On December 1, 1999, the Student Doctor Network (SDN) launched as a grassroots, donor-supported platform providing free advising resources, tools, and peer support forums for students. For 25 years, SDN has guided countless aspiring healthcare ... Read more
Laura Turner
Published December 2, 2024
Generally, most health professionals thrive on being problem-solvers. When meeting patients, many professionals take on the role of sleuth to diagnose the problems that address the chief complaints. With a toolkit of therapies and therapeutics, ... Read more
Emil Chuck, PhD
Updated December 5, 2024 by Emil Chuck, PhD
As a physician, your greatest asset is not just your medical expertise but your ability to practice medicine. Your profession, built on years of education and training, offers you both personal satisfaction and financial security. ... Read more
Pattern Life
Updated November 20, 2024 by Pattern Life
Dr. María Juárez Byrd spoke with SDN about the University of Illinois Vet Med Master of Veterinary Science Program, which is designed to help prepare students for veterinary school. She is a veterinarian who has ... Read more
Emil Chuck, PhD
Updated November 13, 2024 by Emil Chuck, PhD
This article focuses on reflective practices for health professional education and training. This advice can apply to developing a prehealth journal, personal blog, podcast, or other media-created story that may not involve physical paper, pen, ... Read more
Emil Chuck, PhD
Updated November 12, 2024 by Emil Chuck, PhD
In a previous article, I discussed the advantages engineering-trained applicants bring to the health professions. For this article, we asked the admissions team at the Carle Illinois College of Medicine (CI MED) about the unique ... Read more
Emil Chuck, PhD
Updated October 31, 2024 by Emil Chuck, PhD
Since the Student Doctor Network was founded 25 years ago, the forums have supported international-status students navigating the U.S. medical school admissions process. Unlike undergraduate or graduate admissions, U.S. medical school admissions policies have historically ... Read more
Marwa Belhaj, Nashwaan Khan, Chi M Trinh, Zhengyang (Kevin) Sun, and Zezhou (Zach) Zhao.
Updated October 23, 2024 by Marwa Belhaj, Nashwaan Khan, Chi M Trinh, Zhengyang (Kevin) Sun, and Zezhou (Zach) Zhao.
College athletics have been in the spotlight over the last decade. Athletes can now financially benefit from name-image-likeness (NIL) agreements, and women’s athletics have grown in popularity. While a handful of athletes bask in the ... Read more
Emil Chuck, PhD
Updated October 16, 2024 by Emil Chuck, PhD
Psychiatrist Jessi Gold, MD, MS, is the Chief Wellness Officer of the University of Tennessee System and an associate professor in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center. She is ... Read more
Kyle Magatelli
Updated October 16, 2024 by Kyle Magatelli
Recently, I had the privilege of leading an impactful volunteer medical trip to Cusco, Peru, alongside ten students from TouroCOM. During our trip, students had various medical responsibilities such as monitoring blood pressure, assessing height, ... Read more
Hannah Rosenthal
Updated September 30, 2024 by Hannah Rosenthal
Prehealth advising offices are a hybrid of academic advising, career and student services, and scientific education to support dozens of students interested in the health professions. The first prehealth advisors were likely college professors who ... Read more
Emil Chuck, PhD
Updated September 25, 2024 by Emil Chuck, PhD
Results from a HPSA/SDN survey on generative AI use by prehealth and health professions students Read my earlier article on “How AI could change admissions.” This survey focuses on “generative AI” programs and tools, like ... Read more
Emil Chuck, PhD
Updated September 17, 2024 by Emil Chuck, PhD
NOTE: In this article, “engineering” can refer to quantitative analytical subjects like physics, mathematics, computer science, or finance/economics, but I mostly focus on “biomedical engineers (also known as, bioengineers)” seeking health professional careers. As president ... Read more
Emil Chuck, PhD
Updated September 11, 2024 by Emil Chuck, PhD
In discussions surrounding telemedicine, the spotlight often turns to the significant impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. The sudden surge in telemedicine’s importance stemmed from the limitations imposed on physical movement during the pandemic. While initially ... Read more
Ayesha Khan
Updated September 5, 2024 by Ayesha Khan
The Greatest Common Factor (GCF) between two numbers is the largest positive integer that can divide both numbers evenly (without remainders). Prime factorization of the two numbers can reveal the GCF. This SDN Forums discussion ... Read more
Emil Chuck, PhD
Updated April 17, 2025 by Emil Chuck, PhD
Finding the perfect apartment near your medical school will vastly improve your experience as a medical student. It’s not just about finding a place to live—it’s about creating an environment that supports your studies, fits ... Read more
ApartmentsFor
Updated August 22, 2024 by ApartmentsFor
Being a parent in medical school is no joke. It takes character, grit, and an innate sense of holding yourself together. You will feel like having a toddler-sized meltdown when you’ve had five hours of ... Read more
Karin Brown
Updated August 13, 2024 by Karin Brown
Welcome to the new academic year and first-year orientation! As a new freshman resident of our Prehealth Living Learning Community Dormitory, I share your great enthusiasm for your new life independent of the rest of ... Read more
Emil Chuck, PhD
Updated August 7, 2024 by Emil Chuck, PhD
Fotinos S. Panagakos, DMD, PhD is the founding dean of the Pacific Northwest University of Health Sciences (PNWU) School of Dental Medicine. He recently spoke with the Student Doctor Network about launching a new school ... Read more
Emil Chuck, PhD
Updated August 1, 2024 by Emil Chuck, PhD