by Danielle Herder
and Sameer Apte

So you’ve scheduled an interview at your dream school and bought your plane ticket, but where will you stay the night before the interview?

Interviewees have several options available to them when choosing lodging.  Oftentimes, the obvious choice is a hotel room located close to the school, but this option can be expensive.  Staying with a student host can be a great alternative.

If you have browsed the Student Doctor Network Forums, you are probably aware that student hosting exists, but you might not understand exactly how it works or why it’s a good option. Read the full story

• A displaced student provides advice on how to protect yourself and your property during extreme weather events.

by Brandon Luk
SDN Staff Writer

“This could be just as devastating if not more devastating than Katrina …”

These were the first words I heard when I flipped on WDSU. An anchorman was describing the unyielding path of Hurricane Gustav towards the Big Easy. The first thought that ran through my mind was, ‘wow, guess the third time’s a charm’- Gustav was going to strike the Gulf coast almost 3 years to the date that Katrina hit.

I was a little dumbfounded at the surreal nature of having to evacuate. While I only recently began to call New Orleans my home, the incomplete levees could very well also make it the graveyard of my livelihood.

Instantly, questions started to swirl through my head. What would I need to bring? What will happen to my education? What kind of preparations do I need to make so that my house isn’t flattened? When should I leave and where should I go?

Read the full story

by Alison Hayward, M.D., Sarah M. Lawrence, and Bill Johnson, D.D.S.
SDN Staff Writers

Amanda (not her real name) is a second year health professional student at a major state-funded research institution. Like most students admitted to medical, dental or pharmacy school, Amanda was a top student at her undergraduate institution, used to earning high marks with minimal study time. In professional school, Amanda finds her old study habits put to the test. The material is not difficult, she reports, but the volume of information she’s required to process, coupled with the fast-paced schedule and demands of clinical activities, makes achieving at the level she’s accustomed to a major challenge. Read the full story

by Barbara Swichtenberg
SDN Staff Writer

Credit cards are a part of most students daily lives but they can be as much a curse as a blessing. Properly managing your credit cards is essential to a healthy financial future.

Building your credit history

It is good to have at least one national card (Visa, MasterCard, Discover) on hand to help you build a positive credit history and to provide security in emergencies. When you decide to apply for a card, compare annual fees, interest rates, and introductory offers. And to keep yourself out of debt, try to do the following:

• Pay your balance each month to avoid interest charges
• Pay your bill on time to avoid late charges Read the full story

by Emily Forest
SDN Staff Writer

While many medical students struggle to grasp the complexity of mental illness and its management, I’ve experienced it first hand. I hardly had to study psychiatry for Step I – one of the few perks of being a medical student with mental illness.

The first time I was hospitalized for symptoms matching the DSM IV criteria for Bipolar II, a kindly gray haired psychiatrist interviewed me extensively, asking me what had brought me to the hospital, if I felt suicidal, and whether I viewed myself as sick. In the background, three medical students scribbled furiously, brows furrowed as they watched the interview unfold. I picked at the bandages on my arm, noting their short white coats. Read the full story

By Sean Parrish

With over 80,000 professional degrees bestowed in 2006 alone, it can be tempting for new students to focus solely on their goal of achieving a health career.

After all, months of testing, applications, and interviewing require such determined effort that keeping an eye on the prize becomes in itself a kind of occupation. There is a danger that such a limited focus can cause students to overlook the important preparation which makes a career possible.

Transitioning from undergraduate work to full-scale professional training can undoubtedly be jarring. The pitfalls of poor decisions and wasted effort lurk around countless corners. By relying upon the experience of those who have gone before and the advice they offer, a student can make the first year less stressful and more productive. Read the full story

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”.

Read the full story

What on the surface appears to be “just another forum” is in fact a lifeline for some. “One of my biggest regrets in college was not finding SDN earlier…seriously,” says SDN member Brandon. (All SDN Forums participants create unique user names, and for the sake of anonymity, have acquiesced to the use of their first names for quotes.)

Yes, they take it that seriously. And for good reason.

According to Lee Burnett, executive director and co-founder of the Student Doctor Network, the SDN Forums have grown to become the largest pre-health and health professional student forums on the Internet.

SDN is operated by the Coastal Research Group, a non-profit 501(c)(3) tax-exempt charitable organization (which means any monies donated are also a write off for the donor). Entirely run by volunteers, SDN provides numerous Student Doctor Forums, where camaraderie, friendships, and even, rumor has it, marriages, have been formed. In short, there would be no SDN were it not for the many moderators, administrators and advisors that volunteer their time to keep SDN running on task. Read the full story