Katdb Posted March 16, 2010 Report Share Posted March 16, 2010 Hey Everyone, Sorry if this has been asked before, but I couldn't find any posts through the search function. Is a 2 week elective long enough for a good letter of reference for Family medicine, or is 3 weeks a better length? I'm debating between doing more shorter electives, or fewer but longer electives... Thanks for any advice Katdb Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Madz25 Posted March 16, 2010 Report Share Posted March 16, 2010 Hey Everyone, Sorry if this has been asked before, but I couldn't find any posts through the search function. Is a 2 week elective long enough for a good letter of reference for Family medicine, or is 3 weeks a better length? I'm debating between doing more shorter electives, or fewer but longer electives... Thanks for any advice Katdb I got 2 LORs from 2 week electives...only because there was no core rotation in the specialty I wanted to pursue. Is it possible to get LORs from family docs during your core rotation? It will probably be a stronger letter than one from a 2-wk elective. I also used letters from my core rotations simply because the doctors knew me better and I worked directly with them instead of with a resident. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lactic Folly Posted March 16, 2010 Report Share Posted March 16, 2010 Depends on the amount and quality of time you are able to spend with the letter writer. 2 weeks is usually the minimum, and if the elective is set up well, should be adequate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FamilyGuy Posted March 16, 2010 Report Share Posted March 16, 2010 Two weeks is the minimum... two such two-week electives is better. One week electives don't really count as an "elective" in many programs' eyes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Katdb Posted March 18, 2010 Author Report Share Posted March 18, 2010 Thanks for all the replies! For sure one week wouldn't be long enough, I was more debating between doing 2 week electives or 3 week electives. Thanks again! Katdb Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
007 Posted March 18, 2010 Report Share Posted March 18, 2010 2 weeks is great if you're working with just one preceptor. If there are more than 1 staff on during the time you're there, then sometimes doing 3 weeks is better so they each get to know you more. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scholastica Posted March 20, 2010 Report Share Posted March 20, 2010 I echo with everyone else's response. Two weeks are enough if well planned. Try to spend as much time with 1 preceptor. However, I've managed to get strong reference letters by working with some preceptors for less than a week. It, I think, really depends how much quality time you spend with each staff physician and how much they get to know you within a given time. When I realized I had less than a week to spend with some docs, I tried to maximaize the time by going to their clinics while working on the consult service with them, and also showing interest by taking up a small project. Hope that helps! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peachy Posted March 27, 2010 Report Share Posted March 27, 2010 Like everyone says, two week electives are pretty standard. Your staff know that you need a reference letter from the rotation and will usually ensure that they spend enough time observing you to be able to write a letter. I do think it's important to consider your personality as well. If you're somebody who takes a bit longer to get settled and comfortable in a clinical setting, then consider whether a three week elective would be particularly helpful for you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.