Nostalgic Post

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Rogue42

Rogue42

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This is going to seem sappy, and honestly probably not even worth a thread, so if an admin needs to delete and lock then go ahead.

But man, SDN goes way back. I fell down a rabbit hole the other day and found a post from 1999 and some from the early 2000's. Some of those people stayed on SDN for years. Some of the users today still know those people and speak highly of them. I don't know guys, it just gets me when I see, "First joined August 5, 1999...Last seen April 12, 2009." Seems so crazy that it has been 10 years since someone logged in, but also nice seeing that that person made an impact on this website, and people know what they are doing these days. One day, that'll be us. We will log in for the last time and not even know it.

At the end of the day, most of those people become highly successful and will be our bosses! Hang in there crew, it'll be us in 20 years!
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What’s sad is I’m 35. I was trying to get into med school, lurking in those threads. I recently had an IM preceptor who was 32... such a weird feeling to be older than your preceptor. And it wasn’t because I had a career change or anything cute, I failed TEN YEARS IN A ROW before I finally got my crap together. I don’t have a medical (or even “academic”) family, I struggled through this junk by speaking with TERRIBLE PreMed advisors and finally figured things out using mostly SDN and the PreMed years podcast. I pray that someday I can influence a struggling PreMed the way some of those SDN sages have influenced me.
 
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Spectreman said:
What’s sad is I’m 35. I was trying to get into med school, lurking in those threads. I recently had an IM preceptor who was 32... such a weird feeling to be older than your preceptor. And it wasn’t because I had a career change or anything cute, I failed TEN YEARS IN A ROW before I finally got my crap together. I don’t have a medical (or even “academic”) family, I struggled through this junk by speaking with TERRIBLE PreMed advisors and finally figured things out using mostly SDN and the PreMed years podcast. I pray that someday I can influence a struggling PreMed the way some of those SDN sages have influenced me.
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I think it’s crazy, man. Some of those people were making post when I was less than 2 years old, and others were “last seen” when I was less than 10. But yet, here their posts are...still around...still answering questions that get asked...still providing wisdom.

If any of my posts are that lucky in 10-20 years, I’ll feel blessed.
 
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Me in 2008: 60 credit units at a community college with GPA if 2.5 and 10+ W’s. Completely clueless and hopeless. Considering careers in pharmacy, podiatry and even PhD because according to my community college counselor the MD ship had long sailed.

Then while surfing the Internet I come across SDN. I learn about the DO degree. I got tons of help and encouragement (shout out to @cabinbuilder who proofread my PS). I was inspired by the success of others (shout out to HockyDr09 who started the “underdog thread” tradition in the pre-DO forum back in 2010).

Now: Half way through residency and nearly half a million dollar in debt. But I’ve never been more grateful for pursuing this career giving the current global events.


From time to time, I reflect on the journey I had endured. I remember how passionate and excited about this field. I remember the tremendous time, energy and emotions I invested in pursuing this career.

Very nostalgic feeling indeed.
 
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Ibn Alnafis MD said:
Me in 2008: 60 credit units at a community college with GPA if 2.5 and 10+ W’s. Completely clueless and hopeless. Considering careers in pharmacy, podiatry and even PhD because according to my community college counselor the MD ship had long sailed.

Then while surfing the Internet I come across SDN. I learn about the DO degree. I got tons of help and encouragement (shout out to @cabinbuilder who proofread my PS). I was inspired by the success of others (shout out to HockyDr09 who started the “underdog thread” tradition in the pre-DO forum back in 2010).

Now: Half way through residency and nearly half a million dollar in debt. But I’ve never been more grateful for pursuing this career giving the current global events.


From time to time, I reflect on the journey I had endured. I remember how passionate and excited about this field. I remember the tremendous time, energy and emotions I invested in pursuing this career.

Very nostalgic feeling indeed.
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Amazing, love it. Congrats on your journey, and you’re so close to the fruits. There truly is no other career path like that of an underdog physician. The pain, risk, sacrifice... so cool.

Not that we’re like, ya know, war heroes or whatever but you get my drift
 
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Ibn Alnafis MD said:
Me in 2008: 60 credit units at a community college with GPA if 2.5 and 10+ W’s. Completely clueless and hopeless. Considering careers in pharmacy, podiatry and even PhD because according to my community college counselor the MD ship had long sailed.

Then while surfing the Internet I come across SDN. I learn about the DO degree. I got tons of help and encouragement (shout out to @cabinbuilder who proofread my PS). I was inspired by the success of others (shout out to HockyDr09 who started the “underdog thread” tradition in the pre-DO forum back in 2010).

Now: Half way through residency and nearly half a million dollar in debt. But I’ve never been more grateful for pursuing this career giving the current global events.


From time to time, I reflect on the journey I had endured. I remember how passionate and excited about this field. I remember the tremendous time, energy and emotions I invested in pursuing this career.

Very nostalgic feeling indeed.
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I love hearing these stories! I wish more people would share theirs!
 
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As long as this is a corny thread... Whenever I see those old posts from the 2000's I think of the first seasons of Grey's Anatomy. Like residents with flip phones, cool tech stuff in the hospital but at the same time not a lot of internet garbage or social media. I probably wouldn't have got into med school if I said it at interview/in my PS, but I think TV and movies truly serve to inspire, and although I know real medicine won't be like the cast of Grey's ever, I do secretly feel proud of myself as if I'm among the ranks of the show's characters :cryi: .. It just gives me a big boost some days, and I especially like it when I tell people/strangers about med school and they go, "Oh! Like grey's anatomy!" (it's happened a few times honestly). So I don't know if it's "grass is greener on the other side" in terms of looking back at docs and posters from the past, or maybe just the typical "medicine isn't as good as it used to be" that gets thrown around a lot, but I'd LITERALLY KILL to be graduating med school in the early 2k's, be old enough to know the world before dating required you have a snapchat/FB so people don't think youre a serial killer, mandatory classes in school--no watching the lecture online BS that we do now just to be slightly better, just jamming to green day and the fray; sometimes I get emotional when popular songs that Grey's played come on, "suddenly I see," "how to save a life," that type of thing. And now here I am chasing a dream in the wake of people who did all that and I'm ecstatic to have something important in common with them, no matter how small it is...Anyway, that's what those posts remind me of, so I'm glad someone else has some cheese-d*ck emotions about it too
 
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Gonzalo de Montalvo said:
As long as this is a corny thread... Whenever I see those old posts from the 2000's I think of the first seasons of Grey's Anatomy. Like residents with flip phones, cool tech stuff in the hospital but at the same time not a lot of internet garbage or social media. I probably wouldn't have got into med school if I said it at interview/in my PS, but I think TV and movies truly serve to inspire, and although I know real medicine won't be like the cast of Grey's ever, I do secretly feel proud of myself as if I'm among the ranks of the show's characters :cryi: .. It just gives me a big boost some days, and I especially like it when I tell people/strangers about med school and they go, "Oh! Like grey's anatomy!" (it's happened a few times honestly). So I don't know if it's "grass is greener on the other side" in terms of looking back at docs and posters from the past, or maybe just the typical "medicine isn't as good as it used to be" that gets thrown around a lot, but I'd LITERALLY KILL to be graduating med school in the early 2k's, be old enough to know the world before dating required you have a snapchat/FB so people don't think youre a serial killer, mandatory classes in school--no watching the lecture online BS that we do now just to be slightly better, just jamming to green day and the fray; sometimes I get emotional when popular songs that Grey's played come on, "suddenly I see," "how to save a life," that type of thing. And now here I am chasing a dream in the wake of people who did all that and I'm ecstatic to have something important in common with them, no matter how small it is...Anyway, that's what those posts remind me of, so I'm glad someone else has some cheese-d*ck emotions about it too
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TV was a big factor that started my interest in medicine. Those animations they sometimes do in House when explaining a disease, I loved that ****.
 
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Gonzalo de Montalvo said:
As long as this is a corny thread... Whenever I see those old posts from the 2000's I think of the first seasons of Grey's Anatomy. Like residents with flip phones, cool tech stuff in the hospital but at the same time not a lot of internet garbage or social media. I probably wouldn't have got into med school if I said it at interview/in my PS, but I think TV and movies truly serve to inspire, and although I know real medicine won't be like the cast of Grey's ever, I do secretly feel proud of myself as if I'm among the ranks of the show's characters :cryi: .. It just gives me a big boost some days, and I especially like it when I tell people/strangers about med school and they go, "Oh! Like grey's anatomy!" (it's happened a few times honestly). So I don't know if it's "grass is greener on the other side" in terms of looking back at docs and posters from the past, or maybe just the typical "medicine isn't as good as it used to be" that gets thrown around a lot, but I'd LITERALLY KILL to be graduating med school in the early 2k's, be old enough to know the world before dating required you have a snapchat/FB so people don't think youre a serial killer, mandatory classes in school--no watching the lecture online BS that we do now just to be slightly better, just jamming to green day and the fray; sometimes I get emotional when popular songs that Grey's played come on, "suddenly I see," "how to save a life," that type of thing. And now here I am chasing a dream in the wake of people who did all that and I'm ecstatic to have something important in common with them, no matter how small it is...Anyway, that's what those posts remind me of, so I'm glad someone else has some cheese-d*ck emotions about it too
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I think you are falling in the trap of being envious because you look up to them. I have quite a few older physician friends who report how awful med school was without the internet. You had to go to the class without powerpoints for focused material. They split up note taking. They'd have to trust someone who's learning the material themselves to write down the important information. I feel like its analogous to people that say "music was so much better back in the day". There was also a lot of crappy music back then too, but only the gold lives on. There was a lot of crappy things about medicine then too, but you are looking retrospectively through a lens to only see the good stuff.
 
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Epilepsy365 said:
That post comes from a person who’s gunning for an OMM/NMM residency at Mayo. Lol
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Unless it’s brand new there is no such thing. Premed I’m guessing?
 
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Just an MS-1 here, but I do also appreciate this site a lot. Much like Ibn Alnafis I had a very rough start to college. I only went because my mom told me that I had to. Fast forward a few years and I find myself in the hospital with Stage IV cancer, which ignited my fire to go to medical school. Unfortunately, I was also told that the medical school ship had sailed FAR away and was unreachable by everyone around me. I'll never forget my neighbor, who was a 4th year medical student, saying "you will never get into medical school with your GPA and adcoms don't care if you show them years of GPA repair. Some people just aren't cut out for medical school, and idk.. maybe that's you. You should look into pharmacy school or something." That's exactly what I did. I found SDN while I was in pharmacy school and with the support of my friends, family, some MAJOR GPA repair, and a respectable MCAT score I found myself applying for medical school. I'm currently in the top 5% of my class, and sometimes I just wish I could let that old neighbor know that he was wrong. Instead of searching for whoever he is, I just try to encourage those that may be in a similar position that I was in. If you're a premed reading this, never ever give up. There are thousands out there like me who have proven you CAN do it if you want it bad enough. Nothing but love and positivity here. Keep fighting for what you want out of life.
 
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Pharmd2MD92 said:
Just an MS-1 here, but I do also appreciate this site a lot. Much like Ibn Alnafis I had a very rough start to college. I only went because my mom told me that I had to. Fast forward a few years and I find myself in the hospital with Stage IV cancer, which ignited my fire to go to medical school. Unfortunately, I was also told that the medical school ship had sailed FAR away and was unreachable by everyone around me. I'll never forget my neighbor, who was a 4th year medical student, saying "you will never get into medical school with your GPA and adcoms don't care if you show them years of GPA repair. Some people just aren't cut out for medical school, and idk.. maybe that's you. You should look into pharmacy school or something." That's exactly what I did. I found SDN while I was in pharmacy school and with the support of my friends, family, some MAJOR GPA repair, and a respectable MCAT score I found myself applying for medical school. I'm currently in the top 5% of my class, and sometimes I just wish I could let that old neighbor know that he was wrong. Instead of searching for whoever he is, I just try to encourage those that may be in a similar position that I was in. If you're a premed reading this, never ever give up. There are thousands out there like me who have proven you CAN do it if you want it bad enough. Nothing but love and positivity here. Keep fighting for what you want out of life.
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That’s awesome dude. Did you finish pharmacy school or bail? What was that experience like during med school interviews?
 
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DO2015CA said:
That’s awesome dude. Did you finish pharmacy school or bail? What was that experience like during med school interviews?
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I left halfway through pharmacy school. I figured the 100K and 2 extra years wasn't worth it if I was planning on going to med school anyway. It really wasn't near as bad as I thought it would be. I only had 1 interviewer ask me about it, and they were a PharmD. Other than that, all of my other interviews focused a lot on having cancer and how that influenced my decision to go to medical school. I was very transparent in my PS and secondaries about everything. I wanted interviews to focus on me as a person and my story rather than proving I'm committed to medical school.
 
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Pharmd2MD92 said:
I left halfway through pharmacy school. I figured the 100K and 2 extra years wasn't worth it if I was planning on going to med school anyway. It really wasn't near as bad as I thought it would be. I only had 1 interviewer ask me about it, and they were a PharmD. Other than that, all of my other interviews focused a lot on having cancer and how that influenced my decision to go to medical school. I was very transparent in my PS and secondaries about everything. I wanted interviews to focus on me as a person and my story rather than proving I'm committed to medical school.
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Congrats dude! Good luck with your journey.
 
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DO2015CA said:
Unless it’s brand new there is no such thing. Premed I’m guessing?
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He completely made that up based off of a question I had about pain med. Wouldn't entertain him, note the probationary status
 
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Hey everyone, lets try to keep this non-argumentative and on track about nostalgic people / memories / posts from this website.

Anyway, @Pharmd2MD92, that is one awesome story! Good luck! It really is crazy to think you are walking in the shoes of those that proved it before you, and maybe one day, someone will read one of your comments on here and think, "I can do that, he did it!"

@DO2015CA maybe I am envious and maybe I do look retrospectively, but aren't you excited to doing the thing that you've worked so hard for? Heck, in thirty years, you will be that old grump of a doctor talking bout how good it used to be!

@Gonzalo de Montalvo I feel the same way about the old stuff like you mentioned. Always gets me in my feels lol
 
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Epilepsy365 said:
forums.studentdoctor.net

Pathway to Pain Medicine Fellow/Attending?

As I explore my options for specialties, I remember shadowing pain med and am really curious about the pathway there. What residency would suit me best for an eventual pain med fellowship after graduating from a DO school? My thoughts are that I would like to do general intern...
forums.studentdoctor.net forums.studentdoctor.net

Bro, it's ok... Chill...
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My point stands. Mayo? - Made up drama from you.
 
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I've always wondered if the cast of characters on SDN have the same personalities IRL that they do here. Personally, I'm about the same.
 
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Gonzalo de Montalvo said:
My point stands. Mayo? - Made up drama from you to make your bullying more believable. Gunning? --> "My thoughts are" - far from proof that I'm "gunning."

Quit instigating. I'm entitled to defend myself.

Mods--I've seen comments removed for far less than this. He's derailing as OP pointed out, and ostracizing other members on strictly subjective bases. Not to mention remembering others' posts just to make fun of them later, creep!
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My apology if you feel that way. I'll remove my posts then. Again, chill dude.
 
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Great thread idea, OP.

In 2008 I was taking random history and political science classes at a community college. I had thought of being a doctor in high school but struggled with math and science. At some point I kinda randomly decided I could do whatever I wanted. I buckled down, transferred to a 4-year school and started taking prereqs. Here I am 12 years later, finishing my pediatric residency, and matched into my #1 choice for fellowship.

SDN has been with me every step of the way. So much wisdom. So much bad advice I didn't listen to because SDN taught me better. Back in college people used to come to me with questions about applying because the SDN wisdom I had was better than the premed advising we were getting. You just have to learn to filter out the BS, because there is plenty of that here on SDN too.

Medicine is exhausting, but I'm still glad I chose this path and 100% would do it again.

Sometimes I wonder what happened to people who used to post back when I first came here. Hopefully they're busy with successful medical careers.

Shout out to everyone who led the way.



Sent from my SM-G930V using SDN mobile
 
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It's crazy. I actually started as a lurker on this site in 2008. Wasn't sure if medicine was even for me, but it was the only stable thing around at the time. I was strongly considering Carib schools because of my horrible GPA and OK MCAT, life felt like it was in shambles, and felt like I had no prospects. I scoured SDN and ValueMD for hours trying to decide what I should do.

I finally ended up taking a step back, working for a bit in a different field altogether for a couple years, until I finally realized this is what fit. Did a DIY post-bac, did very well, but it still barely made a dent in my GPA, actually studied for the MCAT and got >96th percentile, and finally made an account and officially joined SDN leading up to my application season in 2012.

I applied broadly (actually truly considered DO because of this site) and *late*. Got some MD and DO interviews, waitlisted there. Was instantly accepted into the 2 Carib schools I was considering, and had that terrible debate in my head. Got off the waitlist for my local DO school, withdrew from all other DOs, and never got off the MD waitlists.

7-freakin-years later, I'm a resident in a residency that's way too damn long, but that I love, with plenty of time to see the shtf during a pandemic in the only huge university hospital in our state. I am married, have 2 kids and one on the way, and I'm still posting on this site. Hope to keep doing it at least through residency, if not longer, because this site is one of the biggest reasons I am where I am.

I want to echo the posters above in saying, I miss some of the old posters from when I started and do wonder how things turned out for them. I'm sure they're fighting the good fight right now.
 
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hallowmann said:
It's crazy. I actually started as a lurker on this site in 2008. Wasn't sure if medicine was even for me, but it was the only stable thing around at the time. I was strongly considering Carib schools because of my horrible GPA and OK MCAT, life felt like it was in shambles, and felt like I had no prospects. I scoured SDN and ValueMD for hours trying to decide what I should do.

I finally ended up taking a step back, working for a bit in a different field altogether for a couple years, until I finally realized this is what fit. Did a DIY post-bac, did very well, but it still barely made a dent in my GPA, actually studied for the MCAT and got >96th percentile, and finally made an account and officially joined SDN leading up to my application season in 2012.

I applied broadly (actually truly considered DO because of this site) and *late*. Got some MD and DO interviews, waitlisted there. Was instantly accepted into the 2 Carib schools I was considering, and had that terrible debate in my head. Got off the waitlist for my local DO school, withdrew from all other DOs, and never got off the MD waitlists.

7-freakin-years later, I'm a resident in a residency that's way too damn long, but that I love, with plenty of time to see the shtf during a pandemic in the only huge university hospital in our state. I am married, have 2 kids and one on the way, and I'm still posting on this site. Hope to keep doing it at least through residency, if not longer, because this site is one of the biggest reasons I am where I am.

I want to echo the posters above in saying, I miss some of the old posters from when I started and do wonder how things turned out for them. I'm sure they're fighting the good fight right now.
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Haha isn't your residency 3 years? I may be incorrect but I thought I knew what specialty you were in.
 
The days in residency are longer than the years
 
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With the pandemic, I have a little more time to read through SDN like I used to as a pre-med and medical student. It’s been a wild ride from premed to resident. I’ve really enjoyed reading about the careers of you guys...many of whom posting in this thread here.

Hope to continue to contribute to this site even when I become an attending...which is many, many, many years away.
 
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hallowmann said:
It is not...5 yrs. but even 3 years feels long. A couple years left. I guess I'm basically outting myself here, but so be it.
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Lol, I used to tell myself I'd be satisfied with the shortest and the most lifestyle-friendly specialty possible. Here I am starting a rather long and time intensive fellowship. I just can't stay away. Medicine has a way of sucking you in lol.

Sent from my SM-G930V using SDN mobile
 
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NurWollen said:
Lol, I used to tell myself I'd be satisfied with the shortest and the most lifestyle-friendly specialty possible. Here I am starting a rather long and time intensive fellowship. I just can't stay away. Medicine has a way of sucking you in lol.

Sent from my SM-G930V using SDN mobile
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Haha hell no. Eventually you have to hop of the train. I enjoy intensive care but I don’t hate gen enough to spend another 3 years training
 
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Don't listen to your advisors who have no idea what they are talking about. People in here know a lot more than your advisors. Shout out to posters like @Ibn Alnafis MD, @hallowmann and others who have contributed a lot to this website.

I can honestly say that SDN got me into med school. Been lurking since 2013, but decided to make an account recently so I can at least pay back...
 
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Ibn Alnafis MD said:
Me in 2008: 60 credit units at a community college with GPA if 2.5 and 10+ W’s. Completely clueless and hopeless. Considering careers in pharmacy, podiatry and even PhD because according to my community college counselor the MD ship had long sailed.

Then while surfing the Internet I come across SDN. I learn about the DO degree. I got tons of help and encouragement (shout out to @cabinbuilder who proofread my PS). I was inspired by the success of others (shout out to HockyDr09 who started the “underdog thread” tradition in the pre-DO forum back in 2010).

Now: Half way through residency and nearly half a million dollar in debt. But I’ve never been more grateful for pursuing this career giving the current global events.


From time to time, I reflect on the journey I had endured. I remember how passionate and excited about this field. I remember the tremendous time, energy and emotions I invested in pursuing this career.

Very nostalgic feeling indeed.
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How old are you?
 
ThrillSeeker101 said:
Is it true all the ladies come flocking when you are a doctor?
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Not anymore. Now everyone avoids you like if you are the plague. The minute they know you're a doctor, they start spraying you with disinfectant
 
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Ibn Alnafis MD said:
Me in 2008: 60 credit units at a community college with GPA if 2.5 and 10+ W’s. Completely clueless and hopeless. Considering careers in pharmacy, podiatry and even PhD because according to my community college counselor the MD ship had long sailed.

Then while surfing the Internet I come across SDN. I learn about the DO degree. I got tons of help and encouragement (shout out to @cabinbuilder who proofread my PS). I was inspired by the success of others (shout out to HockyDr09 who started the “underdog thread” tradition in the pre-DO forum back in 2010).

Now: Half way through residency and nearly half a million dollar in debt. But I’ve never been more grateful for pursuing this career giving the current global events.


From time to time, I reflect on the journey I had endured. I remember how passionate and excited about this field. I remember the tremendous time, energy and emotions I invested in pursuing this career.

Very nostalgic feeling indeed.
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Awesome, glad to be of help. Not on here much anymore.
 
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Rogue42 said:
This is going to seem sappy, and honestly probably not even worth a thread, so if an admin needs to delete and lock then go ahead.

But man, SDN goes way back. I fell down a rabbit hole the other day and found a post from 1999 and some from the early 2000's. Some of those people stayed on SDN for years. Some of the users today still know those people and speak highly of them. I don't know guys, it just gets me when I see, "First joined August 5, 1999...Last seen April 12, 2009." Seems so crazy that it has been 10 years since someone logged in, but also nice seeing that that person made an impact on this website, and people know what they are doing these days. One day, that'll be us. We will log in for the last time and not even know it.

At the end of the day, most of those people become highly successful and will be our bosses! Hang in there crew, it'll be us in 20 years!
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Yep, been member since 2005. Been out of residency 11 years already. Whew...
 
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I didn't read every comment on this thread. I started lurking back in like 07-08 when I was but a lowly ER tech in my hometown hospital. Read many a threads on DO vs MD and all that. Started med school 2010, graduated 2014. As you can tell, DO school. I read many of your posts cabinbuilder as I was going back and forth between emergency medicine and family medicine. Long story short, I ended up in psychiatry and love it. I did AF HPSP. Just graduated residency this past year and coming up on completing first year out of residency and first year of payback for milmed. I love psychiatry, but I'm looking forward to being back on the civ side...
 
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In 2008, wow, I was in the middle of undergrad; had about 2 years left before I applied, and I wasn’t sure I would even try. Didn’t know SDN existed.

I joined almost exactly 10yrs ago actually, March 24th, 2010!

I was a member of the OG underdog thread, had a terrible GPA but good MCAT. I farted around on this site for a while, and got pretty discouraged about my chances before I finally said “screw it” and applied. That underdog thread is what gave me the courage to go through with it and not just hang it up. I got a handful of interview invites, went on one interview and was accepted within a couple of days and went ahead and canceled the rest.

This site was helpful through Med-school; partly as a pass-time; and partly as a resource to help navigate a system I had no experience with.

I spent a lot of time bickering with posters like SkinMD->MeatTornado and a few others. I took pride (and still do) in my education. I learned the types of bias I could expect to encounter, and I learned about how to be a good medical student in the clinical years. I tried to help out those coming up under me, and I hope I was successful in that.

Where SDN was especially helpful to me, was when I failed to match. I had above average grades and test scores, but a late specialty switch that I think caused me issues. That SOAP week was a bear, but the SDN SOAP thread helped me Immensely in keeping my head in the game. It was HUGE being able to see how many others were going through what I was, and to hear what was happening on the SOAP front elsewhere. Plus a flood of helpful attending/resident advice came in. I try to get back to the SOAP thread each year to help where I can.

I ended up SOAP’ing into a hell of a program. I learned a TON, and had a legitimately excellent experience, and couldn’t be happier that things worked out the way they did.

These days I’m less active in SDN, I’m an attending now; and that will make it harder to participate. But things have turned out great. I LOVE my job, I am paid well to do it. And make enough to pay off my loans and still be comfortable (which was a concern I had during Med-school and residency).

Going forward my goal is to be as much of a resource on this site as I can be, this site was an incredible resource to me.
 
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SLC said:
In 2008, wow, I was in the middle of undergrad; had about 2 years left before I applied, and I wasn’t sure I would even try. Didn’t know SDN existed.

I joined almost exactly 10yrs ago actually, March 24th, 2010!

I was a member of the OG underdog thread, had a terrible GPA but good MCAT. I farted around on this site for a while, and got pretty discouraged about my chances before I finally said “screw it” and applied. That underdog thread is what gave me the courage to go through with it and not just hang it up. I got a handful of interview invites, went on one interview and was accepted within a couple of days and went ahead and canceled the rest.

This site was helpful through Med-school; partly as a pass-time; and partly as a resource to help navigate a system I had no experience with.

I spent a lot of time bickering with posters like SkinMD->MeatTornado and a few others. I took pride (and still do) in my education. I learned the types of bias I could expect to encounter, and I learned about how to be a good medical student in the clinical years. I tried to help out those coming up under me, and I hope I was successful in that.

Where SDN was especially helpful to me, was when I failed to match. I had above average grades and test scores, but a late specialty switch that I think caused me issues. That SOAP week was a bear, but the SDN SOAP thread helped me Immensely in keeping my head in the game. It was HUGE being able to see how many others were going through what I was, and to hear what was happening on the SOAP front elsewhere. Plus a flood of helpful attending/resident advice came in. I try to get back to the SOAP thread each year to help where I can.

I ended up SOAP’ing into a hell of a program. I learned a TON, and had a legitimately excellent experience, and couldn’t be happier that things worked out the way they did.

These days I’m less active in SDN, I’m an attending now; and that will make it harder to participate. But things have turned out great. I LOVE my job, I am paid well to do it. And make enough to pay off my loans and still be comfortable (which was a concern I had during Med-school and residency).

Going forward my goal is to be as much of a resource on this site as I can be, this site was an incredible resource to me.
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Was the first Underdog thread really almost 10 years ago? Man, where have the years gone?

Sent from my SM-G930V using SDN mobile
 
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I've been lurking since 2006. At that time I was just thinking about med school. Had to go through the pre-reqs which I hadn't done yet. This site helped me tremendously though I didn't make an account til I was an MS 2.

What I love is seeing people posting up a storm over the years going from pre-med in pre-allo to attending in the specialty forums.
 
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I don't think I go as far back as everyone here, but man I would not be where I am today without you guys. I, too, was on an underdog thread, mainly due to a low mcat and non-trad status.

What a remarkable forum. Special thanks to @Goro, who was there to calm my nerves during the pre-med days.
 
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Pharmd2MD92 said:
Just an MS-1 here, but I do also appreciate this site a lot. Much like Ibn Alnafis I had a very rough start to college. I only went because my mom told me that I had to. Fast forward a few years and I find myself in the hospital with Stage IV cancer, which ignited my fire to go to medical school. Unfortunately, I was also told that the medical school ship had sailed FAR away and was unreachable by everyone around me. I'll never forget my neighbor, who was a 4th year medical student, saying "you will never get into medical school with your GPA and adcoms don't care if you show them years of GPA repair. Some people just aren't cut out for medical school, and idk.. maybe that's you. You should look into pharmacy school or something." That's exactly what I did. I found SDN while I was in pharmacy school and with the support of my friends, family, some MAJOR GPA repair, and a respectable MCAT score I found myself applying for medical school. I'm currently in the top 5% of my class, and sometimes I just wish I could let that old neighbor know that he was wrong. Instead of searching for whoever he is, I just try to encourage those that may be in a similar position that I was in. If you're a premed reading this, never ever give up. There are thousands out there like me who have proven you CAN do it if you want it bad enough. Nothing but love and positivity here. Keep fighting for what you want out of life.
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What a BALLER. Mad respect for you, keep crushing it. Can't wait to see where you end up. Your story is incredible and you're going to touch so many of your patients in such a positive way. People like you inspire me.
 
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What happened to posters like touchpause, circulusvitios (2013-2014 underdogs)?
 
Man it has been such a long time. Finishing up my second year of residency. SDN has helped me so much and I couldn't thank you guys enough. I remember applying in the same cycle in 2013-2014 with @Ibn Alnafis MD and got so excited with my first acceptance.
 
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