PRESS RELEASE

The Student Doctor Network is very pleased to announce the re-release of one of its most popular features: the Interview Feedback Database. Reworked from the ground up and transferred to a more familiar interface, the new database is more efficient and user-friendly than ever.

We used your feedback to redesign this invaluable resource around how you’ve told us you use it. For example, users may now leave comments on interview reviews they found particularly helpful.  As the 2009 application cycle begins to ramp up, be sure you take a moment to stop by the new Interview Feedback area for your chosen degree; after all, chance favors the prepared mind! Once you complete your interview, stop by again to share your experience so that those who come after you may benefit as well!

by Michael O’Brien
SDN Staff Writer

After starting out as a failed journalism major, Dr. Lawrence Terra wound up graduating Phi Beta Kappa from a prestigious midwestern university with a B.A. in Psychology. He graduated with High Honors from an University of California medical school and now pursues his original dream of journalism through a popular blog.

He completed a four-year OB/GYN Residency and then went on to a Fellowship in Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility (REI). He has worked with many of the pioneers in the field of In-Vitro Fertilization (IVF). Dr. Terra is currently in full-time private practice as the Medical Director of an IVF program in Southern California. He is a sought-after lecturer, giving educational talks to hundreds of physicians and medical students annually. Dr. Terra is a Board-Certified Fellow of the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology and an active faculty member at two medical schools.

He recently sat down with SDN to give us a glimpse of life as a Reproductive Endocrinologist. Read the full story

by Interfolio
SDN Sponsor

The application puzzle can be a complex one, and letters of recommendation are just one piece. It doesn’t need to be the hardest piece though. Based on our experience with thousands of medical school applicants, and our relationships with many career centers and pre-health advising offices, we’ve identified some tips for making the process of collecting letters of recommendation as painless as possible.  Read the full story

by Joseph Kim, MD
Reprinted with Permission

If you’re a physician and you’re considering a non-clinical career, you may be wondering about all the opportunities out there. I get asked about this all the time. Over the years, I’ve had a chance to meet different physicians working in various companies and industries; here are my observations.

First, ask yourself what you enjoy. After all, if you don’t enjoy clinical medicine, you don’t want to end up doing something else you’re not going to enjoy. Then, start networking like crazy. Leverage all the online social networking sites (like LinkedIn, Facebook, Plaxo, etc.) and get reconnected with old colleagues, classmates, and friends. Find out what people are doing. They may help you get connected to some key people. You may find some of the best opportunities this way. If you’re a woman, you may want to check out MomMD (www.mommd.com). Read the full story

PRESS RELEASE

Kaplan’s NEW Step 2 CK Qbank is coming soon! Kaplan’s new and improved Step 2 CK Qbank will be available starting May 14th with important new features like a Score Estimator – able to predict your USMLE score based on your Qbank performance – and 500 never-before-seen exam-like questions created by Kaplan Medical’s expert faculty and reviewed by top-performing test takers.

Learn more about the important upgrades to Kaplan’s Qbank and see how you score on a Qbank Challenge at http://www.qbankchallenge.com/step2. You can lock in the low price of Qbank today – buy now and delay your start date up to 90 days!

Only on SDN – Enter to win Kaplan’s new Step 2 CK Qbank!
Kaplan is giving away a Step 2 CK Qbank to the first 100 SDN members. Check the Step 2 forum to learn how to win a FREE 3-month Step 2 CK Qbank!

The career of Joni Fowler, PharmD, BCPP, CGP career focuses on medical education and communication.

Through her three companies (Creative Educational Concepts, ConvenePro and PromoGistics) she interacts regularly with health care professionals in a variety of medical specialties.

She earned her PharmD from the University of Tennessee and was previously employed in as a Clinical Pharmacist in the Continuing Education department at University of Kentucky’s Chandler Medical Center and as a Clinical Pharmacist in the areas of geriatrics and psychiatry with the Department of Veteran’s Affairs.

Read the full story

SDN readers have responded favorably to our series of “20 Questions” asked of various health care professionals. With this interview of Dr. Gary LeRoy we launch a new series called “Health Care Policy and the Student Doctor”.

SDN: Gary, your resume is pretty awesome. You currently hold the position of Medical Director of the East Dayton Health Center, a community health center with federally qualified health center status; and you are simultaneously Associate Dean for Student Affairs and Admissions at Wright State University’s Boonshoft School of Medicine in Dayton, Ohio.

Yours is a unique postion, with major responsibilities in a community health center serving the disadvantaged, and as the dean of students for a medical school, which will include lots of students from more privileged backgrounds.  Read the full story

Dale Whitby, PharmD, BCPS works for Gold Standard Inc, an Elsevier Company. Gold Standard provides drug information products such as Clinical Pharmacology, eMPOWERx and Pharmacy Solutions to the health care community.

Dr. Whitby earned his PharmD from Virginia Commonwealth University/Medical College of Virginia and completed residencies in Pharmacy Practice and Pediatric Pharmacy at the University of Kentucky. Prior to joining Gold Standard, he was a Pediatric Critical Care Clinical Pharmacy Specialist at Shands Hospital at the University of Florida.

What do you like best about your current position? What do you like least?

I enjoy the constant challenge of keeping up with current literature and being able to summarize it in a useful manner for other practitioners. I also appreciate that my work

schedule is flexible. One drawback is the limited opportunity I have to serve as a mentor. I would like to have more contact with student pharmacists and residents.

Read the full story

by Ivan Edwards, D.O., USAFR MC (CPT)
SDN Staff Writer

The contract provisions couldn’t look any better:

• $ 300,000 annual salary guarantee
  • sustained by hospital/practice
  • forgiven over 5 years
  • phased out beyond 15 months to full productivity remuneration
• $10,000 sign on bonus
• $20,000 relocation expenses
• 3.5 weeks annual vacation
• 2 weeks annual sick time
• 10 days paid CME
• 401K investment
• Profit sharing/open partnership in 12 months.

But before signing the dotted line, take the contract home, read it carefully and understand it. Equally importantly, get to know the people behind it.

For many doctors soon to complete their residencies, one final round of interviewing is underway. This time, unlike prior interviews, it is an audition for your job post-residency, in your chosen profession. Finally! Read the full story