Atypical Drugs of Abuse

by Emily Forest
SDN Staff Writer

While some associate prescription drugs with expense and inconvenience, others seek out the drugs, lying to get prescriptions, and buying pills illegally. Such “drug seeking behavior,” familiar to medical professionals when it involves Ritalin, OxyContin, Xanax, or any number of drugs noted to increase productivity, sink patients into an opiate-induced haze, or sedate those wishing to evade the stresses of life, abuse of anticonvulsants, antipsychotics, antihistamines, and others, represents a new frontier of drug abuse.

One of the more well-known and well-documented drugs of abuse, diphenhydramine is an antagonist to the H1 receptor, which seems, given its over-the-counter status, to be innocuous. Like many sleep aids, including the more recently developed Ambien, the drug was at first touted as having low associated risk of dependency (1). However, there has been much evidence to the contrary.  Read more »

Boost Your Career with SDN!

PRESS RELEASE

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.  Read more »

SDN Launches Aspire - Pre-Health Professions Forums for High School and Pre-College Students

PRESS RELEASE

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.  Read more »

Can’t be a Doc… For Now.

by Jeremiah Fleenor, MD, MBA
Author of The Medical School Interview: Secrets and a System for Success

Another summer is upon us. As you enjoy the warm days and break from classes, let’s consider another commonly encountered interview question. This one is almost certain to pop up during your interview conversation.

What would you do if you couldn’t be a doctor?

I’ve seen this question take many an applicant aback. When asked this question during my interviews I recall being confused and wondering whether there was a hidden meaning. Here’s what would go through my mind: “Why do they want to know what I’d do if I wasn’t able to be a doctor? Are they somehow trying to see if I’m really serious about my career choice? Is it appropriate to say there is no other option and that becoming a physician is the only reality for me?” Read more »

Get Your Pharmacy School Admissions Guide!

PRESS RELEASE

This February, SDN introduced the first admissions guide for pharmacy school applicants. The Student Doctor Network Pharmacy School Admissions Guide aims to help prospective pharmacy students make an informed career decision and to guide them through the school selection, application, interview, and admissions processes. The 140 page guide contains perspectives from a wide variety of students and practitioners who share their advice and real life experience and other helpful features such as a mock interview outline, an overview of the profession, and recommended reading links. To order a copy of The Student Doctor Network Pharmacy School Admissions Guide, please visit Amazon.com.

Table of Contents

Get yours today!

Medical Students and Residents – Transitioning to Practice

American Medical Association Alliance

Reprinted with Permission

Any transition, be it from college to the work world, or the common transitioning between jobs, can be difficult. But most transitions happen fairly quickly, in a matter of a couple months, compared to that of the medical transition. Transitioning in the medical profession is a way of life, whether it be from student to internship, internship to residency, or residency into a fellowship, specialty or private practice. The family of medicine is always there to support their physicians in training and make the transitions as smooth as possible.

Planning—The Key to Success

The first step in any transition is planning. How much time depends on each person and his or her priorities. For example, for Gary and Ashlie Schooler, physician and spouse started planning at different times. Gary Schooler, a fourth-year medical student at the University of Oklahoma, began planning on the first day of medical school. Read more »

© 1999-2007 Coastal Research Group. Some rights reserved.
The SDN Logo and "Student Doctor Network" are registered trademarks of CRG.

TRUSTe Trust Mark   Creative Commons License   We subscribe to the HONcode principles of the HON Foundation. Click to verify.   HACKER SAFE certified sites prevent over 99.9% of hacker crime.