Looking for guidance for rec letters/other stuff

[ilikecookie]

Hi everyone! I have a few questions that I’m not sure anyone in my life really knows how to answer so I decided to turn here. For background: I am currently a premed planning to apply in two years (so 2024-2025 application cycle).

I am thinking about what to do for my clinical hours, and EMT seems appealing. However, my main concern (correct me if I’m wrong) is that it doesn’t seem like I’ll have any interaction with actual physicians. Even if I do, I won’t have constant interactions and get to establish a relationship with any physician over time. So I don’t know how I would get a good rec letter from an EMT clinical job.

I have also been in a clinical informatics lab doing remote work for the last year; however, I’ve mostly been overwhelmed with school work and have been slugging along on some projects. My two main concerns with this lab are that I’m not sure how the very top schools will look at clinical informatics research as it’s not basic science. Also, with the lab being virtual, my work is mostly self-guided and I have little contact with any authority figure including my PI.

So tl;dr I’m concerned about two rec letters: one for clinical work and one for research. I would highly appreciate any guidance about how to move forward. Should I do something like CNA instead? Should I look into switching labs? If I do EMT, how would I go a good recommendation?

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[chilly_md]

You do not need a physician letter for the vast majority of MD schools. If there is supervisor that knows you well, that might be worth getting instead.

If you would like to switch labs, that is fine.

 

[ilikecookie]

Would it not help to have a physician letter though? I'm thinking other clinical opportunities would make it easier, and I hope to apply to top schools where I assume you need every edge you can get. As for switching labs, the one thing that holds me back is that I don't know if I could do something with basic science research in only two years. If I stay in this lab I could definitely get multiple first author publications.

 

[chilly_md]

A physician letter typically does not provide anything useful unless you worked closely with them and it provided extensive insight. Maybe you would get that from being a CNA. This is rare though. Letters typically are supposed to be regarding your academic ability from science and non-science faculty members (and not just from a grades perspective). If your school does a committee letter, follow their requirements.

It is up to you to decide if you can connect with your current PI. Going to another lab won’t necessarily lead to a better relationship.

 

[jailedgoat]

If you are looking to go the CNA route, you would likely have the most interaction with physicians working as an emergency department technician, which typically requires that certification. Some hospitals require that you have experience working in the CNA role, however.