SDN Vision and Values

Our Community Vision, Values, and Policies

Want the TL:DR of our vision, values, and policies? Treat others with kindness and respect, tell the truth, and support each other.

Our Mission

Our organization was founded in 1983 in California by family medicine physicians. (Yes, we were founded by hippies.) We are here to provide advising and peer support to students who otherwise may not have the financial or advising resources needed to successfully apply and matriculate to health professional schools. Learn more about HPSA here.

Our Vision

All students, regardless of background or financial resources, have equal footing when applying to health professional schools. Wealth and privilege no longer tip the scales.

What We Believe (Our Values):

  • We believe health care is a right.
  • We believe diversity in health care is critical to good health care. We want students of every gender, race, social status, religion, and sexual orientation to become doctors. Having a diverse medical workforce ensures every American has a doctor that reflects their values and history. This improves the quality of health care for all.
  • We believe privacy is a right. That’s why we never sell or share member information.
  • We believe that academics should be about education, not profit. That’s why all our resources are donor-supported and free for all students. That’s why we don’t promote a service or product, and we have no corporate affiliation.
  • We believe in the scientific method and evidence-based medicine. Scientific debate is healthy, but anti-science conspiracy agendas are harmful to the advancement of medicine. 
  • We believe in the volunteer spirit and investing in our future. The vast majority of our team are volunteers; we have four staff members to help with coordination. All revenues generated by the organization are reinvested into enhancing services for students.

This is a community of love, support, and hope… not of profit or fear. If this sounds like a place for you, welcome!

What We Expect from You:

What is your role in the community? Here’s what we expect of you:

  1. Contribute constructively to ongoing conversations and don’t derail threads. A little bit of side-banter and non-medical discussions is fine, but please don’t hijack other peoples’ threads.
  2. If you own a business or organization and are going to discuss your organization, identify yourself.
  3. Don’t post the same thread in multiple places.
  4. Don’t post copyrighted information.
  5. Post ads in the appropriate forum – either the student classifieds (for verified members) or Test Prep or Advising Services (for verified vendors).
  6. Keep language and content professional, including any memes or graphics. Do not post memes about real/working individuals within your community, regardless of their participation on SDN; or that denigrate based on sexual orientation, ethnic background, skin color, gender, or other characteristics; or that promote terrorism or violence.
  7. Treat others with kindness and respect.
  8. Don’t misrepresent yourself by either claiming to be someone that you’re not, or by using multiple accounts.
  9. Do not post things that are demonstrably false. Minority opinions are welcome, but information that is clearly not supported by available science will be removed.
  10. Do not seek medical or other healthcare advice. Discussion of interesting cases amongst members of the same or allied professions is permitted.

This list is not exhaustive, and the moderation team reserves the right to expand and modify these expectations to include any actions deemed harmful.

Terms of Service (TOS)

Okay, here’s the stuff that a lawyer said we had to include…

The Student Doctor Network, published by the Health Professional Student Association (HPSA) (collectively, “SDN”), is dedicated to developing and maintaining a friendly online community, where members of backgrounds feel relaxed and comfortable. Like any community, The Student Doctor Network has certain standards. When members use the SDN website, located at https://www.studentdoctor.net, or join the SDN forums, located at https://forums.studentdoctor.net (collectively, “Site” or “Forums”), they agree to abide by these rules. To remain a part of SDN’s Forums, members must be considerate to others. Repeated violations of these standards may result in a member being temporarily suspended or barred from entry or participation in SDN’s Site.

Online Service Agreement

BY ACCESSING OR USING SDN’S SITE, YOU AGREE TO BE BOUND BY THESE TOS. IF YOU DO NOT WISH TO BE BOUND BY THE TOS, YOU MAY NOT ACCESS OR USE THE STUDENT DOCTOR NETWORK’S SITE.
SDN, IN ITS SOLE DISCRETION, MAY MODIFY THESE TOS AT ANY TIME. AN EMAIL WILL BE SENT TO YOUR REGISTERED E-MAIL PROVIDING A) A SUMMARY OF THE CHANGES MADE TO THE TOS AND B) A THE FULL TEXT OF THE NEW TOS. YOUR CONTINUED ACCESS OR USE OF SDN’S SITE SHALL BE DEEMED YOUR CONCLUSIVE ACCEPTANCE OF THE MODIFIED AGREEMENT.

1. DISCLAIMER
The information contained in SDN’s Forums is presented for the purpose of educating students and medical professionals about the healthcare education process and the practice of medicine. Nothing contained in SDN’s Site is intended to be instructional for medical diagnosis or treatment. The information should not be considered complete, nor should it be relied on to suggest a course of treatment for a particular individual. It should not be used in place of a visit, call, consultation or the advice of your physician or other qualified health care provider. Information obtained in SDN’s Site is not exhaustive and does not cover diseases, ailments, physical conditions, or their treatment. Should you have any healthcare-related questions, please call or see your physician or other qualified health care provider promptly. Always consult with your physician or other qualified health care provider before embarking on a new treatment, diet, or fitness program. You should never disregard medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have read on SDN’s Site.
The information contained in SDN’s Forums is compiled from a variety of sources (collectively, “Information Providers”). Neither SDN nor Information Providers directly or indirectly practice medicine or dispense medical services as part of SDN’s Site.

2. AGE REQUIREMENTS
You must be at least thirteen (13) years old to use SDN’s Site. Children under the age of thirteen (13), or legal guardians acting on their behalf, are strictly prohibited from using SDN’s Site. You represent and warrant that you are at least thirteen (13) years of age and that you possess the legal right and ability to enter into TOS and to use SDN’s Site in accordance with these TOS.

3. LICENSES
a. Licenses Granted to Users by SDN: By these TOS, SDN grants users of SDN’s Forums, subject to the terms of these TOS, a limited, non-transferable and non-exclusive license to access, explore, and otherwise use SDN’s Forums in a manner consistent with these TOS for their personal, non-commercial purposes. Commercial use of SDN’s Forums is strictly prohibited. Examples of, but not limited to, commercial uses this license prohibits:

  • The sale of access to SDN’s Site
  • The sale of advertising, sponsorship, or promotions, including links placed to such, in SDN’s Site. However, this does not include non-paid opinions and reviews of products, schools, and etc.
  • The linking and/or reposting of any content or material delivered from SDN’s Site to any webpage that contains advertising, which would include an ad-enabled blog
  • Otherwise selling and/or profiting, or permitting others to profit, from SDN’s Site and the content and materials therewithin.

All content and material taken in accordance with these TOS from SDN’s Site, except where otherwise noted, must be licensed to others under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0), which is available at https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/.
b. Licenses Granted by User to SDN: User grants to SDN, and its partners and affiliates, a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free, perpetual license:
(i) To copy, reproduce, display, transmit, perform, or otherwise use user’s content or material on SDN’s Site, for promotional uses, or for other uses furthering SDN’s educational mission of educating students and medical professionals about the healthcare education process and the practice of medicine;
(ii) To create derivative works, such as compilations, collections, or translations, based upon the underlying content or material from user, which SDN shall also be permitted to copyright and use is granted under 17 U.S.C. §§101, et seq., and
(iii) The authority to take legal action on behalf of the user regarding the content or material as related to copyright violation. This could include, but is not limited to, sending cease and desist letters to third parties for porting part or all of SDN’s Forums to another site or filing a DMCA notice. SDN may contact you before taking such actions.
c. License Granted by Users to other Users of SDN’s Site: User grants to other users of SDN’s Site a non-exclusive, worldwide, non-transferable license to use user’s content or material for that users own personal, non-commercial use.

4. USER CONTENT AND MATERIAL; USAGE
4.1 SDN DOES NOT REVIEW ANY COMMUNICATIONS OR MATERIALS POSTED OR UPLOADED TO SDN’S SITE by users and is not responsible for the content of these communications and materials. However, SDN reserves the right after being notified by a third party to block or remove communications or materials that it determines, in SDN’s sole discretion, to be:
(a) abusive, libelous, defamatory, obscene, offensive, and/or harmful;
(b) fraudulent, deceptive, or misleading;
(c) in violation of a copyright or trademark, other intellectual property right of another; or
(d) is offensive or otherwise unacceptable to SDN and its mission statement.
ANY MESSAGES, ADVICE, OPINIONS OR OTHER INFORMATION PROVIDED ON OR THROUGH SDN’S SITE SHOULD NOT BE CONSTRUED AS PROFESSIONAL OR MEDICAL ADVICE OR INSTRUCTION.
4.2 All content or materials posted on or shared through SDN’s Site are the sole responsibility of the user. SDN shall assume no liability or responsibility for user-posted materials, including, but not limited to, copyright violations or defamatory statements.
4.3 SDN strictly prohibits the following actions being taken on its Site
(a) Simultaneous use, unattended, or continuous connections to SDN’s Site with one account;
(b) Posting or transmitting any content which is listed in Paragraphs 4.1 (a)-(d);
(c) Uploading, downloading, posting, or transmitting any content that would violate the property rights of others, including, but not limited to, copyrights, trademarks, trade secrets, and rights of privacy and publicity. However, users are permitted to submit such content to SDN’s Site with the necessary consent from the right’s holder(s);
(d)  Posting or transmitting any content that would violate any agreement you may have signed with any third party;
(e) Using SDN’s Site to threaten, harass, stalk, abuse, or otherwise violate the legal rights (including rights of privacy and publicity) of others;
(f) Intercepting, or attempting to intercept, the emails or other private communications not intended for you;
(g) Sending emails to users for any purpose other than personal communication, including, but not limited to, advertising, offering, or soliciting to sell goods or services to other users;
(h) Sending unsolicited email messages through third-party mail servers in order to relay your email or hide the origination of your email to others;
(i) Requesting or otherwise soliciting information regarding illegal activities. This includes, but is not limited to, how to obtain or use pirated software, registration keys or codes for software, or illegally photocopied/scanned materials;
(j) Deleting, or falsifying, any author attributions, legal notices or proprietary designations or labels in any content submitted or exchanged through SDN’s Site;
(k) Using SDN’s Site in a manner that adversely affects the availability of its resources to other users;
(l) Using, downloading, copying, or otherwise providing (whether or not for a fee) to a person or entity any portion of SDNs directory or any portion thereof other than for personal, noncommercial purposes (except as otherwise expressly permitted by the SDN);
(m) Falsely purporting to be an employee or agent of SDN;
(n) Falsely purporting to be a moderator of SDN’s Forums;
(o) Causing repeated disruptive incidents;
(p) Attempting to decompile, reverse engineer, disassemble, or otherwise interfere with or damage SDN’s Site. This includes, but is not limited to, the circumvention of any technological protection measures such as user authentication or password-protected material and content on SDN’s Site.
4.4 Registered users may send and receive electronic mail (“email”), engage in conferences and chats, download and upload files, and otherwise use SDN’s Site as permitted by these TOS and applicable law. SDN may review e-mails if notified by a third party as to inappropriate content, as specified in 4.1, or a violation of these TOS.
4.5 Posts that utilize SDN in an effort to enforce a license agreement, EULA, or other similar agreement between a vendor and its customer, including but not limited to notices of legal violations and threats of retaliation will be removed immediately. SDN is not a party to such disputes. Such use of the forum is improper and constitutes a violation of SDN’s terms of service.
In the event that anyone brings a claim against SDN related to such posts, the poster shall indemnify, defend and hold SDN harmless from and against all damages, losses, and expenses of any kind (including reasonable legal fees and costs) related to such claim. Although SDN provides rules for user conduct, SDN does not control or direct users’ actions on the forums and is not responsible for the content or information users transmit, share or post on SDN.

5. PRIVACY POLICY
SDN considers its users’ privacy to be of the utmost importance. Please see our Privacy Statement for a detailed description of our information gathering and dissemination practices for the Student Doctor Network Web site.

6. DISCLAIMERS
a. SDN reserves the right to modify SDN’s Site, including the various services offered, at any time;
b. You are responsible for providing your own access (e.g., computer, mobile device, Internet connection, etc.) to SDN’s Site. This also includes maintaining up-to-date contact information and securing user passwords;
c. SDN provides SDN’s Site on an “as is” and “as available” basis. You, therefore, use SDN’s Site at your own risk. SDN expressly disclaims any and all warranties of any kind, whether express or implied, including, but not limited to the implied warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, non-infringement, and any other warranty that might arise under any law. Without limiting the foregoing, SDN makes no representations or warranties that SDN’s Site:

  • Will be permitted in your jurisdiction;
  • Will be uninterrupted or error-free;
  • Will meet your personal needs;
  • Will be free of human and machine errors, omissions, delays, interruptions or losses, including loss of data;
  • Will transmitted all user content, materials, or messages or that they will appear exactly as submitted to SDN’s Site; or
  • Will be backed-up and protected indefinitely

d. SDN TAKES NO RESPONSIBILITY FOR THIRD-PARTY MATERIALS, WEBSITES, OR AGREEMENTS.  Certain content, products, and/or services offered through SDN’s Site may include materials from third parties or links to other websites. SDN does not warrant or endorse, does not assume, and will not have any liability or responsibility for any third-party materials or websites, agreements, or any other materials, or products or services.  Links to other websites are provided solely as a convenience to you.
e. SDN may delete email or private messages if it has not been accessed by a user within 30 days; and
f.   Content and materials posted on SDN’s Site by users and third parties, and links or downloads thereof, reflect only the views of their authors and do not necessarily reflect those of SDN. Furthermore, SDN makes no warranties or representations that users will not find such content and materials inappropriate or offensive.

7. TRADEMARKS AND COPYRIGHT
THE STUDENT DOCTOR NETWORK®, SDN®, and other marks, logos, and graphics are trademarks of the Health Professional Student Association in the United States and abroad.  Other trademarks, service marks, graphics, and logos used in connection with SDN’s Site may be the trademarks of their respective owners.  You are granted no right or license with respect to any of the aforesaid trademarks or the use of any such use of trademarks.
The entire contents of SDN’s Site are copyrighted as a collective work (“Work”) under the laws of the United States and other copyright laws. SDN holds the copyright in the Work. The Work includes works that are the property of the Information Providers, which may also be protected by copyright and other intellectual property laws.  Except where otherwise noted, content on this site is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.

8. INDEMNIFICATION
YOU AGREE TO INDEMNIFY, DEFEND AND HOLD HARMLESS HPSA, ITS OFFICERS, DIRECTORS, EMPLOYEES, AGENTS, INFORMATION PROVIDERS, AND SUPPLIERS FROM AND AGAINST ALL LOSSES, EXPENSES, DAMAGES, AND COSTS, INCLUDING REASONABLE ATTORNEY’S FEES, RESULTING FROM ANY VIOLATION OF THESE TOS OR ANY ACTIVITY RELATED TO YOUR ACCOUNT (INCLUDING INFRINGEMENT OF THIRD PARTIES’ WORLDWIDE INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS OR NEGLIGENT OR WRONGFUL CONDUCT) BY YOU OR ANY OTHER PERSON ACCESSING SDN’S SITE USING YOUR ACCOUNT.

9. WAIVER, RELEASE, AND LIMITATION OF LIABILITY
YOU AGREE THAT NEITHER HPSA NOR ITS OFFICERS, DIRECTORS, EMPLOYEES, AGENTS, INFORMATION PROVIDERS OR SUPPLIERS, SHALL HAVE ANY LIABILITY TO YOU UNDER ANY THEORY OF LIABILITY OR INDEMNITY IN CONNECTION WITH YOUR USE OF SDN’S SITE. YOU HEREBY RELEASE AND FOREVER WAIVE ANY AND ALL CLAIMS YOU MAY HAVE AGAINST SDN, ITS OFFICERS, DIRECTORS, EMPLOYEES, AGENTS, INFORMATION PROVIDERS, OR SUPPLIERS (INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO CLAIMS BASED UPON THE NEGLIGENCE OF SDN, ITS OFFICERS, DIRECTORS, EMPLOYEES, AGENTS, INFORMATION PROVIDERS OR SUPPLIERS) FOR LOSSES OR DAMAGES YOU SUSTAIN IN CONNECTION WITH YOUR USE OF SDN’S SITE.
NOTWITHSTANDING THE FOREGOING PARAGRAPH, THE TOTAL LIABILITY OF SDN, ITS OFFICERS, DIRECTORS, EMPLOYEES, AGENTS, INFORMATION PROVIDERS, AND SUPPLIERS, IF ANY, FOR LOSSES OR DAMAGES SHALL NOT EXCEED THE FEES PAID BY THE USER TO SDN FOR UP TO ONE (1) YEAR FOR THE PARTICULAR INFORMATION OR SERVICE PROVIDED. IN NO EVENT SHALL SDN, ITS OFFICERS, DIRECTORS, EMPLOYEES, AGENTS, INFORMATION PROVIDERS OR SUPPLIERS BE LIABLE TO YOU FOR ANY LOSSES OR DAMAGES OTHER THAN THE AMOUNT REFERRED TO ABOVE. ALL OTHER DAMAGES, DIRECT OR INDIRECT, SPECIAL, INCIDENTAL, CONSEQUENTIAL OR PUNITIVE ARISING FROM ANY USE OF THE INFORMATION OR OTHER PARTS OF SDN’S SITE ARE HEREBY EXCLUDED EVEN IF SDN, ITS OFFICERS, DIRECTORS, EMPLOYEES, AGENTS, INFORMATION PROVIDERS OR SUPPLIERS HAVE BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES.

10. THIRD PARTY RIGHTS
The provisions of paragraphs 8 (Indemnification) and 9 (Waiver, Release, and Limitation of Liability) are for the benefit of SDN and its officers, directors, employees, agents, licensors, suppliers, and Information Providers. Each of these individuals or entities shall have the right to assert and enforce those provisions directly against you on its own behalf.

11. TERM; TERMINATION
User accounts may be terminated:

  1. Either you or the Health Professional Student Association may terminate your right to use SDN’s site at any time, with or without cause, upon notice.
  2. SDN may terminate, suspend, temporarily disable, and/or limit your services to SDN’s site without prior notice due to violation of these TOS.

The provisions of paragraphs 7 (Copyright), 3 (License), 8 (Indemnification), 9 (Waiver, Release, and Limitation of Liability), and 10 (Third Party Rights) shall survive any termination of this Agreement.

12. GOVERNING LAW AND DISPUTE RESOLUTION

  1. These TOS shall be construed, interpreted, and governed in all respects in accordance with the laws of California, USA, without giving effect to any conflict of law rule or principal that might result in the application of the laws of another jurisdiction and
  2. All disputes or actions arising under these TOS must be commenced in the state or Federal courts located in Placer County, CA, U.S.A., the jurisdiction and venue of which you hereby agree to.

Any cause of action or claim you may have with respect to SDN’s Site must be commenced within one (1) year after the claim or cause of action arises. SDN’s failure to insist upon or enforce strict performance of any provision of these TOS shall not be construed as a waiver of any provision or right. Neither the course of conduct between the parties nor trade practice shall act to modify any provision of these TOS.

13. NOTICE
The Health Professional Student Association may deliver notice to you under these TOS by means of electronic mail, a general notice on SDN’s Site, or by written communication delivered by first class U. S. mail to your address on record SDN’s account information. You may give notice to SDN at any time via electronic mail or by letter delivered by first-class postage prepaid U. S. mail to the following address:

Student Doctor Network
16835 Algonquin Street #106
Huntington Beach, CA 92649

14. COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT AND THE DIGITAL MILLENNIUM COPYRIGHT ACT (“DMCA”)
SDN respects the intellectual property rights of others and will seriously investigate and respond to all claims of copyright infringement. If you are a copyright holder or authorized to act on behalf of a party that is the holder of an exclusive right to a copyrighted work, and if you believe that your copyright has been infringed, please send us a notice as set forth below:

  1. Specifically identify the work you are claiming to have been infringed. If you are claiming multiple works are being infringed a representative list of the copyrighted works may be submitted instead;
  2. Specifically identify the material or link you are claiming to be infringing or the subject of infringing activity that is to be removed and information reasonably sufficient to permit SDN to locate the material. Providing clear URLs is the best way to do this.
  3. Provide SDN with the following information to contact you:
    Name
    Mailing address
    Telephone number
    Electronic mail address
  4. Submit a statement that you have a good faith belief that use of the material in the manner complained of is not authorized by the copyright owner, its agent, or the law;
  5. Submit a statement that the information you have provided in the notification is accurate, and under penalty of perjury, that you are authorized to act on behalf of the owner of an exclusive right that is allegedly infringed; andSubmit your physical or electronic signature. To sign electronically you may begin and end
  6. your name or initials with a “forward slash” (“/”). For example, Bob Q. Smith could electronically sign /BQS/ or /Bob Q. Smith/.

This notice should be sent either via our Contact Us page or via mail at:

Student Doctor Network
16835 Algonquin Street #106
Huntington Beach, CA 92649

For other intellectual property or legal claims, please send us a notice at [email protected].

15. SEVERABILITY
The provisions of this Agreement are severable, and in the event, any provision hereof is determined to be invalid or unenforceable, such invalidity or unenforceability shall not in any way affect the validity or enforceability of the remaining provisions hereof.