Rec Letters from Healthcare Professional - does it have to be someone I worked w/?

Pre-Med & Medical School High School Student Topics
1

<p>I have a family friend who is a healthcare professionals but I have not done any volunteer work for her, so I'm wondering if it would be effective at all for her to write a rec letter for me (for a BA/MD program) given that I haven't done any medically related work for her.</p>

<p>Do these programs want a healthcare professional to write a rec letter since they want to know if, from a doctor's perspective, if the applicant has the qualities necessary to become a doctor coming OR do they want a doctor to write it since they want to know how the person actually performs in a medical-related position?</p>

<p>(background info: I'm a rising senior in high school looking at combined or accelerated BA/MD programs and many of them require a recommendation letter from a healthcare professional. I have not done any volunteer work/internships/research/etc yet since I recently decided that I want to pursue medicine. Hospitals will not let me start volunteering until September, so I will not have volunteered there long enough to be able to get to know any healthcare professionals well enough for them to be able to write me a rec letter for college apps.)</p>

2

<p>I would avoid this unless the friend has a personal connection with the program in question. Colleges and especially med schools wants LORs from people you worked for, not family friends.</p>

3

<p>^^ I agree. Think about what the family friend would be able to write about in the letter. What new things would they tell the school that would make you a better candidate?</p>

4

<p>Family friends would not be viewed an objective evaluator by adcomms. Avoid this option at all costs.</p>

5

<p>Thanks for the responses. Which one is better–a rec letter from someone at the hospital that l would have worked for for a brief time (probably around a month) or asking the family friend who’s a doctor, but I haven’t worked for at all (but I have known her for 10+ years & she is my Girl Scout troop leader)?</p>