On July 25th, Riley Jane Lawrence, the 4-year old daughter of SDN Administrator Sarah (All4MyDaughter), and her 5-year old cousin Claudia Faye Wadlington passed away after being struck by a car.  The girls were on their way to swimming lessons.

The loss of Riley and Claudia has devastated their families, friends, and those lucky enough to have known them.

SDN has established The Riley & Claudia Memorial Fund in an effort to ease the financial burden on the girls’ families and to establish a lasting memorial in their honor.

The August Auction (now completed) was one opportunity to support the Riley & Claudia Memorial Fund. The items up for bid were generously donated by a variety of companies and individuals, allowing all proceeds to go to the memorial fund.  Thank you for supporting Sarah and her family. Read the full story

A review and interview with the author of Do Not Resuscitate, the controversial book about the current status of America’s health insurance system.

by Lee Burnett

A recognized pioneer and leader in family medicine, John Geyman, MD has written a number of articles and books on American healthcare. He has just released his latest book on the health insurance system, Do Not Resuscitate.

Dr. Geyman’s books are known for detailed research and facts. Do Not Resuscitate is a natural follow-up to his earlier texts, deftly tackling the latest and most complex data and concepts and distilling them into a captivating and quick read.

This book could be compared to the writings of Noam Chomsky with Dr. Geyman delivering a searing indictment of today’s health insurance companies and the US Government. This book has a single point: the insurance industry has failed America and it should be replaced with a single-payer nonprofit fund.

Read the full story

by Brittany Warrick
SDN Staff Writer

There are many learning opportunities for student doctors while they are in school, including a healthy blend of didactic and practical lessons. By the end of their training, most students in the U.S. have their fingers on the pulse of domestic medicine, but medical education cannot always impart the same lessons learned by students who participate in medical missions to developing parts of the world.  The experience that I have gained personally from traveling outside the United States has undoubtedly shaped me into a better student and I have become increasingly confident in my abilities as a a future clinician.

One of the first realizations many students experience when traveling abroad is that, despite its flaws, our medical system in the U.S. is often much more efficient than the those in developing countries. In many areas, conditions may go completely untreated and seemingly “simple” things such as diarrhea can take child’s life. Infrastructure is also an area of major concern; privileges that many doctors take for granted (some as simple as admitting patients to the hospital) are not as easily accomplished in underdeveloped areas.  Read the full story

by Adam Haydt
SDN Contributor

Continuing with its mission of representing doctoral-level healthcare fields, the Student Doctor Network (SDN) has recently added four new partners to its growing list of partners that span the health professions.

GlobalRPH is a useful website designed and operated by David McAuley, Pharm.D. & R.Ph., of the Detroit VA Medical Center. McAuley launched this practical resource in 2000 and has developed it into a valuable tool that is a comprehensive drug library. It features dosage guidelines, calculators, and many other information sources that will be able to aid pharmacists and other healthcare professionals that come in contact with patient medications daily.  Read the full story

Contributed by the United States Public Health Service

CAPT Richard Caldwell, a physician in the U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps, is an experienced medical officer who is the sole health care provider for the Havasupai American Indian community in Arizona. His dedication to his job ensures that he is always available to provide calm, confident, and experienced medical care to a community that is underserved and lives in a very remote location. CAPT Caldwell also works with wilderness rescue in the Grand Canyon to respond to emergencies involving visitors to the National Park. “Serving as the sole medical officer for the community is demanding, but it is also extremely rewarding,” says CAPT Caldwell.  Read the full story