Physician willing to write a letter of recommendation for 2022-2023 application cycle?

[AngePan]

I know this seems unorthadoxed, but I have really been struggling to find a physician to write me a letter of recommendaton. I am currently living in Japan and the idea of shadowing does not really exist here. I have some experience shadowing in the US but it was years ago and not enough to ask for a letter of recommendation.

I would love to be able to do some interviews beforehand in order for the writer to learn about me and for me to learn more about their specialty and journey to becoming a physician. I know it is also late in the year to be asking this but all the other routes I have tried have been unsuccessful.

Please and, a huge, thank you to anyone who is interested or willing.

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[wysdoc]

You will be happy to know that most medical schools do not require a letter from a physician you have shadowed. Letters from professors or work supervisors are more usual.

 

[jamaica jan sun princess]

Look for US trained physicians working abroad. They'll understand the situation and are more likely to help.

 

[Blueprint Med School]

You don't really need a physician letter unless you're applying to DO schools.

Kevin W, MCAT Tutor
Med School Tutors

 

[KnightDoc]

Look for US trained physicians working abroad. They'll understand the situation and are more likely to help.

This^^^.

@AngePan -- you seem to be misunderstanding the point of shadowing. It's to show the schools that you have some idea what doctors do, and you are entering into this with your eyes wide open, since it is impossible to replace people who drop out after entering medical school because it turns out to be different than they thought it would be. Shadowing is NOT to get a letter of recommendation, because most schools (DO schools being an exception), don't value letters from people whose entire exposure to you came from you watching them work and asking questions. In any event, a letter written by someone who only knew you through interviews you conducted over the internet would be totally worthless to a med school.

So, the good news is that you don't need a letter. The bad news is that you are going to need 50-100 total hours of shadowing, preferably in primary care and one or two specialties, in order to have a competitive application for US medical schools. If you cannot get that in Japan, it's going to be an issue.

Are you a US citizen? If so, you might want to return to the States in order to get the shadowing and other experiences med schools look for before applying. If not, you are going to find the lack of shadowing is going to be only one of several hurdles you are going to have to overcome as an international applicant. Good luck.

 

[AngePan]

Look for US trained physicians working abroad. They'll understand the situation and are more likely to help.

I tried this, but I live in a rural area and there are not even any English speaking doctors within a 4 hour radius of me. Due to corona virus, Japan hasn't been issuing new visas for the past two years.

 

[AngePan]

This^^^.

@AngePan -- you seem to be misunderstanding the point of shadowing. It's to show the schools that you have some idea what doctors do, and you are entering into this with your eyes wide open, since it is impossible to replace people who drop out after entering medical school because it turns out to be different than they thought it would be. Shadowing is NOT to get a letter of recommendation, because most schools (DO schools being an exception), don't value letters from people whose entire exposure to you came from you watching them work and asking questions. In any event, a letter written by someone who only knew you through interviews you conducted over the internet would be totally worthless to a med school.

So, the good news is that you don't need a letter. The bad news is that you are going to need 50-100 total hours of shadowing, preferably in primary care and one or two specialties, in order to have a competitive application for US medical schools. If you cannot get that in Japan, it's going to be an issue.

Are you a US citizen? If so, you might want to return to the States in order to get the shadowing and other experiences med schools look for before applying. If not, you are going to find the lack of shadowing is going to be only one of several hurdles you are going to have to overcome as an international applicant. Good luck.

I have enough hours of shadowing. I have shadowed multiple doctors, DO and MD, across various specialties and have worked in a clinical setting. The reason why I asked was because my university requires you to have a physician write a letter of recommendation to be included in the healthcare college's packet which includes their committee letter.

 

[KnightDoc]

I have enough hours of shadowing. I have shadowed multiple doctors, DO and MD, across various specialties and have worked in a clinical setting. The reason why I asked was because my university requires you to have a physician write a letter of recommendation to be included in the healthcare college's packet which includes their committee letter.

Oh, then you are not really looking for more shadowing, and the solution to your problem is to have one of the physicians you have either shadowed or worked with to write you a letter. It seems to me that it would be unethical, as opposed to just a little unorthodox, for someone you are soliciting on the internet who doesn't know you to write a letter recommending you to your committee. Or, in the alternative, given your unique circumstances, just forgo the committee letter. Good luck!

 

[eigen]

I have enough hours of shadowing. I have shadowed multiple doctors, DO and MD, across various specialties and have worked in a clinical setting. The reason why I asked was because my university requires you to have a physician write a letter of recommendation to be included in the healthcare college's packet which includes their committee letter.

Have you reached out to your contact on the committee at your university and explained the issue? Maybe it's just me, but I'd likely be fine with either waiving this requirement or helping you find a way to work around it if you reached out to me.

Reasoning: The requirements we have in place for committee letters are to help us write the strongest letter possible. You submitting a weak physician letter wouldn't really help with the committee letter overall, and seems to be a poor use of your time, which would lead me to work with you to find a workaround.

Granted, if you're at a huge school and your committee deals with hundreds of applicants in a year for committee letters, their availability and reasoning may be different.

 

[candbgirl]

Where is your college? How long will you be in Japan? Are you a US citizen or Gc holder? Sorry for the questions but I’m confused by your post and the details in the post.