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          Audrey Becker 
          2341 Seven Pines Suite 5
          St. Louis, MO 63146

Phone: 314.878.6888
Toll-free: 877.583.3255
Fax: 314.878.1827
Audrey@ObOnly.com

A CV accompanied by letters of reference will receive a more positive response than a CV sent alone. Let’s face it, CV’s do not make exciting reading. They set forth your qualifications, and readers make judgments, according to their personal values, about the institutions that have trained you and the practices that have hired you; but nowhere is there much opportunity on a CV to display your humanity, your personality. That is what your references letters can do - speak to your value in the eyes of your colleagues, give a hint of what it is like to work in your professional company.

With reference letters, three is the magic number. Supplying just one seems suspicious. So does supplying a dozen. At least to start, three will do just fine.

If you are a resident, one of those letters should come from the chairperson of the Ob/Gyn department or your program director. Others should come from the faculty members or attendings who know you well. Choose carefully and make the request early. You should have references lined up before you begin your chief year. Select physicians who are likely to say more than “I have known Dr. X since he/she joined our program in 1999. He/she is a fine physician and I have no doubt that he/she will complete the program successfully.” At least a third of the letters I see waste a paragraph telling what your CV clearly shows. Look for someone who has worked with you in a trying circumstance, who has known you on a personal as well as professional level, who can discuss specifics.

If I am taking a reference by phone, I ask about:

• your medical knowledge

• your general clinical skills

• your level of self-confidence

• your surgical/procedural skills

• your work ethic or habits

• your response to constructive criticism

• the quality of medicine you practice

• your weaknesses

• your greatest strengths

• your interaction with other physicians

• your relationship with ancillary staff

• your rapport with patients

• your personality

• your professional appearance

• circumstances in your personal life that will have an adverse effect on your ability to concentrate on a practice

• any probation, suspension, or revocation of privileges

• any disciplinary or peer review action

• problems with substance abuse

I generally conclude by asking:

• Would you feel comfortable having this physician treat a member of your family?

• Is this a physician with whom you would want to be professionally associated?

Of course, if a practice is considering hiring you, they will not be satisfied with a letter sent via e-mail or fax. They will require that a letter be sent directly to them, on official stationery, hand signed, by mail. That can be the same letter, typed and signed anew; so do not think that a file letter is a waste of time for you or for the writer.

If you are a practicing physician, your letters of reference must include current evaluations. Any reference from a physician who has not worked with you in the past five years has limited value.

It is not unusual for a practice to request that at least one evaluation come from a nurse, nurse practitioner, or physician assistant.