Letter of recommendation (LOR)

Seems like a lot of schools want LORs from an immediate supervisor or coworker who can vouch for your ability as a critical care nurse. How long is your contract? Is this the only unit you have worked on or do you have other managers/coworkers who can vouch for you? I don't know for sure, but I would be worried that an adcom may not look favorably on an applicant who doesn't intend to honor his contract with an employer. Good luck!

Contract is for 3yrs. There are people from my unit who left in the middle of contract to join CRNA school. I don't know how they did that.

I will tell you on good knowledge that an immediate supervisor doesn't matter. You need a well written LOR from someone with some clout. It is way too competitive to count on someone who can't write a good LOR. One director threw my LOR in the garbage simply because it was only one paragraph. His theory was that if they can't care about you enough to spend the time to write at minimum a form letter, then why should he take the time to read it. They want to see director of anesthesiology, director of cardiovascular services, director of intensive medicine, and a well thought out personal letter. Not to be taken lightly.

But most of the schools specify where they want the LOR from. This is the first time I'm working in ICU. I have worked on med surg before this. But their recommendation will not work for CRNA as some of the forms talks about invasive lines which is not generally done on the floor.

Right. So with the form I had them check the boxes and for comments they put, "Please see letter". I had actual letters to go along with the forms. If the school wanted 3 forms/letters I was sure to send 4 forms/letters. One school needed 5 references, so they got a total of 6 from me. It's a pain, but committees see the same thing from hundreds of applicants- the forms and that's it. Sending in an extra form with letters on company letterhead really helps you stand out.

I did not use my manager because we had butted heads in the past and others had said their letters were horribly written (grammar and content). I worked nights and had a charge nurse on nights write my letter. If anyone asked, it was true that the charge nurse of 15 years was my supervisor - they were the individual who knew my abilities... not the day time manager who I saw once a month in charge meetings.

Is this still for TCU, or are you broadening your application range?

I agree with badgernurse - you need quality letters from 'bigwigs':

Directors of surgery/units/programs - just looks good for someone like this to right a nurse a reference.

If at a teaching hospital someone like a surgeon who also teaches is great.

CRNA's are always great. If you'd shadowed one a few times most are very helpful and eager to give a letter to someone they think would do well in the field. One school knew my CRNA reference (anesthesia is a small world) which helped me.

Charge nurses who can write a very eloquent and detailed letter about you.

Of course, an MDA would work also, but lets be serious...

Intensivist or doc who always rounds and knows your abilities.

Not good:

Residents

Fellows

If you work in SICU a Dentist, Pharmacist or Pediatric doc wouldn't be your best bet.

Anyone who might not mark the "excellent" box on everything.

It is for TCU and baylor. I just don't want to keep myself limited to TCU only as I'm not guaranteed to get an admission there.

Requesting a LOR from a "big wig" who doesn't know you from Tom, Dick or Harry can fly right back in your face. Same goes for a CRNA that you shadowed for a day 18 months ago. I've had a PD tell me that every year he receives LORs stating that the writer couldnt make any kind of quality recommendatiom for the applicant because s/he has had little to no contact with said person. He even received a letter from a CRNA that admitted he couldnt remember the applicant shadowing him.

I would suggest using whomever the program requests a letter from. Im sure some adcoms would be thoroughly unimpressed by someone who completely ignored their requirements and only sent LORs from higher ups bc s/he thought it would hold more clout.

Haha! I would have thought it's implied that you request recommendations from those who can give an accurate and detailed letter.

I made it a goal to recover those sick patients that the head surgeon operated on. Fly with the transplant coordinator and doc to get an organ...

If you're asking a CRNA from a year ago who you shadowed once then it's obvious you haven't spent enough time perfecting your skills and have no business applying to anesthesia school. You should have better options than that person. Thats just opinion, and you know what they say about those...