Editors



Current Editors: Fareen Momin and Jane Onyemachi

(Please email editors if there is blog-worthy news that you would like to see shared)

Past Editors: Andrea Francis, Renat Ahatov, Michael Phan, Elise Weisert, Michael Ryan, Keith Wagner, Tim Allen, Kristyna Gleghorn, Dung Mac, Alex Acosta, William Tausend, Sheila Jalalat, Rebecca Philips, Chelsea Altinger, Lindsey Hunter, Alison Wiesenthal, Leslie Scroggins, Mara Dacso, Ashley Group, Fadi Constantine, Emily Fridlington, Joslyn Witherspoon, Tasneem Poonawalla.

Wednesday, April 04, 2018

Dermatology Standardized Letters of Recommendation

Although controversial (and not uniformly adopted), standardized Letters of Recommendation (SLORs) in recent years have been used by some dermatologists to recommend residency applicants. A study published last month (J Clin Aesthet Dermatol 2018;11:26-29) retrospectively analyzed SLORs from 3 participating institutions and found that the best recommendations come from writers who know the applicant well. Grade inflation was present (“exceptional,” a grade that should be limited to the top 5% of applicants, was given  to 25.4%). Dermatology faculty (31.5%) were more likely to evaluate applicants as “exceptional” than departmental chairs, program directors, and assistant program directors. Research potential and applicant inquisitiveness were rated lower than other categories in SLORs. Based on this study, the authors concluded, “…we were unable to draw conclusions about the reliability of the SLOR.”