Letter Of Rec from MD for student who shadowed me

[ChrisMD]

Hello,

I'm a MD who has been involved in academic medicine for quite some time (residency faculty and academic appointments from several medical schools).  I love having students but recently one of my executive leadership staff asked to have one of their family members shadow me prior to an application to PA school.  We spent two days together and he is now asking for a letter of recommendation.  It was a good experience for both of us (at least I think he enjoyed the time we spent together).  Even though I've been involved in academic medicine for quite some time, this is my first experience with a pre-professional student (I routinely have MD, DP, PA and NP students rotate with me however).  I'm sure that PA schools realize that shadowing experiences are generally limited in scope and duration and I'm wondering of letters like this are actually helpful and if so, are they given any significant weight during the admissions process?  I'd love to see some sample letters of recommendation for students who have shadowed for limited periods of time if available.  What qualities are PA schools looking for in this type of letter?  Are there sample letters for this situation?  I'd love some guidance to help this guy get into school.

 

Thanks for any help you might be able to provide.  I'd like to give this student an excellent letter but want it to be realistic and meaningful (not only because he's a relative of an executive in my organization but also because I believe he'd be a great provider).

[EMEDPA]

You don't have to go overboard. describe the amount of time he spent with you, the kinds of things he saw, and any thoughts you might have about him from discussions with him about medicine. A shadow LOR basically shows admissions folks that the applicant took the time to examine other careers so that they can answer the question, "why do you want to be a PA and not a physician"? Thanks for taking the time to let someone shadow you. many providers don't today due to hippa.