May 5, 2022
Senthil Radhakrishnan, M.S., PA-C
Administrative Chief and Clinical Neurosurgical PA
Department of Neurosurgery
Duke University Medical Center
Durham, NC 27710
Re: Letter of Recommendation – YZ
Dear Selection Committee,
It is a pleasure to write a letter of recommendation for Ms. YZ in support of her application to the Master of Science in Physician Assistant Studies. I have known YZ for the past two years as a colleague working as a dietitian.
YZ started work as a dietetic intern in the neurosurgical stepdown unit in August 2020 and upon graduation continued to work as a registered dietitian since July 2021. She has been instrumental in addressing the nutritional needs of complex pre- and postoperative neurosurgical patients. I admire YZ’s ability to build rapport with her patients and their families. She is quick-witted and can connect with her patients during their most vulnerable time be it recovering from a craniotomy for resection of a malignant brain tumor or readmission for chemotherapy and radiation therapy, or during a protracted hospital course recovering from an acute stroke.
She is always conscientious, hardworking, eager to learn, and highly motivated to do the very best she can to provide excellent care to her patients and support the nurses caring for acutely ill neurological patients. Rather than providing her recommendations based on chart analysis and lab reviews from a computer station, YZ is always in the thick of things. She is constantly interacting with the nurses, PAs, and residents asking about the patient’s medical condition and talking to the patients and their loved ones about the patient’s likes and dislikes, and cultural eating habits before providing her expert recommendations.
YZ has always proved her ability to multi-task, follow through, and be an excellent team player. She consistently demonstrates her strong compassion for her patients and their families and high ethical and moral standards. She works hard to avert subjecting a patient to a PEG tube or removing an NG tube in patients by being creative to increase caloric intake in patients. She does this with a team approach – collaboration with speech-language pathologists, constant communication with the medical team, and by considering patient’s preferences.
The most impressive quality of YZ is she has transformed adversity, a traumatic childhood, uncertainties, and fear of growing up in a war-torn country into hope, optimism, and empathy. As a self-motivated, goal-oriented, conscientious professional, I believe YZ would excel in any graduate program. She is more mature for her age and her experiences have helped her develop a strong sense of service, excellent communication skills with individuals at all levels, as well as the realization of the importance of ethics, compassion, hard work, dedication, and professionalism. She is an energetic team player and possesses all the qualities that make an excellent physician assistant.
I am excited about the prospect of having YZ as a colleague soon. I wish her the very best. Please feel free to contact me if I can be of assistance.
Sincerely,
Senthil Radhakrishnan., M.S., PA-C
