by Laura Turner
SDN Staff Writer

Based on a series of polls conducted by the Student Doctor Network, students generally understand the current salaries they can expect to receive as a health professional.

The polls asked SDN users to select the salary range for an occupation “without Googling” to find the correct answer.  The results of the polls are available in the SDN poll archive.

Students were most likely to select the salary range into which the actual mean annual wage falls for all occupations except Dentists and Optometrists.  Actual wages used for comparison were determined by the Bureau of Labor Statistics and are accurate as of May 2007. Read the full story

By Diana Aziz

Hal Lippman, DDS, is the Assistant Dean of Admissions at Nova Southeastern University School of Dental Medicine in sunny Davie, Florida.

Dr. Lippman graduated from New York University School of Dental Medicine in 1975, and completed his general practice residency at the Manhattan V.A. Hospital.

After 32 years in private practice, Dr. Lippman decided to join the team at Nova Southeastern University.

As an Assistant Dean of Admissions, what do you feel is most important in predicting success in dental school?

A big part of predicting future success is past academic history, [and the] depth and breadth of biological science background. We like to see plenty of upper level science classes; this makes transition to the first and second year of dental school a smooth, successful one. Read the full story

By Sean Parrish

Dai Chinh Phan is a staff maxillofacial prosthodontist at the Albuquerque Veterans Administration Medical Center in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Dr. Phan has a BS in Aerospace Engineering from Wichita State University, as well as a DDS from the University of Missouri at Kansas City and a MS in Prosthodontics from Marquette University.

When not assisting patients with the challenges of dental restoration or creating compositions on the piano, Dr. Phan volunteers his time as a valuable contributor to SDN’s Mentor Forum.

In a recent interview, Dr. Phan spoke at length about dentistry, the scope of prosthodontics, and his own unique story of emigrating from Vietnam. Read the full story