References

[medbat]

So, I'm not going to lie... I think this is tricky. Because Calgary is my one OOP school, and the rest are OMSAS references, I really don't know how comfortable I feel about the fact that the prompts are vastly different - i.e. asking my references to casually edit their first letter to fit the prompts.

 

I'm wondering if anyone else is struggling with this issue.

 

The other thing is... the people who can best describe my attributes are NOT my typical refs (research supervisor, professor, etc.) So am I better off having a reputable reference OR someone I've worked with on student council who can speak to the attributes they're looking for?

 

Thoughts, anyone?

[Jojef]

The rule that I've personally used, and one that I've seen advocated on these forums, is to first select the person who knows you best and can provide specific examples, rather than just generic pat answers. Then, all things being equal, go with the person with higher status.

 

Having said that, I'd make sure that whoever you're using as a reference is not a "family member, friend or peer," as per their own guidelines. Basically, follow their instructions.

 

Good luck!

 

Paranoid question of the day: It's looking like all of my references will be, by chance, women. Does anyone think I should get a dude to round things out?

[ellorie]

Mine were all women. Never even thought about it. The Adcom probably won't even notice.

 

I applied OMSAS, Calgary, and Alberta, and I simply gave all the links to my references and trusted them to work it out for themselves what to do. That went fine for me.

 

About the "friend/peer" thing. You can skate the line. One of my references was someone who worked beside me as a fellow volunteer at a crisis centre for years. But when I moved over to another branch of the crisis centre, she was my trainer, so I was able to have her write from that perspective, and I think it was a very valuable reference. My other two references were by the book - professor and volunteer coordinator.

 

But if you can't make any kind of case that the person was an authority or some sort of supervisor, you might not be able to get away with it.

 

One thing you can do to get a better reference out of someone who doesn't know you as well is to meet with them, give them your CV and a bit of a cover letter about why you want to be a doctor (i.e. your U of T essay) and tell them basically what you want them to touch on.

[JP2118]

How about this scenario: two supervisors that know me now, and a volunteer coordinator from two-three years ago that knew me for two years, and remembers me well. Or, one of the two supervisors and two volunteer coordinators. The second option would allow me to have someone to speak first-hand on my ability to help others or to be a leader, but it would not allow me to put an MD as one of my refs. The first option would allow me to put the MD, but then I'd have to explain to him my ability to be a leader/people helper first. Thoughts?

[Vidhya]

Honestly I would try to find individuals that can speak best to your skills and not fixate on finding someone with an MD. Last year I received above average marks for my references and I did not use a single MD. In fact one of my references did not have a single degree but was someone that I worked under for years and could speak to my abilities.

 

What I would do is work backwards. Make a list with three columns, one for each reference type. Then make a list of people who could in any way talk about that skill. List the best person on top and work down the list - obviously some people may be listed in two or more columns.

 

Sounds cheesy but it can be a great brainstorming activity. You may find the the best combination of people and end up with no MD's or all MD's. In the end the assessor is most likely going to spend the vast majority of their time assessing what is written, not on the position of the individual writing the reference.

 

I had to spend a lot of time pondering my references this year, but again I won't be using any MD's and I think they'll be fine.

[kylamonkey]

I'd love some feedback (I know I'm getting late here with this)

 

Are co-workers acceptable? They are according to UofA's criteria. I guess the problem is that I was *kind of* the boss there, but I was the boss because I was the manager. I never treat them like they're below me. Also, I'm no longer working there, so I'm not the "boss" anymore.

 

I have a question about the Interpersonal Behaviors and Collaboration one too.

I have 2 options:

1/ One of my research supervisors (I have 2 to choose from). One will write a good reference, because I had to collaborate with other departments for his project.

2/ A former teammate of mine- an adventure racing teammate. Adventure racing is a multi-sport race. Here's a description from another application:

Extreme endurance race, coed team of 4, self propelled 36hr+ remote travel w. map/compass -Outside comfort zone -Motivated to place well, several top3 finishes -Often lead navigator, make decisions using resourcefulness/creativity/cognitive skill -6day, 550km non-stop extreme endurance race in the Yukon wilderness -Only female on my team -Requires superior survival, fitness, mental toughness, dealing w. sleep deprivation, teamwork -Helped another team when they needed medical attention

I have a few physicians who were teammates in the past, and I could ask one of them, OR one of my non-MD teammates.

 

Which of those 2 would you choose?

[astrogirl]

I'd love some feedback (I know I'm getting late here with this)

 

Are co-workers acceptable? They are according to UofA's criteria. I guess the problem is that I was *kind of* the boss there, but I was the boss because I was the manager. I never treat them like they're below me. Also, I'm no longer working there, so I'm not the "boss" anymore.

 

I have a question about the Interpersonal Behaviors and Collaboration one too.

I have 2 options:

1/ One of my research supervisors (I have 2 to choose from). One will write a good reference, because I had to collaborate with other departments for his project.

2/ A former teammate of mine- an adventure racing teammate. Adventure racing is a multi-sport race. Here's a description from another application:

Extreme endurance race, coed team of 4, self propelled 36hr+ remote travel w. map/compass -Outside comfort zone -Motivated to place well, several top3 finishes -Often lead navigator, make decisions using resourcefulness/creativity/cognitive skill -6day, 550km non-stop extreme endurance race in the Yukon wilderness -Only female on my team -Requires superior survival, fitness, mental toughness, dealing w. sleep deprivation, teamwork -Helped another team when they needed medical attention

I have a few physicians who were teammates in the past, and I could ask one of them, OR one of my non-MD teammates.

 

Which of those 2 would you choose?

 

Hi Kyla! For your first question, I'm not sure. I would probably avoid using a coworker if at all possible. I don't know that it's completely unacceptable, but it just seems like not the best choice if you have another choice. And for your second question, I would probably go with the prof for similar reasons. I think it's just harder to impress someone who's your supervisor than someone who's a coworker or a teammate, so getting a good reference from a supervisor is would sound even better than getting a good one from a teammate. Not that one from a teammate would sound bad, but better is better than good, if that makes sense. That's just my opinion, though, and all three of my letters were from research supervisors, so I may be a bit biased in that direction.

[Mithril]

I agree with astrogirl. I think you should avoid people who were at the same "level" as you and choose someone who supervised you instead.