recommender instructions


Dear Recommender,

Thank you for recommending an applicant for MedServe!

About Us

MedServe is a 2-year service-learning program in primary care medicine based in rural and other medically underserved communities across North Carolina. We give pre-medical students active roles on primary care health teams that offer: hands-on patient care experience and a front-line view of major community and local health systems issues.

How You Can Help

We count on you to help us understand how we can contribute to each applicant’s professional development, and how well they can contribute to growing primary care practices in the communities we serve. We anticipate that most letters are 1-2 pages in length and focus on the most relevant aspects among the following topics (as appropriate): 

  • Applicant's ability to adapt to a rural or urban underserved environment and to work with individuals of significantly different backgrounds

  • Any knowledge of the applicant’s suitability or interest in primary care, medicine for underserved populations, or healthcare more broadly

  • Applicant’s ability to excel in a team-based setting and foster empathetic relationships with the clinic’s patient population

  • Applicant’s service-oriented values and any evidence of the applicant acting on their values (e.g. by seeing a problem or injustice and doing something about it)

  • Applicant’s leadership experience, especially in civic engagement or community service

  • Applicant’s experience being a proactive, independent learner and being action-oriented

  • Any other factors which you believe may have a bearing on the applicant's experience in MedServe

Steps to Submit Your Reference

  1. Please email all letters of reference as a .pdf or word document to application@med-serve.org

  2. Send your email with the subject line Reference_ApplicantfirstnameLastname_University (ex. Reference_JaneDoe_Sewanee)

  3. You will receive confirmation from MedServe upon receipt of your email

Recommendations are due with the applicant’s corresponding deadline (Early Bird: Dec. 1st 11:59 PM or Main Round: Feb. 15th 11:59 PM). applicants will RECEIVE a confirmation email once 2 letters of recommendation have been received.

Recommender Instructions PDF