What would you do? Recommendation Letters

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I shadowed a CRNA for about 24 hours last fall and seemed to have a good rapport. He said he would be glad to help me with letters of recommendation. Now I am getting my app together and I emailed him a couple of times to let him know I would be applying soon and make sure he remembered me and would still be willing to recommend me. He has not responded. The schools I am applying to would need his name then send out the recommendation forms (checklist type things). He is an alumnus of one of the schools which I know would help me.

Should I put his name down anyway? I'm thinking if he doesn't respond to the school, I'll be scrambling at the last minute. I don't know any other CRNAs. The city I live in doesn't use many CRNAs. I have many NPs that would be more than willing. Should I go with them instead? I also have docs, supervisors and teachers. Any input would be greatly appreciated.

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Is there any other way to reach him besides emailing him? Have you tried calling him? If I were you I would call his anesthesia practice and ask if he is available to speak with. If he is not, I would ask to speak to another anesthesia provider who could possibly relay your message to him. I've found that just leaving a message with an operator doesn't always get to the intended person.

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Is there any other way to reach him besides emailing him? Have you tried calling him? If I were you I would call his anesthesia practice and ask if he is available to speak with. If he is not, I would ask to speak to another anesthesia provider who could possibly relay your message to him. I've found that just leaving a message with an operator doesn't always get to the intended person.

I have his home address. I could look up his home phone but didn't want to intrude on his personal life. He works for a hospital, not a practice but I guess I could start there. Thanks, I know I need to be more assertive but on the other hand, don't want to be a pain in the a**....

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He may not be responding to emails for a lot of reasons, he may never check it, he may have changed email addresses or ISPs, his email may be set to only accept emails from people on a list which you may not be on, in any case he's probably not purposefully avoiding you. I would try calling him at work first, but try your best to talk to him personally. I dont think it would be that bad to call him at home, just do it at a reasonable time and explain why you called. I had to call a former instructor at her home since she no longer worked at the school, and she was happy to hear from me. You said you had good rapport with the guy, he will probably be interested to hear from you.

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badgernurse, focker made a good point. A lot of people switch e-mails and such. Just the other day my friend who works in hospital administration e-mailed me -- I hadn't heard from her in ages. If you know of the hospital, then definitely call him! Like you said, you are just being assertive and following through on the recommendations letter he agreed to write. And be sure to tell one of his anesthesia coworkers your situation if he's not immediately available. Let us know if you can reach this guy! :)

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Just wait until you start graduate school. Anything administrative, you will never be able to get in touch with anybody. Nobody wants to deal with it, so don't worry, it gets worse. You just have to be a hound dog. it's sad really. It is one of my biggest problems doing long distance education.

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A letter on mine was lost this past year so I had to get someone else to write a letter because the other MD had moved. I called the school and informed them and they were totally cool about it. I would sweat it to much.

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badgernurse, focker made a good point. A lot of people switch e-mails and such. Just the other day my friend who works in hospital administration e-mailed me -- I hadn't heard from her in ages. If you know of the hospital, then definitely call him! Like you said, you are just being assertive and following through on the recommendations letter he agreed to write. And be sure to tell one of his anesthesia coworkers your situation if he's not immediately available. Let us know if you can reach this guy! :)

Thanks to all for your replies. I got ahold of my CRNA and all looks good. You were right, he was glad to hear from me. I've really had to learn how to be a lot more assertive which has not been part of my personality (IMTJ type from another thread). So I will be applying to 2 schools this summer and will keep you all updated. I will probably be trying to keep my nerves under control as I wait to hear from the schools. Thanks again. This is a great resource to anyone pursuing this career.

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I'm so happy for you! It's really great you were able to get in touch with him and that he is supportive of your goal! Please keep us updated on your admission process this year.

Kelly :Melody:

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