Foreign Letter of Reference

[apoptosis]

Hi, I don't know if anyone has come across this issue before, but I hope I can get some advice.

 

I'm currently working in a hospital overseas in my home country. As soon as I mentioned I wanted to pursue a career in medicine, the program director here said he would be more than happy to offer me any help. I’m thinking of maybe asking him to write a reference letter for me. The problem is that he is not very fluent in English. Would it be possible for me to ask his secretary or someone else (maybe even me) to translate his letter? Would it seem legitimate if I sent in that English letter once he signs it?

 

I'm thinking of using him as a reference for the American schools specifically. For the Canadian schools, I'll use other references that have known me for longer. It's just that I think the American schools value clinical experience much more.

 

Thanks for your help in advance!

[future_doc]

There is no presumption that a foreigner does not have the ability to write in English. There is nothing wrong with the Program Director signing an accurate LOR describing your qualities and signing it, so long as he understands what he is writing and will stand behind it. If I were you, I would not translate it, rather let a member of his staff, even if it is not perfect English. I have no experience with this, just trying to give you one common sense point of vivew from an objective observer.

 

An alternative would be for the Letter to be submitted in both the foreign and English lagnuage, although in that case, I would want to have an official translation by a qualified translater who can be authenticated by the US Consulate. This would be time consuming, expensive and difficult to arrange, so I would stick with simplicity itself.

[apoptosis]

Thanks! I just needed some common sense advice. It'll see if I can get someone else to translate it for him.