Writing letter of rec for myself

[MCWIHEA]

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One of my letters of rec is a physician who is extremely busy, and she requested that I write it myself. She said she would highly recommend me and to make it sound great. I just give it to her to review, and she will revise it if needed and send it out. Has anyone had experience with this? If so, any tips on how to write about yourself?? Anyone have any examples of letters of rec they would be willing to share with me??

 

[osteopeddoc]

Maybe you could just state when you started, what you did there, and how ou were helpful to patients, and her staff alike. I had to write one for myself in highschool, ( a lil different), but I had a friend do it for me, so they could be more objective and at the same time, highlight my strong points without feeling boastful. Hope that helps

 

[felson]

It is just like the person asking you to give them the highlights of your career. The only negative is that you would not want to be too boastful or be as generous about you as you might be more critical of yourself.
I don't think there is anything wrong with this.

 

[luckystar]

Surprisingly, it's actually quite a common occurence around here. Through a collaboration project with another research lab, it was recommended to me that I get a LOR from a scientist at the other lab. When I went to discuss it with her, she told me to write myself one and let her sign it. Her reasoning was that since she already supported my decision to go to med school, it didn't matter in what way she could help me to get there, provided that not too much of her time be wasted. Also, I never spent more than an hour in person with her, so she didn't know me too well. Anyway, in the end, I decided not to do it, because I could never write things about myself the way somebody else can. The point of all this is that it's not unusual practice to write your own letter, but just don't broadcast the fact because it may be viewed as unethical to some. The idea of getting a third person to write or review the letter is a good one.