pediatric neuro LOR

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civilleader

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So I am going to be spending sometime in peds doing pediatric neuro...since our school doesnt have a required 3rd year neuro rotation, and prolly plan on requesting that doc for a reco letter. Will adult neuro programs seriously take a pediatric neuro letter or do I need an adult letter also? I will probably get an adult neuro letter but it wont be till fourth year when Im applying because we dont have required 3rd year neuro rotation.
 
One of my three neurology LORs this year is from a pediatric neurologist. I've had absolutely no problems and if anything, it's apparently a pretty good letter since I've gotten a bunch of compliments on it. It's been a good talking point, because it let me discuss how I've explored the different areas of neurology, including peds neuro.

As far as that being your only letter, however, I don't know if that's the best idea. Neuro is a field in which your interviewers are usually generally concerned about your level of interest and how well you understand neurology in terms of "what you're getting into." Having only one LOR from a neurologist can hurt you in that sense (think about it- if you REALLY want to be a neurologist, shouldn't you know more than one well enough to get an LOR from them?)

Tell the neuro faculty you're interested in their field and ask them if you can hang out in clinic or on rounds when you've got some spare time- it's a great way to explore the field more and you may build relationships that allow you ask them for an LOR before fourth year. That failing, make sure you schedule your neuro elective super early!
 
One of my three neuro letters was from a peds neuro and as curlygirlie said it can bring up good conversation during the interview. Just be sure it's not your only neuro letter. You should really try to get one from the chairperson of the neuro department and another senior faculty who has been around for a while. And of course one from someone who has worked with you for a bit and knows you well.

It sucks that neuro isn't a required 3rd year rotation for a lot of people. It would be great for the field if more people were exposed to it for a decent amount of time so they know what it's about.
 
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