Recs on rotations?

[MainerRD12]

Someone at a job fair said it is smart to get a recommendation from every rotation, then you will be able to pick the best ones when job application time comes around. It sounded like a good idea at the time, but being in rotation 5 I still don't feel like I've mastered my PA skills enough for someone to write a recommendation specific for a clinical position. I'm sure they could write a general one, but is that worth asking for? Do you even provide written recommendation letters when you apply to jobs or just have your references ready? Thanks in advance, sorry if it's been addressed before!

[SERENITY NOW]

I haven't heard of too many people needing full written letters of recommendation for getting a job after school (you would need it for applying to residency/fellowships though).  I think it is definitely wise to start building your network from the beginning though.  Towards the end of every rotation I used to be sure to get the contact information of everyone I became close with and wrote it all down in a big excel/word document.  If I thought that they would speak highly of me, I also would ask them if I could list them as job references down the road.  Also, if you could see yourself applying to that hospital, it wouldn't hurt to try to find out the contact information for the hiring managers as well... it would be a lot easier to do this while you are physically present in the hospital as opposed to trying to cold-call or email preceptors a year later after you've graduated.  Just my 2 cents...

[Lauren R]

I didn't ask anyone for letters of recommendations.  After I completed rotations, I reached out of some of my favorite preceptors and asked them if I could use them as references.  I have no clue if they were ever called, but it wasn't an issue.  I got a job just fine.