References/Recommendations

Hey all,

I’m an incoming freshman undergraduate hoping to go to med school.

This summer I’m working as an ER Scribe at a hospital in Louisiana (I’ll be going to school in Boston).

I’m working 32-40 hours a week collaborating with doctors and mid-levels, which is an awesome experience, and I want to make the most of it.

Should I be looking for references/recommendations this early in the game? Does anyone who is further down the pre-med line have any advice?

Thanks,
J

Medical school admission offices specify that they want LORs from professors, not physicians you’ve shadowed. (Typically 2 from science professors and one from a non-science professor.)

Also your school may use a committee letter process, in which case the committee will also have very specific LOR requirements.

But it sounds like an awesome position.

Good luck!

You won’t need it for medical school - but you may need it for lots of other things. You may need a LOR to apply for another summer job (‘references requested’) or a scholarship or to get an internship in someone’s lab. Even if you end up not doing pre-med at all, you might still have an employer who wants a reference so that LOR is important no matter where you end up.