is a *job* you'll do 50-120 hrs a week for the rest of your life most likely. Try to be more practical than idealistic. People I know who were more honest and practical than dream-chasers or people who didn't really know themselves, get enough exposure to various fields, or had rigid ideas about what kind of doctor they thought they should be or tell people at dinner parties, well, it seems to make the difference between miserable and not.
So I wouldn't worry too much about LORs just yet. You have plenty of work to do and doctors to get to know before you even know what letters you'll be needing.
