Effective Med School Letter

8/22/2019 Effective Med School Letter

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THE EFFECTIVE MEDICAL

RECOMMENDATIONWayne M. Samuelson, M.D.

University of Utah School of Medicine


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Wh Letters of Recommendation?

attend our school and to have a balanced, butheterogeneous group that will excel in both the art

and science of medicine. (Admissions Committee

Training Manual 20008-2009, pg. 3)


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Selection Criteria

MCAT

Biological Science

MCAT and GPA each contribute 10% to final

Committee members do not see test scores or GPA


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Selection Criteria Extracurricular Activities

Community/Volunteer Service Leadershi Abilit

Research

Ph sician Shadowin

Patient Exposure

Candidates must artici ate in each area of activit .The selection process focuses more on what hasbeen learned than what was done


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The Secret to Selection

Its not what you do, its what you learn from what you

do that makes the difference


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Characteristics of a Stron Letter

The letter should tell us about the candidate, not aboutthe letter writer

Dont repeat what can be found elsewhere in the

application Stick to what you know about the candidate

Length

Be complete, but concise. The average interviewer willread 90-120 letters each year.


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Characteristics of a Stron Letter Relationshi to the a licant clearl stated

Taught him/her in class S/he worked in my lab

Your letter is most effective if you know the candidate

well in the context in which you are recommending him or

Letters from neighbors, family members, etc., are usually noteffective

o not ma e statements or g ve assessments t at are outs eof your personal interaction and experience with thecandidate


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Your Expertise and Observations are

mpor an o s

I have known in 20 years of teaching the subject

apart from his classmates

worked hard to master the material, and when he

had done so, he saw to it that those around him

learned it as well. Our class was better because hewas in it.


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Less Hel ful Information

musicians

Adams father is a member of the legislature

to your development fund

students potential for a successful career in medical


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A Common Occurrence

candidate for admission to your dental school. Hewas one of the top students in my organic chemistry

course.

(Later in the same letter)

I know that William will be an excellent physician

and I recommend him highly.

(The applicants name was Steven)


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Another Common Occurrence

something, I will only write letters for my very beststudents. Donald Duck has distinguished himself as a

student in my Advanced Statistical methods class.

His will be the only letter of recommendation I willwrite this year.


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Another Common Occurrence contd

something, I will only write letters for my very beststudents. Michael Mouse has distinguished himself as

a student in my Introduction to Medical

Anthropology class. His will be the only letter ofrecommendation I will write this year.

(Donald and Michael were presented to the committee on the

same ay


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Avoid Contradiction

were often messy and difficult to read. Hisparticipation in class was inconsistent and he was

occasionally disruptive. His test scores placed him in

the bottom third of the class.I recommend him highly and with enthusiasm as a

candidate for medical school.


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Inconsistencies are Problematic

but I found that she lacked initiative and theintellectual capacity to succeed in the laboratory

In her application, Estelle indicated that she had

submitted a manuscript from work done in this lab.Our literature search turned up two peer reviewed

articles where she was listed as a principle author

and the letter writer was listed as the senior author.


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Candor is Im ortant We take ever ossible measure to assure that

applicant files remain confidential Feel free to call me is code for I would like to

talk to you about this recommendation

If there is important information that we shouldnow a out an app cant t at you es tate to put nwriting, feel free to contact me directly

- ,

Email: [email protected]

University Hospital Operator: (801) 581-2121


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Recommendations Dont overwhelm ourself b tr in to write too

many letters Include information based on your personal

interaction with the applicant

Dont include information that will be founde sew ere n t e app cat on

Be consistent and accurate

ease nc u e your acu ty es gnat on Feel free to contact us at any time


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Effective Med School Letter

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