University of Illinois

College of Medicine at Urbana-Champaign
Internal Medicine Residency Program

Program Policy

PURPOSE:    Each resident who applies to a fellowship will require a letter of recommendation from the Program Director. Letters of recommendation are more powerful if the resident waives his/her right to see the letter. All residents are advised to waive this right. Of course, it is a matter of choice of each resident. This policy applies to residents who waive the right to read the Program Director's letter of recommendation.

POLICY: The Program Director's letter of recommendation is prepared with input from all available methods of evaluation. This may include written comments and verbal comments. The letter is prepared by the program office and sent to ERAS as requested by the resident using the cover letter provided by ERAS. If a program requires a letter be sent directly to the fellowship program, the resident must supply a list of names and addresses, and the program office will send the letters. A meeting with the program director is required if a resident requests more than 10 letters of reference.

PROCEDURES:

1. Residents requesting a Program Director letter of recommendation for support of a fellowship application are to schedule an appointment with the Program Director no later than 4 weeks before the letter is due to be sent.
2. Residents must bring an up-to-date curriculum vitae and personal statement to the appointment.
3. The Program Director will discuss the general message a letter would convey.
4. If the resident requests, the program director will prepare a letter to be sent out no later than 4 weeks from the meeting.
5. The program will inform the resident when the letter(s) have been sent.