This letter provides a recommendation for Jake Wiersema from his supervisor Dr. David O. Meltzer. Jake worked as a research assistant on Dr. Meltzer's study examining the effects of hospitalists on cost, quality and education. The letter describes Jake's responsibilities which included patient interviews, data abstraction, and training other assistants. Dr. Meltzer praises Jake's dedication, initiative, intelligence and ability to take on multiple responsibilities. He states that Jake was an extraordinary staff member who made significant contributions to the success of the research project.

1. DEPAR TM EN T O F MED IC IN E
Section of Hospital Medicine
5841 South Maryland Avenue, MC 2007, Chicago, Illinois 60637
Phone 773-702-1220 • Fax 773-834-2238
T H E U N I V E R S I T Y O F
C H I C A G O
MEDICAL CENTER
December 12, 2014
Re: Letter of Recommendation for Jake Wiersema
To whom it may concern:
It is my pleasure to recommend Mr. Jake Wiersema from DePaul University as a candidate for your
organization. Since summer 2014, Jake has been working with me as a Research Assistant for a study
examining the quality of hospital care at the University of Chicago Medical Center. During his time
here I have been consistently impressed with his dedication, ability and hard work.
The research project, The Hospital Medicine Program, in which he has worked has three specific aims:
(1) to assess whether hospitalists (doctors who dedicate at least 25% of their practice to inpatient care)
affect the cost and quality of inpatient care, (2) to assess the mechanisms by which hospitalists may
affect the cost and quality of care, and (3) to assess the effects of hospitalists on housestaff and medical
student education and satisfaction.
His initial responsibilities included performing telephone interviews with patients after their discharge
from the hospital and abstracting data from their medical records. After demonstrating that he had
acquired these skills, he advanced to the more challenging role of interviewing patients in person.
Interviewing patients during their hospitalization is central to our research because it is the time when
we seek consent for patients to participate in the study and patients can be reluctant to participate in a
voluntary interview and permit researchers to review their medical records unless they have full
confidence in the research team. We therefore allow only our best staff to perform this role, and require
consistent attendance to retain this responsibility. Jake performed admirably in this particular task. His
polite and persuasive demeanor allowed him to create genuine connections with patients and engender a
willingness to participate in the research process.
He distinguished himself on my team as an exceptionally dedicated research assistant. Jake proved
himself to be one of the best research assistants so my team entrusted him with the task of training other
research assistants to interview patients in person. His consistent and reliable performance was an
excellent example for other research assistants, and he deserves much credit for the current success of
his trainees.
Throughout all his work on our research studies Jake has been an exceptionally valuable member of our
research team. In the time he has been here, he has become independent in his routine activities and
excelled in the special projects we have assigned to him. He is attentive to the complicated process of
our data collection and is quick to ask questions so that he can better understand our research process.
Jake has demonstrated interest in other aspects of the project outside of typical research assistant duties;
his curiosity has allowed him to take on more roles and expand his duties to include medical record
abstraction, a responsibility given to less than 10% of our RAs. All members of my team have been
consistently impressed with his ability to take on multiple responsibilities. It was a pleasure to work with
him, as it is evident that he shared our concern with the success and integrity of the project.

2. In summary, Jake was an extraordinary staff member who has made significant contributions during his
work with the Hospitalist Project. In his time with the project, Jake displayed outstanding initiative,
intelligence, and analytical ability. He has great drive, motivation, and independence. Jake is a
dedicated, enthusiastic, and capable individual who I think is an excellent candidate for your
organization. I would be pleased to answer any additional questions or provide any information that you
may need to process his application.
Sincerely,
David O. Meltzer, M.D., Ph.D.
Associate Professor, Section of Hospital Medicine
Department of Medicine, The University of Chicago
5841 S. Maryland MC 2007
Chicago, IL 60637
Phone: 773-702-0836
Email: dmeltzer@medicine.bsd.edu