letter from Chairman

[tomplatz]

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Need some guidance here please. I'm a 4th year, applying to general surgery through the military match. I've been told that a letter from the chairman is key to getting the spot I want. Problem is, he hardly ever operates and knows me only in passing.

How do I approach him about getting a letter when the guy hardly knows I exist? Any advice from those who have gone this route before would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

 

[fourthyear]

not an uncommon situation.
Talk with his secretary, schedule an appointment and tell her/him that you are planning to request a letter. The chairman will probably take a few minutes to get to know you and your interest in surgery. Also he will probably talk with the surgeons you did work with or at least review your rotation evaluations to see what they said about you and use all this to form a letter about you. Unless you have had bad reviews from other surgeons in the program, he'll most likey make you sound great because it's to the med school's benefit to have their students match well, so writing you a good letter will ultimately help the school and the program. The chairman's letter is important b/c it's like the department's official endorsement of you. Don't sweat it too much. Charimans are often tough people to get to know as a student, so you're not the only one in this situation.