Writing my Own Letter of Recomendation

[DocBubbles]

Help!
I asked for a letter of recommendation from an attending I worked with back in February. She said she'd love to, and that she would make the letter sound like I "walked on water." But given that I asked in February, and they didn't need to be in immediately, she waited to write it. When I got back in touch and asked for her to get it in before the 20th of September, she asked ME to write it, make it as glowing as possible, and send it to her to edit.

So my question is this: HOW do I best do that?

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[Jaa_]

A general rec letter template would address the following skills: academic ability, clinical ability (as applicable), reaction to criticism, self awareness, maturity/professionalism/integrity, interpersonal skills.

I would try to provide examples of strengths in each category based on the interactions you had with this attending. You could draft the letter as a paragraph for each point and edit as you see fit.

 

[FutureInternist]

Also, make sure to start with the standard “Student has waived their right to see this letter”.

 

[Lawpy]

I don't get why attendings ask students to write their own letters. That's really really lazy. I get attendings are busy, but those who want to write good letters make the time to write them

 

[NotAProgDirector]

This is so unacceptable I can't even. But you're stuck. or ask someone else.

 

[BorntobeDO?]

Help!
I asked for a letter of recommendation from an attending I worked with back in February. She said she'd love to, and that she would make the letter sound like I "walked on water." But given that I asked in February, and they didn't need to be in immediately, she waited to write it. When I got back in touch and asked for her to get it in before the 20th of September, she asked ME to write it, make it as glowing as possible, and send it to her to edit.

So my question is this: HOW do I best do that?

Write a draft, send it to her and tell her she can edit it as needed. I had one attending specifically I had to do this with. They are busy, they want you to write the recs just like they want you to write notes. It’s not ideal, but it’s something that some attending’s expect. It’s common in other walks of life too. Especially if someone doesn’t write a lot of letters and doesn’t have a draft they will ask for this.

 

[Animalcules]

Welcome to the rest of your life.

 

[SurgeDO]

Welcome to the rest of your life.

Agreed. This type of behavior/****tyness continues into residency when it comes time to apply for fellowship.

Just think about your time in high school. Remember that group of condescending, bitter nerds who never had dates to the dance? 99% of them became doctors.

 

[kelminak]

https://www.med.illinois.edu/facultydev/letterofref/SAMPLE%20STRONG%20ERAS%20LOR%205-05.pdf

 

[Stranger00120]

I had to do this with one of my professors when I applied to medical school. It was part of how she wrote letters. My professor said something along the lines of you'll have to do this the rest of your life, I'm going to write my own letter, but I want to see what your strengths are. I guess I did it well enough, because I got in.