Help! What should my referee be writing?

**ladyV** · 23-07-2009, 01:46 PM

Hi guys

Some advice please - firstly who is the best person to ask to be my referee as a graduate? A manager from work??

And secondly...what should they be writing? It cant be quite the same as what my referee wrote at school?

Any help MUCH appreciated

V xx

**latestarter** · 23-07-2009, 04:39 PM

Hi, you should really aim for an academic reference if at all possible but if you have to then a professional person who knows you well or your manager should be ok...
here's a link to a resource I found:
So you want to be a doctor? An admissions resource for those applying for medical school in the UK

and here: Keele University School of Medicine : Undergraduate Medical Course down the page...

**ladyV** · 23-07-2009, 04:45 PM

Didnt think it would be sensible to get an academic referee that hasnt actually seen me for three years...they dont know anything about my current capabilities or my commitment to medicine....
and surely my first class degree and A level results provides all the academic info they need?

Am I wrong to assume that given I have all the results in the bag, the referee should be less about academics and more about personality and work-skills?

**dances_with_lamposts** · 23-07-2009, 04:52 PM

I was going to ask my line manager at work last year (he was also my dissertation supervisor in uni), but he didnt exactly react kindly to my wanting to apply so in the end i had to ask my degree course director (2 years after graduating), she wrote a decent reference for me - well i think so anyway, i got a place so it cant have been too bad! lots of med schools have some kind if guidance on their website about who can be a reference for grads, if all else fails then just send an email to the admissions people.

there used to be a guide on the manchester med schools webpage about what should be included on references. i dont know if its still up there. (if it isnt then i can email it to you - i saved a copy!!), i found it really good and i sent it to my referee to help her with what to write.

**alisonitis** · 23-07-2009, 05:59 PM

I phoned up the unis I was applying to and 3 asked for academic and one asked for work or academic. I went for academic in the end even though he hadn't seen me for 6 years. I got round this by sending him a little update of what I'd been up to and some work references. I also gave him lots of information about what I did at uni to remind him, which he ended up using pretty much word for word in the reference. Give them plenty of info to go with and you'll probably get a good reference.

**ladyV** · 23-07-2009, 06:04 PM

Problem is I had 2 tutors at university, one of whom has now moved to Australia to do research and the other one has retired...so Im going to struggle.

I guess Ill just have to hope the work related one will do...I could go all the way back to schooldays, but that would be 8 years ago and surely irrelevant?! ARGH!!!

**aspirant doc** · 23-07-2009, 09:12 PM

Most medschools look for the same 6 or 7 qualities in applicants. Get the referee to write about them. If you don't get ticks in these boxes from your reference, you've missed the point. Consider drafting it to your referee or discussing it in detail with them!?!? Can you get them to let you see it and make suggestions about it if it not 100% relevant? Sit down and take time with your referee so that they can explain your commitment in the terms that medschools want to hear. A rambling general reference from an employer who has not written it with the specific requirements of medschools in mind is a waste of paper in this game.

Communication skills
Commitment
Academic ability
Voluntary work
Work experience
etc etc

Do not settle for a rambling general reference that is not specifically addressing the questions medschools have in mind!!!

Also bear in mind that some medschools only accept academic references. Check with the medschools you are applying to.

Good luck.