Letters of Recommendation: How Do They Fit Into the Modern Application?

Nehler, Mark R.

doi:10.4300/jgme-d-18-00258.1

Cited by 10 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 1 publication

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…However, stakeholders can engage in detailed conversations with the references, which helps acquiring a more robust impression of the applicant by exploring their weaknesses and strength points alike—an advantage that is lacking in the written recommendations. Direct communication could be impractical when directors are faced with a large pool of applicants, 11 but this could be the optimal option in plastic surgery where the number of candidates is limited. Templates or letters imported from the internet that are given to whomever asks hold no weight.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Ideal Applicant to the Saudi Plastic Surgery Residency Program

Mardan

AlAmari

Alzahrani

et al. 2021

Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery - Global Open

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Background: Securing a plastic surgery position is a demanding task for students. Although many papers have been published internationally discussing the traits and features deemed important from the point of view of plastic surgery program directors, a gap exists in the literature where this aspect is not covered in Saudi Arabia. The aim of this study was to fill this gap. Methods: In this cross-sectional study, a survey was developed targeting all current and former Saudi plastic surgery training program directors. SPSS was used to calculate frequencies and present percentages; independent t -test was done to look for mean differences. Ethical approval was obtained from a local institution. Results: All current and former Saudi plastic surgery program directors participated ( n = 17), including the 8 (47.1%) current directors. When asked to rank 7 items on a scale of importance, they scored a mean of 6.2, 5.8, 5.4, 4.88, 4.82, 4.6, and 3.7 for good impression on interviews, prior experience, research experience, the grade point average (GPA), oral or poster presentations on events, the Saudi Medical Licensing Examination (SMLE), and attaining a post-graduate degree, respectively. The majority [ n = 7 (41%)] considers the mode of communication, such as phone calls, as the most important aspect in recommendations. They prefer candidates who took electives/rotations at their department [ n = 12 (71%)] and give more value to high-quality publications [ n = 9 (47%)]. Applicant’s gender was not important. Conclusion: With early planning, this article could serve as a guide for medical students interested in plastic surgery to build their assets toward a successful interview.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Ideal Applicant to the Saudi Plastic Surgery Residency Program

Mardan

AlAmari

Alzahrani

et al. 2021

Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery - Global Open

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Letters of recommendation continue to be a key component of the modern fellowship application (6). However, this current study of over 700 LORs reveals a signi cant variability in letter quality.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 72%

Reference letters for subspecialty medicine residency positions: Are they valuable for decision-making? Results from a Canadian mixed method study.

Chopra

Joneja

Sandhu

et al. 2020

Preprint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Background The letter of recommendation is currently an integral part of applicant selection for residency programs. Internal medicine residents will spend much time and expense completing sub-specialty away electives to obtain a letter of recommendation. The purpose of this study was 1) to examine a large sample of reference letters in order to define essential components of a high-quality letter, and 2) to elucidate the relationship between quality of reference letter and the letter writer. Methods We conducted a two-phase mixed methods study. In phase one, a large sample of letters of recommendation was examined using an audit tool as a coding framework. A 5-point composite endpoint of high-quality letter components was subsequently developed. In phase two, program director letters were compared to non-program director home institution and elective letters based on inclusion of components of the 5-point composite endpoint using Chi square testing. Results 715 letters were examined (398 non-program director home institution letters, 201 program director letters, and 116 elective letters). High-quality letter components were: nature of relationship, duration of relationship, In Training Evaluation Report information, research involvement and comments on areas for improvement. Program director letters had a significantly higher proportion (10.4%) of all 5 high-quality components, compared to 0% in both non-program director home institution letters and elective letters (p < 0.001). A significantly higher proportion of program director letters had 4–5 high-quality components (62.5%) compared to 2% of non-program director home institution letters and 0% of elective letters (p < 0.0001). Conclusions Letters of recommendation from elective rotations are of the poorest quality and such rotations should not be pursued for the sole purpose of obtaining a letter. The low quality of elective letters leads to the recommendation that writers should decline to write them, programs should not require them and trainees should not request them. Program directors write the highest quality letters and should be a resource for faculty development. Clinical supervisors can use the 5-point composite endpoint as a guide when writing letters for applicants.

show abstract

“…Letters of recommendation continue to be a key component of the modern fellowship application [6]. However, this current study of over 700 LORs reveals a significant variability in letter quality.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 74%

“…LORs are considered one of the most important factors in ranking candidates to postgraduate subspecialty programs and may be helpful in predicting residency retention rates [1][2][3][4][5]. However, the writing of LORs has also been described as a process that very few understand [6] and the role of the LOR has been deemed worthy of further examination.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Reference letters for subspecialty medicine residency positions: are they valuable for decision-making? Results from a Canadian study

et al. 2020

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Background The letter of recommendation is currently an integral part of applicant selection for residency programs. Internal medicine residents will spend much time and expense completing sub-specialty away electives to obtain a letter of recommendation. The purpose of this study was 1) to examine a large sample of reference letters in order to define essential components of a high-quality letter, and 2) to elucidate the relationship between quality of reference letter and the letter writer. Methods We conducted a two-phase study. In phase one, a large sample of letters of recommendation was examined using an audit tool as a coding framework. A 5-point composite endpoint of high-quality letter components was subsequently developed. In phase two, program director letters were compared to non-program director home institution and non-home institution elective letters based on inclusion of components of the 5-point composite endpoint using Chi square testing. Results 715 letters were examined (398 non-program director home institution letters, 201 program director letters, and 116 non-home institution elective letters). High-quality letter components were: nature of relationship, duration of relationship, In Training Evaluation Report information, research involvement and comments on areas for improvement. Program director letters had a significantly higher proportion (10.4%) of all 5 high-quality components, compared to 0% in both non-program director home institution letters and elective letters (p < 0.001). A significantly higher proportion of program director letters had 4–5 high-quality components (62.5%) compared to 2% of non-program director home institution letters and 0% of elective letters (p < 0.0001). Conclusions Letters of recommendation from elective rotations are of the poorest quality and such rotations should not be pursued for the sole purpose of obtaining a letter. The low quality of elective letters leads to the recommendation that writers should decline to write them, programs should not require them and trainees should not request them. Program directors write the highest quality letters and should be a resource for faculty development. Clinical supervisors can use the 5-point composite endpoint as a guide when writing letters for applicants.

show abstract

Letters of Recommendation: How Do They Fit Into the Modern Application?

Cited by 10 publications

References 1 publication

The Ideal Applicant to the Saudi Plastic Surgery Residency Program

The Ideal Applicant to the Saudi Plastic Surgery Residency Program

Reference letters for subspecialty medicine residency positions: Are they valuable for decision-making? Results from a Canadian mixed method study.

Reference letters for subspecialty medicine residency positions: are they valuable for decision-making? Results from a Canadian study

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About