By Anna Peck and
Sarah M. Lawrence

Dr. Hieu Tran is the dean of the new Sullivan University College of Pharmacy in Louisville, Kentucky. Dr. Tran has been involved in the organization of three new colleges of pharmacy, first as a faculty member, then a department chair and now as founding dean at Sullivan.

SDN administrators Sarah M. Lawrence and Anna Peck had the opportunity to sit down with Dr. Tran to discuss his career, the process of opening a new college of pharmacy and pharmacy school admissions.

SDN: What attracted you to the field of pharmacy initially?

HT: I knew several people who were practicing pharmacists and that sparked my interest. I was attracted to both the scientific and personal aspects of the profession. When I was a young pharmacy student I dreamed of opening my own corner pharmacy and providing personal care and service to patients. My career has gone in a different direction, but I still enjoy the interpersonal interaction I get from my work in pharmacy. Read the full story

We’d like to thank everyone that participated in our first Test Prep Week!

It was a fantastic success because of our members and the hard work of volunteer members like Megan, Sarah and Brandon. We’d also like to thank all the organizations that were involved and especially those that donated free materials and courses as prizes for our membership.

The Test Prep Week forums will be archived for reference in our Interdisciplinary Forums category.

We’re pleased to announce our first Test Prep Week (May 21-25). We’ve invited test prep companies from across the United States and Canada. Test Prep Week covers all of the major exams in the health professions, from the DAT to the USMLE.

Many test prep companies are offering exclusive discounts to SDN Members during the event. Additionally, SDN will be giving away a number of free publications and review courses generously donated by participating companies!

Participating Companies:

1. 3tQuest’s DAT and OAT Achievers
2. AudioLearn
3. Crack DAT PAT and Crack the NBDE
4. Dental Decks – The Flashcard Company
5. Dr. Ferdinand’s Gold Standard MCAT Test Prep
6. Dr. Romano’s Orgoman.com
7. Elsevier Publishing
8. ExamKrackers MCAT Prep
9. FEP International’s Official SDN MCAT Pearls
10. Kaplan Medical and Kaplan Test Prep
11. Lippincott Publishing
12. McGraw-Hill Medical
13. Nova Press
14. The Osler Institute
15. Premier Review
16. The Princeton Review
17. Scholarware’s DAT, PCAT, and OAT Prep
18. SFIMedical Publishing’s Drug Cards
19. USMLERx
20. USMLEWorld
21. Youel’s Prep

Read the full story

The Student Doctor Network was recently lucky enough to track down Orthopaedic Surgeon Carlo Bellabarba, who has subspecialty training in Spine and Trauma, and works at the Harborview Medical Center at the University of Washington School of Medicine in Seattle.

SDN: Describe a typical day at work

C: At 7 a.m., I meet with the team (residents, fellows, ARNPs, Pas, etc.) for rounds to discuss the status of patients who came in overnight and to go over pertinent imaging studies, lab results and patient care issues for new admissions and other inpatients. I prioritize patients with regard to the upcoming OR day based on urgency of their condition, readiness for surgery and available OR resources on that day. I also review postoperative imaging studies from recent procedures.

At about 7:45 a.m., I’m in the Operating Room, which generally consists of decompression / realignment / stabilization of spine fractures (anywhere from occiput to sacrum, with varying degrees of neurological compromise), fixation of extremity fractures, and elective spine procedures.
Read the full story

by Samir P. Desai, M.D.,
and Rajani Katta, M.D.

Authors of The Successful Match: 200 Rules to Succeed in the Residency Match and 250 Biggest Mistakes 3rd Year Medical Students Make And How To Avoid Them

“Where was the career guidance I needed for the past three years? No one sat me down in my first year and told me what it would take to get the career of my choice. Had I been handed a residency application form in my first year, I would have made many decisions differently. I cannot help thinking that my medical school has let me down. I am not going to shine on my residency application, as I had hoped.”

- S. Ellen Morch (Morch SE. Students unprepared for residency applications. CMAJ 1994; 151(9): 1237-8)

Thirteen years have passed since these words were written by a fourth-year medical student, and yet we continue to counsel students who find themselves in the same position. “If only I knew then what I know now” is sadly a common refrain among residency applicants. Read the full story

By Tildy

The author is a physician scientist involved in multiple research and training grants internationally including being the principal investigator in two international projects funded by the Fogarty International Center (www.fic.nih.gov).

Is it possible for a US academic physician to spend least several months a year working in a developing country?

There are many medical students and residents interested in this question. International training programs are increasingly common within medical school and residency curriculums as are global health projects (e.g. www.shouldertoshoulder.org/History.htm).

It has become a given that a number of young physicians in the US will wish to make a major contribution to international health care on an annual basis. The question is – Can this be done within the medical community, especially within academic medicine? Read the full story