By 2007, the Internet had changed a lot. The SDN Diaries had been successful but were becoming archaic in comparison to other blog sites and software.  So, after 8 years, the Diaries were closed.

Now, to celebrate our upcoming 10-year anniversary, we’ve restored the old “SDN Diaries” database and have an archive online at http://archive.studentdoctor.net/diary/.

Additionally, to encourage student blog sharing and networking, SDN hosts one of the largest student blog directories at: http://forums.studentdoctor.net/links/.  If you have a blog, make sure to add it!

The SDN Wiki features both a wiki version of Ryan Aycock’s Not So Short Introduction to Getting into Medical School, and the newly added Medical Education FAQ.

We encourage all SDN Members to participate in updating and maintaining this body of knowledge. Available at http://www.studentdoctor.net/wiki/

SDN is pleased to announce the reopening of the Student Doctor Network SwagStore! Located at http://www.studentdoctor.net/store/, there you can purchase SDN gear online and have it delivered to your doorstep. Whether you’re looking for one of our popular t-shirts, the official Student Doctor Network Medical School Admission Guide, or just an SDN lapel pin, the SDN SwagStore has you covered.

Don’t forget to sign up for the mailing list, so you can hear about product sales, new merchandise, and other information as it becomes available. The SwagStore also offers gift certificates. All revenue from the SDN SwagStore is used toward maintaining and improving the Student Doctor Network. Come visit today!

The Student Doctor Network is pleased to announce a partnership with the National Community Pharmacists Association (NCPA).

Founded in 1898, NCPA continues to be the leading voice in support of independent community pharmacists, especially for legislative change. In addition to supporting current pharmacy owners, NCPA also provides resources for pharmacy student members, including scholarships, lower interest student loans, internships, mentors, and career guides.

This new partnership will be especially beneficial to pharmacy students on SDN who are considering becoming an independent community pharmacist, will provide all SDN members with the opportunity to learn about the role of the community pharmacist, and will provide a vast resource and support network to NCPA student members.

“The partnership between NCPA and SDN will be beneficial to both parties, because we share the same objectives,” said John Stelmachowicz, NCPA Associate Director of Student Affairs. “Together we can reach a broader audience of current and future pharmacy students, and also foster the type of online information sharing and discussions that will enhance their knowledge and opportunities for growth.”

To learn more about NCPA’s resources for students, please visit the NCPA Student Affairs page.

Upcoming NCPA events of interest include:

• The 110th Annual Convention and Trade Exposition October 11-15, 2008 in Tampa, FL
• Pharmacy Ownership Workshop November 7-9, 2008 in Cleveland, OH
• The NCPA Foundation’s Spring 2009 Student Loan Application Deadline November 17, 2008

For more information, see the NCPA website at www.ncpanet.org or contact your local student NCPA chapter.

About the Student Doctor Network

The Student Doctor Network (SDN) is an independent community of students, advisors, educators, and practicing health care professionals. With over two million page views per month and an online forums community of nearly 150,000 registered users, SDN is one of the internet’s leading resources for professionals and students in nearly every area of health care.

The Student Doctor Network is operated by the Coastal Research Group, a nonprofit 501(c)(3) tax-exempt charitable organization. For more information, visit http://www.studentdoctor.net.

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. 

OpNotes is a web blog that highlights new, emerging medical technologies, procedures and products in the surgical specialties. Although less formal than medical journals, OpNotes does require every user submitting a post to provide his or her name and affiliation. All posts are approved by an editor before being made public.

Podiatry Arena is an online community designed for podiatric specialists and aspiring foot healthcare professionals. The main page is similar to a blog setup, featuring articles about varying topics that link to forum posts. Along the top of the site are links to several other features including forums, a marketplace, gallery and events list. Users are encouraged to register so that they can participate in forum discussions and experience ad-free postings in the forums.

radRounds is a social network for radiologists around the globe. The site was created by radiologists and designed for those that are already practicing or are interested in pursuing radiology after medical school. The site has a plethora of available functions including but not limited to a case of the day, online storage for academic physicians, perks system for referrals, and forum for communicating with site members. RadRounds will help any medical student applying for residency, and offers confidential mentoring and advice regarding their application and rotations. Overall, the site is designed to connect and create networking opportunities among soon-to-be and established radiologists.

In addition to these four, SDN maintains relationships with many partners that span the health professions. To access this list, please click on the Links tab from any page on SDN. Happy Surfing!

Student Doctor Network Career Center Launched!

Student Doctor Network has partnered with HEALTHeCAREERS Network – the world’s largest online community specifically for healthcare job seekers and employers – to connect you directly with career opportunities and resources in your field.

HEALTHeCAREERS Network is a recruitment and career resource for the healthcare industry. It is a Network of more than 70 professional healthcare associations, MedHunters.com and channel distribution partners that will facilitate connections for SDN members with the best employers and expand your career options with free, immediate access to a selection of entry-level job postings.

Nearly 10,000 healthcare employers use HEALTHeCAREERS Network to post their opportunities and search for qualified candidates, bringing you all medical specialties and a job selection that spans all settings – from hospital-based positions to private practice placement. 

The SDN Career Center will launch on July 31. Visit the Web site on launch day to view opportunities in your specialty and sign up for Job Alerts. Even if you are not ready to practice yet, Job Alerts provide you with up-to-date lists of job openings in your preferred locations. HEALTHeCAREERS Network also offers free career-focused eNewsletters for physicians that you can register to receive for free.

The SDN Career Center will bring you free tools and features:

• Create and store a customized, professional CV with the help of an easy-to-use résumé builder
• Upload and store a CV you have already created and formatted
• Post your CV confidentially or make it searchable so employers can easily find you online
• Create your own, unique career Web site to forward to potential employers
• Receive Job Alerts by e-mail of new job opportunities that meet your specific specialty and geographic-based criteria
• Reply to opportunities online simply and include a cover letter
• Search regularly updated opportunities online by keyword, location and specialty
• Indicate your attendance at key healthcare association events to connect with employers who are also attending

For more information, call HEALTHeCAREERS Network customer care at 888.884.8242 or e-mail info@healthecareers.com. Welcome to the Network!

The Student Doctor Network forums now have a home for high school and pre-college students seeking advice about the health professions.

At the request of many SDN users, we are proud to launch Student Doctor Network Aspire. Aspire is staffed by moderators and mentors from the medical, dental and pharmacy fields, as well as parents of current students. Aspire provides information to help high school and pre-college students start their health professions career on solid footing.

Current topics include questions of interest to high school and pre-college students, and cover the areas of pharmacy, dentistry, and medicine. Included are descriptive explanations of the paths to each career, brief explanations of each profession as well as specialties, and links to information provided by other professional organizations and agencies. 

Information will be provided about combined baccalaureate-doctorate programs, such as BS/MD or 6-year PharmD. Aspire provides information about these programs, as well as insight and advice to assist students in deciding whether these types of programs are right for them. Experienced moderators and mentors will be available to answer questions regarding their fields.

To help students develop a realistic understanding of the paths to various professional careers, the Aspire forum will address frequently encountered misconceptions about subjects including school choice, projected income, debt, reasons for pursuing a career medicine, and suicide rates.

Aspire will offer a separate subforum for parents who want to be involved. This will allow them to ask questions and receive feedback, comments, and support from other parents and SDN staff. The mother of a current medical student and SDN staffer volunteered her time to answer parent questions and share her experiences.

In order to allow our high school members to relax and talk freely among themselves, we offer a private subforum: the Aspire Clubhouse. Membership in the Clubhouse is offered only to high school students and moderating staff.

While we have done our best to anticipate the needs of high school pre-professional students, SDN Aspire will continue to expand its content to meet the needs of its forum members. Our goal is to help high school and other pre-college students make the most informed decisions possible in their pre-professional paths.

Welcome to SDN Aspire!

The Student Doctor Network would like to welcome its newest organizational partner, the National Register of Health Service Providers in Psychology. The National Register is the largest credentialing organization for licensed psychologists, serving over 12,000 providers. Their mission includes credentialing licensed psychologists, promoting credentialed psychologists to consumers, providing distinction and value to its Registrants, guiding psychology students toward credentialing, and enhancing psychologists’ contributions to integrated health care.

To learn more about the National Register of Health Service Providers in Psychology and the benefits of credentialing, please visit http://www.nationalregister.org/ .

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!

In our first docLive chat, Dr. Harry Rosen, author of The Consult Manual of Internal Medicine, will lead a live discussion wherein he will answer your questions about surviving 3rd year medicine clerkships. During this Sunday, April 20th session, participants will be able to ask Dr. Rosen their questions and receive real-time responses.

The chat session will take place at 8:00pm Eastern Time on SDnet, the SDN Chat Server. A temporary link to the docLive web client will appear in the Clinical Rotations forum at 7:30pm ET. For those wishing to use their own chat client, simply point it to irc.studentdoctor.net:6667 and join #doclive.

Please post in this SDN Forums thread to indicate your plans to attend, as space is limited. Come meet Dr. Rosen and walk away with strategies to make your Medicine rotations go much more smoothly!