Reference letters for OMSAS

[Jmills94]

Do we send a standard set of 3 reference letters to OMSAS, and then they distribute copies to the Ontario schools, or do we have to get specific reference letters for each school? Thanks in advance.

[johnny_doe]

Same 3 letters for all schools

[Jmills94]

Same 3 letters for all schools

 

That's excellent. Thanks.

[maybenow]

Interesting. So essentially neither you, nor your referees can really tailor your (their) LORs to a particular school!

It would just be "this person is deserving of a medical education in general" and not at a particular institution.

[Savac]

Interesting. So essentially neither you, nor your referees can really tailor your (their) LORs to a particular school!

It would just be "this person is deserving of a medical education in general" and not at a particular institution.

 

Yes, exactly

[maybenow]

Yes, exactly

 

Thanks!

[daftypatty]

Yes, exactly

Hey i just had a question about this. So there is nothing to really guide your references on what to write about....? On the U of T website, they said they look at the "clusters" that theyve outlined to judge their references - is this not the case for every school? 

[Bambi]

Well, U/C gives some details of what they are looking for and this would be a good guide for LORs to any school. It is particularly important that the referees know what attributes to deal with and how to do an effective job:

 

4.6 Letters of Reference

Applicants are required to submit the names and contact information of three referees in support of

their applications. As part of this process, applicants will direct UCAN to send the referee a link to the

reference letter form. Where possible, referees should have a professional email address.
 

Although many of the questions asked of referees are common to all three forms, each of the three

forms is unique, and attempts specifically to obtain information helpful to the assessment of one

particular attribute of the applicant (See section 5.1.4). Therefore, applicants should choose referees

carefully, keeping in mind the ability of the referee to comment specifically on the attribute in question.

 

The three different forms focus on the following attributes, and are identified as such on UCAN:

• Organizational, Management and Leadership Skills

• Commitment to Communities and Advocacy

• Interpersonal Behaviours and Collaboration

 

Appendix 6 - Letters of Reference Example

Collaborator Letter

This is an example of one of the letter formats. The other two letters differ only in terms of Part 3 of the

letter, and these “Part 3” sections have been appended.

Thank you for agreeing to act as a referee for __________________.

This letter of reference is designed specifically to help our Admissions Committee assess the

non-academic qualities of our applicants. It is based upon the CanMEDS framework, which

outlines 7 key competencies expected of practicing physicians: medical expert, professional,

communicator, collaborator, health advocate, manager and scholar. The Admissions

Committee is looking for medical school applicants who have the potential to excel in these

areas. Although we present you with checkboxes for convenience, we find written

comments and examples to be particularly helpful in making informed decisions. We

recognize that this represents a significant time commitment on your part, and on behalf of

the applicant, we thank you.

You have been specifically chosen by _______________ to comment on COLLABORATION

SKILLS.

For your information, the applicant was able to access a blank version of this form before

choosing you as their referee. Please be aware that all reference forms can be accessed by

the applicant under FOIP legislation. As such, if you would like to address any concerns

about the applicant in confidence, please contact the Director of Admissions directly.

 

Part 1

How well do you know the applicant? In what capacity do you know the applicant?

150 word limit

 

Part 2

Please grade the applicant according to the following attributes. We encourage you to make any

comments as appropriate of the graded attributes:

Read Appendix 6 @

http://www.ucalgary.ca/mdprogram/files/mdprogram/applicant-manual-2015-2016-june-16.pdf

which will give you more details of the attributes listed they are looking for and, as well, how you rate

compared to other students.

[maybenow]

^ yea I just read that on the U/C website as well. Didn't know that the 3 refs had to kind of individually be 'grouped' under one of:

Organizational, Management, and Leadership Skills

Commitment to Communities and Advocacy

Interpersonal Behaviours and Collaboration

 

If you've already contacted your refs (and maybe one has already been writing your letter), how would you guys advise that you ask or bring the above up to said references?

 

Man there's so many diff things to manage from school/province to school. Thanks.

[Bambi]

Writing a LOR for medical school is no simple task if the areas required are to covered so you have a strong & credible letter of reference. Professors may know what is expected for a volunteer supervisor who never did this before, he may need a primer if he is do a credible job for you.