Reference letters from physicians in different areas?

[eastcoast]

Hi, I'm about to start the carms process, and I have references lined up, but they are from different areas of medicine (psych, neuro, etc). Is this a problem in applying to say, internal med? I simply haven't had a lot of time with general internists to get a detailed letter from one, so would I be ok using the ones lined up if they are likely to be good? I kinda just realized internal might be for me (it was my last rotation), will this hurt my chances? Thanks!

[Rosie]

Hey! I'm also applying to CaRMS this year. During one of our presentations from program directors we discussed reference letters. At least from Western's point of view they would like to see some letters from the specialty you are in. This is especially true for more competitive specialties (i.e neurosurgery will want neurosurgery references).

 

I think internal was pegged as slightly more open....but if a program requests 3-4 letters I think the majority should be from internal. Since you just came off the rotation is there anyone you could approach for a letter? Electives are also prime time for a letter.

[BoyInTheBubble]

Don't stress too hard.

 

Use your letter to explain what you like about IM, and that you only realized later on. Not everyone knows right away and it's fine.

 

If you can get a good letter from an internist, use it, but otherwise go with your best reference letters.

[rogerroger]

Ideally you want reference letters from people who would be known to the members of the file review committee. The medical world is small. You would be surprised how tight the network can be within many specialties. The bottom line is that this usually means getting references from people within the specialty you are interested in applying. It is not that references from outside your specialty of interest would sink your application, but good references from within the specialty would certainly make your application much stronger. You need to be as strong as possible as many people who apply to reasonably competitive specialties will have a strong application.

 

Few people will have bad applications, some will be average, most will be strong. This goes without saying, but the more competitive the specialty the stronger the pool of applicants. I guarantee the strongest guys will have good letters from those who are known to the committee. Do whatever you can to aim high.

 

Yet with this said, never choose a person from any specialty who might write you a bad or neutral letter. That is a fast way to automatically sink your whole application.

[Lactic Folly]

Agree that strong references from people known to the committee are very helpful (partly because they can just ring them up if needed and ask for more details). However, you can still do quite well if you have several very strong (and not just strong in the traditional sense, but personal, so that they are convincing) letters from different specialties. It speaks well of someone if they are well-thought-of by a diverse set of people.