LOR from physician assistant (PA)?

❔ Question

Hi everyone, I was wondering if medical schools would look down on getting a letter of recommendation from a PA.

I've been working as a medical assistant for a while now (probably most meaningful exp) and I think I could get a strong lor from the PA I worked with. I know it's probably ideal to get a letter from an MD or DO in a clinical setting, but I haven't seen any schools explicitly say they won't accept a PA letter.

Also the supervising MD is never in the clinic, and I've never met them.

Also unrelated, I'm also unsure how admissions committees view letters from a physician I only shadowed in another hospital (~50ish hours).

Has anyone here been accepted with a PA letter of recommendation? If so, did you feel like it was viewed similarly to an MD/DO letter, especially since the PA directly supervised your clinical work?

Right now, my planned letters are:

* 1 english prof
* 1 bio prof
* 1 science prof (still working on this)
* 1 MD I shadowed
* 1 PA I've worked closely with as an MA

I'm planning to apply next year. Any advice/personal experiences would be greatly appreciated. Ty!

Posted Jul 6, 2026, 8:58 PM UTC

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