Writing a Helpful Letter of Recommendation - PowerPoint Presentation

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Writing a Helpful Letter of Recommendation

Jeff Harrison, MD

Department of Family Medicine

Faculty Development

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Really????

How hard can it be to write a letter of recommendation

After all…..

we

are highly educated

You would be surprised at the frequency of unhelpful letters we see

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My Qualifications

18 years of reading letter of recommendation for residency applicants

15 years of reading letters of recommendation for medical school applicants

Writing multiple letters of recommendation for medical students, residents and faculty

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Goals

Learners will attain knowledge regarding key component's of a helpful letter of recommendation

Learner’s will gain skills in crafting an effective letter of recommendations

L:earner’s will recognize common errors made by letter writer’s

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LOR Fundamentals

Statement of

support

to help

the candidate +

Present a

well documented evaluation

of the candidate for the selection committee +/-

Address

a specific

purpose – academic, character, leader, teacher +/-

W

ritten in a

defined structure

– have a plan +/-

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You are asked to write a letter of recommendation -now what?

Do I know the candidate?

Is information available regarding the position specifications

?

Am I an appropriate information source?

I

s the time frame reasonable?

Can I write a supportive letter?

If your answer is NO to any of these then proceed slowly

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3 Kinds of Letter’s

Easy:

you know the candidate well and think very highly of them

Not as Easy

: you know the candidate and have no issues with their performance

Really Easy:

you don’t them well or have reservations about performance

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You have accepted the challenge

Try and meet with candidate unless you know them well and are very familiar with the selection process

Get their CV

Ask for the detailed specifications put forth by the selection committee – criteria and format

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Building the LLOR

Headings

Opening Paragraph

Supporting Paragraphs

Summation and closing

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Heading

Generic greeting vs specific:

Dear Dr.

xxxxx

Dear Program Director

Dear Selection Committee

Identifying information for candidate:

AAMC #

NRMP #

DOB

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Opening Paragraph – more about you

Intent of letter

Your relationship to the candidate

Length of association and setting

Your

qualifications

to make an assessment

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Examples

I am writing in support of Donald Trump who is applying to your medical school.

I have known Mr. Trump for 2 years; he has shadowed me in my busy clinical practice during holiday breaks and summer vacations.

I am an Associate Professor in the DFM at UNMC and have

precepted

innumerable student and residents over the past 8 years; as such I feel qualified to assess Mr. Trumps qualifications.

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Supporting Evidence – about the candidate

Address the selection criteria

Need to provide supporting evidence for your claims – examples

Need more than just superlatives

This is not Lake Woebegone – all cannot be above average

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Supporting Evidence II

If you can’t honestly say this candidate is in the top 5% of all students/residents – then don’t

You can say they are well qualified to meet the expectations of the position

. “demonstrated the qualities to be a successful medical student

”

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Supporting Evidence - specific

Academic: scores, boards, research

Service: volunteer, leadership, time

Teaching: evaluations, recognition

Leadership: elected positions, appointed positions, outcomes

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Academic Examples

Dr. Sanders has exhibited outstanding medical knowledge as evidenced by scoring in the top 5% of all family medicine residents on the national In-Training examination in each of the past 3 years.

Dr. Clinton has demonstrated superior scholarly work during residency. She was recognized as having the top poster presentation at the Department of Family Medicine annual residency research symposium and again at the NAFP Annual Scientific Assembly.

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Service Examples

Student Cruz has demonstrated strong commitment to community service as evidenced by his ongoing performance as the physician recruiter for the SHARING Clinic. This is a nationally recognized student run clinic that helps meet the needs of Omaha’s large un-insured population. The role of physician recruiter requires diligence, persistence and commitment to providing outstanding oversight for this group of patients.

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Teaching

Dr.

Kasich

has demonstrated outstanding teaching skills during his residency and would be a valued asset to your fellowship. His supervisory evaluations routinely note his strength as a teacher. He was in fact, voted resident teacher of the year by his peers.

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Leadership

Mr

. Carson has been a proven and successful leader during is medical school training. He was elected President of the Family Medicine Interest Group during his M2 year. This is one of the largest student organizations on campus. He led the organization and implementation of a highly successful residency fair as well as numerous procedural workshops.

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Summary Paragraph

Global assessment - use your superlatives

Meet the criteria for position as outlined above

Willingness to answer questions

Thanks for consideration

Waived right to see

letter

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Several Last Comments

Format

Length

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Make Miss Jenkins Happy

Written on letter head

Spell checked

Organized

Font and type size –

NEVER HAND WRITTEN

Prose

Proof read

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Why do I care about Miss Jenkin’s 35 years later?

Sloppy letters suggest a lack of support for your candidate

Hard to read letters are hard to read

Your own credibility in your institution

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Length

Goldilocks Rule:

Not too long, not to short, just right

1-2 pages should be your target

Too short says you don’t know or really don’t care

Too long loses the reader

Check expectations (ERAS no more than 1 page)

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Do’s

Ensure you should write this LOR

Gather data: CV, criteria

Structure:

Opening - about you

Supporting - evidence of qualification

Summary – global and re-iteration of qualification

Length and format

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Don’t’ s

Write letters for those you don’t know or like

Write without knowing the criteria being evaluated

Make claims that can’t be substantiated

Wait until the last minute

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Summary

Most of us will be asked to write a letter or recommendation for a student, resident or colleague – we need to make it

helpful

for the applicant and selection committee

Gathering a little data and following a structure makes this a fairly simple process

Keep your good letters on file – the format can be recycled

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Your Turn – choose one and share

Write an opening sentence or two for a pre medical student who has shadowed you in clinic.

Write a supporting statement for a resident applying for a Sports Medicine Fellowship that requires teaching residents and students.

Write a supporting statement for your colleague who is going up for promotion to Associate Professor – teaching focus.