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Fully Charged: Helping Faculty Improve Their Letters of Recommendation
Objective: This workshop will provide participants the opportunity to critique, enhance and reimagine residency letters of recommendation. As evidenced by the NRMP Program Directors Survey, faculty letters of recommendation are an incredibly important component of the Obstetrics and Gynecology residency application process. With NBME Step 1 moving to Pass/Fail January 2022 and residency programs increasingly moving toward holistic review, additional application information is critical to selecting “best fit” applicants. The letter of recommendation should serve to highlight a medical student’s significant strengths that may not be otherwise apparent in the ERAS application or MSPE narrative, appropriately convey the competitiveness of an applicant or address other intangibles that may align well with programs’ educational missions.
Workshop Agenda: This interactive workshop will:
• Review the existing data on letters of recommendation (10 minutes).
• Participants will then appraise sample letters of recommendation in small groups and discuss letter quality and make inferences about the student based upon the letter (20 minutes).
• Assess the letters of recommendation in small groups, ascertain student’s strengths and weaknesses and present to the large group (15 minutes)
• Delineate concrete ways to improve the letter and suggest additional unique components that provide meaningful information to residency application reviewers (15 minutes)
• Discuss strategies to convey this feedback to faculty members (10 minutes).
• Summary (5 minutes).
Interactive Component: • Appraise sample letters of recommendation in small groups and discuss letter quality and make inferences about the student based upon the letter (20 minutes)
• Assess the letters of recommendation in small groups, ascertain student’s strengths and weaknesses; present to the large group (15 minutes)
• Delineate concrete ways to improve the letter and suggest additional unique components that provide meaningful information to residency application reviewers (15 minutes)
• Discuss strategies to convey this feedback to faculty members (10 minutes).
Take Home Product: Participants will receive a tool kit with reference articles, sample letters of recommendation and the most recent NRMP Program Director Survey results for Obstetrics and Gynecology.
Related APGO Publications/Modules: Career Development in Academic Medicine Book
Topics:
Faculty Development Seminar, 2021, Faculty, Clerkship Director, Residency Director, Interpersonal & Communication Skills, UME, Faculty Development,
