Provided by NYCOM
Old Westbury, New York

Thomas A. Scandalis, D.O., FAOASM, has been named dean of New York Institute of Technology’s (NYIT) New York College of Osteopathic Medicine (NYCOM). Scandalis, formerly associate dean for academic affairs, served this past year as dean while a national search process for the position was conducted. In his new role, Scandalis will chair the board of NYCOM’s graduate medical educational consortium and become a member of NYCOM’s board of governors. Read the full story

By Juliet Farmer
Staff Writer

David C. Hilmers, MD, EE, MPH, is as assistant professor at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas, in the Department of Pediatrics and Internal Medicine, Section of Academic General Pediatrics.

He attended Baylor College of Medicine, where he received his MD and served his residency in Internal Medicine and Pediatrics, and attended University of Texas-Houston School of Public Health, where he received his MPH.

Hilmers is a fellow in the American Academy of Pediatrics and a member of the American College of Physicians. His research interests include international medicine, humanitarian relief and education, nutrition, tropical diseases, and aerospace medicine.

Before entering the medical profession, Hilmers was a NASA astronaut and flew four missions on the space shuttle, logging almost 500 hours in space. Read the full story

Adapted by Sarah M. Lawrence
Used with permission

Tablet splitting has become a popular method for controlling prescription drug costs. Many insurance companies offer free tablet splitters or other incentives to convince patients to purchase higher strength tablets and take a half tablet per dose. With the practice on the rise, the concerned practitioner may wonder: is this safe and effective for patients? Does the financial benefit outweigh the potential for adverse therapeutic outcomes? Read the full story

By Sean Parrish 

Believe it or not, the average American moves once every 7 years. Considering the multitude of tasks accompanying a move–finding the new place to live, signing the lease or mortgage, setting up utilities, contracting movers or renting trucks, packing and unpacking boxes, and plenty more–the statistic is very revealing.

Anyone who has ever tried to sell an old futon or recruit friends to move furniture knows the nomadic experience of life at a residential school. While most people gradually learn over time how to plan a successful move, very few come by the knowledge instinctively. The internet is often as much a hindrance as a help—the simple volume of information available can overload the reader.

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Access to Essential Medicines to dominate International Student Assembly

By SDN Staff, in collaboration with IFMSA

Almost one thousand of medical students from over 90 different countries will gather in Canterbury this August to address critical inequities in healthcare provision across the globe. The 56th August Meeting of the International Federation of Medical Students Associations will return to the UK with the theme “Access to Essential Medicines”.

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By Juliet Farmer

Roxie Twedt, SDN user name oxeye, is set to join the ranks of medical students at the University of Nevada School of Medicine come fall 2007. In the meantime, the San Francisco Bay Area native, who spent three years early on living in Tokyo, Japan, is helping the Student Doctor Network as the Assistant Mentor Coordinator, a moderator position in the Mentor Forum.

“I supervise the Promotion and Recruitment Assistants in the Mentoring Forum, and manage the mentors in the forum,” she explains of her role. “I maintain several tables of contents in the forum to make the threads easier for students to navigate and also cut down on some of the repetitive questions that mentors receive.”

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By SDN Staff

Crystal Holmes, DPM is a podiatric physician practicing in Ann Arbor, Michigan. She graduated from the Ohio College of Podiatric Medicine in 2002, and already her professional career and media resume have taken flight.

Currently, she is a clinical instructor at the University of Michigan Medical School, serving in the Metabolism, Endocrinology and Diabetes Division. Dr. Holmes earned her undergraduate degree at Fisk University in Nashville, Tennessee.

Describe a typical day at work
Every day for me is different, and that is what I like the most about what I do. There really is no “typical” day. Some days I’m at the V.A. Hospital, and others I’m at the University of Michigan Hospital in my clinic. Most of my patients have diabetes. However, I see patients of all ages with a wide spectrum of pathology. That is why I think my job is so much fun.

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QofQuimica is currently a second-year allopathic medical student. After college, she went to graduate school and earned her M.S. in medicinal chemistry. She then worked as a lab tech and in a doctor’s office before returning to school to earn her PhD in pharmaceutical chemistry.

In August 2004, Q took the MCAT and scored a 43S. She began giving MCAT advice on SDN when she joined as a member in October 2004. Q joined the SDN staff in June 2005 as an advisor for the MCAT Study Questions subforum and later became MCAT forum moderator. She now oversees all of the SDN premedical forums. Recently, SDN spoke with Q to get her input on preparing for and taking the MCAT. 

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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

Which of the following is the most important academic criterion used by program directors to select residents?

A) USMLE step 1 score
B) USMLE step 2 CK score
C) Pre-clinical course grades
D) Third-year clerkship grades
E) Membership in Alpha Omega Alpha (AOA)

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