“How Important are Letters of Recommendation? A Survey of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery Residency Program Directors”

Publication date: Available online 19 September 2018

Source: Journal of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery

Author(s): Daniel M. Laskin, Arsalan Bhatti, Caroline K. Carrico

ABSTRACT

Purpose

Letters of recommendation are currently a part of the application process for residencies in oral and maxillofacial surgery. However, the value placed on the information contained in such letters by program directors is unclear. The purpose of this study was to determine what role letters of recommendation play in decision-making process.

Materials and Methods

In this cross-sectional study, a questionnaire was sent to 122 current and former program directors asking them to rate the importance they gave to letters of recommendation compared to other application attributes through a visual analog scale that ranged from 0 to 100, with 0 labeled as "Not Important" and 100 "Very Important." Respondents also specified the format in which they would prefer recommendations be sent and, if they preferred letters, to state why. Responses were summarized with descriptive statistics (counts and percentages). The average perceived importance of both applicant attributes and components of recommendations were compared using random effects models to adjust for multiple responses from the same respondent. Post-hoc pairwise comparisons were performed using Tukey's adjustment.

Results

Of the 122 questionnaires sent, 14 were not deliverable. Forty-one of the 108 remaining program directors answered for a response rate of 38%. Only 10% of respondents indicated that they do not consider letters of recommendation. However, they rated class rank, comprehensive basic science score and leadership qualities more important than letters of recommendation. They preferred letters of recommendation from a faculty member rather than from a dean or non-oral surgeon, and favored letters over a standard recommendation form, which they believed provided information not found in supporting documents.

Conclusions

Despite some of the deficiencies found with letters of recommendation, and the varying importance given to the information they contain, program directors still find that they provide some useful information.

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