SDN User Feedback Request! "What do you want? "

[SDNFeedback]

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Members don't see this ad.

Student Doctor Network is looking for what our users would like to see in improvements on our site. With the monies from donations this year, SDN has been able to upgrade the servers and is currently in process of updating the database server. We are working to improve SDN and respond to what resources the majority of our users wish to utilize (and of course make SDN more stable so there is no more crashing!)

In response to user requests, this year SDN has already implemented these changes:

• revamped its forums with the addition and reorganization of various forums and sub-forums,
• added the SDN bookstore, SDN store, and upgraded donor privileges to raise money for SDN,
• updated interview feedback forum,
• as well as added more partners in order to serve our users and provide them with the latest and greatest information on various fields (Such as McGill Journal of Medicine, painrounds.com, eyeorbit.org, d aMD-MBA.org)
• and much, much more!​

So we are now requesting what YOU, as the user, to provide us with feedback and suggestions on what you would like to have in terms upgrades of features and format changes. Our goal is to have people from all walks of life contribute to SDN and help us to create an invaluable resource for pre-professional health programs through graduate school, practice specialties and beyond.


*************Search function will be reinstated when the new database server is up and running. Should be by the end of the month.**********

 

[osli]

Well, I think an SDN database of useful stats and information might be nice. There's the MSAR, and USNews rankings, and some other scientific and complete surveys, but it might be interesting and useful for SDNers to see what other SDNers are doing/thinking.

For example:

- School database. How many applications to each school (per year), average application MCAT, GPA, age, degree, etc. This would be nice to compare the SDN microcosm against what the MSAR reports. Also, amount of scholarship money awarded would be interesting (also by school).

- SDN poster database of semi-interesting factoids. For example, if each applicant ranked all schools they were applying to in order of preference, it might be interesting to see what percentage were accepted to their top choice, second choice, etc. How many people go in state? How many people go DO after being accepted MD? Lots of potential for interesting stats and factoids not found elsewhere.

- USMLE/COMLEX averages by school. Hey, there's something everyone wants to know and not found anywhere. Are there any confidentiality agreements that might prohibit such a database from being collected?

- Salaries sorted by specialty and location. Geography always comes up when people ask about salaries, and I've never seen that included in any survey. Not that the averages collected would be that accurate in an absolute scale, but on a relative scale it can help further compare specialties and geographic locations. Not sure there are enough practicing doctors who would actually read SDN and add a stat though! 🙂

 

[Kitra101]

1. Maybe a section for adcoms or admission offices to make official posts and/or answer student questions.

2. How about some sort of affiliation with AMCAS to allow for a medium by which students can better interact?

3. An MD apps type thing for residencies so that pre-meds and others can have an idea about what it takes to get matched - scores, grades and more.

4. An SDN tshirt

5. A live chat room?

6. A place for labs offering research positions to post information.

7. An actual secondary essay question database so that students could get a head start each year as others receive them and inform SDN the current year's questions (in place of a post that is sometimes hard to find)

8. A premedical "dictionary" that contains terms needed to know about the application process, schools, etc. For example - explaining what each residency is and information about them (path toward completion, ave USMLE for a match, ave salary, etc), what the difference is between a LOI and a LOI (interest and intent) and when they are typically sent, what a MSTP is, etc etc.

All I got for now, probably sound stupid for some of these, but just thoughts off the top of my head.

Thanks SDN!

 

[Skialta]

I would like to see some residency reviews, scutwork.com seems to be lagging, I wonder if there is more traffic on SDN that could generate some more up to date info.

 

[CoffeeCat]

6. A place for labs offering research positions to post information.

Agree with the above and maybe just a general forum/area for jobs in general - people can post good premed jobs and opportunities, etc.

Also, being able to search for two letter words. Sounds stupid, but I wanted to search for "EK 1G" in the MCAT forum and you can't!

Overall, I 😍 SDN and thank you for all of the wonderful info! I can't believe how much it's helped me so far.

 

[Flopotomist]

The ability to create a list that members could add there names too. For example, threads like the wall of fame, and shame could be shrunk from 13 pages to one page with just names next to schools.

 

[C.P. Jones]

The ability to create a list that members could add there names too. For example, threads like the wall of fame, and shame could be shrunk from 13 pages to one page with just names next to schools.

i agree, this sounds like a great idea

 

[BaylorGuy]

Have an improved search function in the forums??

 

[Psycho Doctor]

the pre-medical dictionary is an excellent idea I'd like a medical dictionary too.

 

[mustangsally65]

1. Maybe a section for adcoms or admission offices to make official posts and/or answer student questions.

3. An MD apps type thing for residencies so that pre-meds and others can have an idea about what it takes to get matched - scores, grades and more.
5. A live chat room?
7. An actual secondary essay question database so that students could get a head start each year as others receive them and inform SDN the current year's questions (in place of a post that is sometimes hard to find)

I second these, as well as the wall of fame/shame threads that are only one page! 😀

 

[tank you]

the match list for every school would be very appreciated, and more people would donate im sure with all that information available so conveniently.

 

[Hernandez]

an online magic 8-ball easily accusable to pre-allo/pre-osteo to help with the burdensome questions of which schools to apply to

a searchable knowledge-base without the advice component of a free flowing forum, ala suggestions in the donor’s forum

 

[JayQuah]

Student Doctor Network is looking for what our users would like to see in improvements on our site. With the monies from donations this year, SDN has been able to upgrade the servers and is currently in process of updating the database server. We are working to improve SDN and respond to what resources the majority of our users wish to utilize (and of course make SDN more stable so there is no more crashing!)

In response to user requests, this year SDN has already implemented these changes:

• revamped its forums with the addition and reorganization of various forums and sub-forums,
• added the SDN bookstore, SDN store, and upgraded donor privileges to raise money for SDN,
• updated interview feedback forum,
• as well as added more partners in order to serve our users and provide them with the latest and greatest information on various fields (Such as McGill Journal of Medicine, painrounds.com, eyeorbit.org, d aMD-MBA.org)
• and much, much more!​

So we are now requesting what YOU, as the user, to provide us with feedback and suggestions on what you would like to have in terms upgrades of features and format changes. Our goal is to have people from all walks of life contribute to SDN and help us to create an invaluable resource for pre-professional health programs through graduate school, practice specialties and beyond.

I would totally buy SDN merch. Stuff like t-shirts. Mugs. Stethescopes. What have you.

 

[Hernandez]

I would totally buy SDN merch. Stuff like t-shirts. Mugs. Stethescopes. What have you.

click the pic

 

[unfrozencaveman]

Chocolate microscopes.

 

[Ski2Doc]

Maybe split the premed forums, pre md and pre do, into 4.

2 for those wanting to apply, and 2 for those ALREADY in the process.

I am in the process, have/had interviews/accpetance and am tired of seeing threads like "should i take biochem" or "what req's does this school have"

Furthermore you can split the applying forums into 2.

1 for those interviewing and one for those that are "hoping"

HOWEVER, you should make a search possible of all 3/2 or all 4/6 forums, just in case some things get posted in wrong place, or some questions MAY overlap.

 

[Ski2Doc]

the match list for every school would be very appreciated, and more people would donate im sure with all that information available so conveniently.

I know the DO foum has a match list link in the sticky.

 

[Pretty POHA]

Along the same lines of the lab research position posting:
It'd be cool to have a job posting/ volunteer positions available/ etc. I know there's a free classifieds, but it doesn't seem to get used much...

Also, I'd love to see some local student study group sections or something... maybe even an online study group? I dunno. I wish I could find more pre-meds in my area!

 

[Saluki]

Maybe a section for adcoms or admission offices to make official posts and/or answer student questions.

I like this one. Sometimes I feel like it's the blind leading the blind... Everyone gives different advice, and it's hard to tell who actually knows what they're talking about, except Q, she's great 🙂

 

[Pretty POHA]

How about an Adcom forum? Can you pleeeease convince some adcoms to frequent the forum and we can ask them all of our questions-- anonymously and honestly... and then they can tell us their opinion or what they think of our question? That'd be really cool.

 

[PreMedMommy]

8. A premedical "dictionary" that contains terms needed to know about the application process, schools, etc. For example - explaining what each residency is and information about them (path toward completion, ave USMLE for a match, ave salary, etc), what the difference is between a LOI and a LOI (interest and intent) and when they are typically sent, what a MSTP is, etc etc.

This one is a great idea. I've noticed a lot of pre-meds find SDN looking specifically for information like this. I think it should cover from the app process (including MCAT) through residency.

 

[DrBowtie]

How about an Adcom forum? Can you pleeeease convince some adcoms to frequent the forum and we can ask them all of our questions-- anonymously and honestly... and then they can tell us their opinion or what they think of our question? That'd be really cool.

They would be vary overwhelmed. Thousands of pre-allo's each with multiple questions.

Most schools will set up a consultation visit for you to discuss your application. This would be best for personalized info.

 

[RayhanS1282]

More emoticons!!!

 

[Kitra101]

How about a thread with a list of all premed deadlines? I agree with the idea for somehow making big posts fit all on one page - such as the interview invite pages, walls of fame/shame/lame etc.

Another idea would be an almost USNews type database that compiles data submitted from each adcom from year to year.

My last idea of the night would be a table that compares and contrasts school curriculums so that students know what the differences are between schools and can factor this information in for applications and interviews.

 

[amandil]

My last idea of the night would be a table that compares and contrasts school curriculums so that students know what the differences are between schools and can factor this information in for applications and interviews.

Check out http://services.aamc.org/currdir/section1/grading1.cfm and explore some of the other links on the page... it's pretty awesome!

 

[DrMike24]

There are some good ideas posted.... especially the one about having the wall of shame/fame/lame/drain etc... on one page. The pre med dictionary is another good one.

 

[thegenius]

Please find a way to re-enable search provided by SDN (not Google). I hope it can be done and not put undo load on the servers.

Also, can we find a way to look at the medical school interview feedback in an easier fashion? Clicking on all those individual links is cumbersome. Maybe we can display the first 20 posts and paginate through the result set, much like the posts for each thread.

 

[amandil]

I think it would be useful if under "thread tools" there was a "bookmark" option. That way, you can bookmark any threads you find personally useful and can refer back to them without having to use the search tool or paging back through weeks of old threads...

 

[DrBowtie]

I think it would be useful if under "thread tools" there was a "bookmark" option. That way, you can bookmark any threads you find personally useful and can refer back to them without having to use the search tool or paging back through weeks of old threads...

You can. Under Thread Tools click Subscribe to this thread. Then under quick links you can view all of your subscribed threads.

 

[amandil]

You can. Under Thread Tools click Subscribe to this thread. Then under quick links you can view all of your subscribed threads.

whups! my bad. I thought it was for email updates... Thanks 😛

 

[kdburton]

This might already be an option that I haven't figured out yet (and if so let me know how...), but could you add search option that allows users to search for threads they've started? Whenever I post a question I always find myself sifting through threads forever before I find it again later. Thanks

 

[DrBowtie]

This might already be an option that I haven't figured out yet (and if so let me know how...), but could you add search option that allows users to search for threads they've started? Whenever I post a question I always find myself sifting through threads forever before I find it again later. Thanks

If you click yourself in a thread and view profile. You will see a search for threads started by this person.

 

[C.P. Jones]

how about a "contact info" page that lists the address, phone, fax, etc. for all the med schools that way we don't have to go searching wildly for them every time we need to mail something, call them, etc?

 

[kdburton]

If you click yourself in a thread and view profile. You will see a search for threads started by this person.

When I do that I get this message:
"you do not have permission to access this page. This could be due to one of several reasons"

Am I doing something wrong? I'm logged in and everything.

 

[DrBowtie]

Search is down right now due to server issues.

 

[Thundrstorm]

how about a "contact info" page that lists the address, phone, fax, etc. for all the med schools that way we don't have to go searching wildly for them every time we need to mail something, call them, etc?

Isn't this available on the AAMC website?






I would love it if it were possible to see which interview feedback postings were for MD/PhD interviews without having to click on each one. It's like finding a needle in a haystack.

I wish more of the store merchandise just had SDN logos instead of scutmonkey stuff. What happened to all of the great designs suggested a couple of years ago for t-shirts?

I, too, would like to be able search for 2-letter words.

It would also be really great if there were a way to view threads with no images showing... like with icons and emoticons blocked out... to facilitate my covert at-work browsing. 😉

 

[N1DERL&]

Have an improved search function in the forums??

It tough when you are searching for something specific and a 14 page thread appears. If it showed individual pages that would be really helpful.

 

[mshheaddoc]

It tough when you are searching for something specific and a 14 page thread appears. If it showed individual pages that would be really helpful.

You can search by posts in advanced options (click on search and under the box to type it says advanced options)

 

[N1DERL&]

mush saves the day! zing! 😀

 

[SpeedRacer]

t-shirts

 

[NapeSpikes]

How about the power to remove posts? I'm not necessarily talking about violations of TOS, but also about posts that just spread incorrect info, etc. For example, if someone were to post something that's just plain untrue, then members could flag it and if it receives flags from 50 or so different members, it would be removed.

 

[mustangsally65]

Lots of good ideas here. I thought of one when I was updating a thread: It would be helpful to be able to use columns when posting a reply. That way all the lists that we start and update would be easier to read and find info in.

I would also like to see more of a variety in the sdn merchandise. I don't like the scutmonkey, so that limits what I will buy.

 

[DrBowtie]

How about the power to remove posts? I'm not necessarily talking about violations of TOS, but also about posts that just spread incorrect info, etc. For example, if someone were to post something that's just plain untrue, then members could flag it and if it receives flags from 50 or so different members, it would be removed.

You can click the red triangle to report it to the mods.

However, it comes down to is it an opinion or an untrue fact.

 

[C.P. Jones]

Isn't this available on the AAMC website?

obviously i only frequent sdn and only went to aamc to do mcat and amcas 🙂

 

[Phil Anthropist]

the match list for every school would be very appreciated, and more people would donate im sure with all that information available so conveniently.

Well, I tried:

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=187352

If anyone knows of any other links or has access to some of the lists that aren't online, I'd be happy to add the info.

 

[beanbean]

PDA and online medical reference links with ratings

My school library has many of these, but it would be great to see what other people are using and how they rate

Common text books and study guides with ratings similar to the back section of First Aid.

SDN users always seem to recommend good stuff. Its just a pain to search through threads to find the info

Discounts for resources such as uptodate and other paid user reference services.

 

[willow18]

The ability to create a list that members could add there names too. For example, threads like the wall of fame, and shame could be shrunk from 13 pages to one page with just names next to schools.

This could be done by giving the option to the OP to make it a "public post", i.e., where any user could edit it, very much like a wiki on Wikipedia. Or perhaps a moderator could designated it such.

 

[mosche]

Well, I think an SDN database of useful stats and information might be nice. There's the MSAR, and USNews rankings, and some other scientific and complete surveys, but it might be interesting and useful for SDNers to see what other SDNers are doing/thinking.

For example:

- School database. How many applications to each school (per year), average application MCAT, GPA, age, degree, etc. This would be nice to compare the SDN microcosm against what the MSAR reports. Also, amount of scholarship money awarded would be interesting (also by school).

- SDN poster database of semi-interesting factoids. For example, if each applicant ranked all schools they were applying to in order of preference, it might be interesting to see what percentage were accepted to their top choice, second choice, etc. How many people go in state? How many people go DO after being accepted MD? Lots of potential for interesting stats and factoids not found elsewhere.

- USMLE/COMLEX averages by school. Hey, there's something everyone wants to know and not found anywhere. Are there any confidentiality agreements that might prohibit such a database from being collected?

- Salaries sorted by specialty and location. Geography always comes up when people ask about salaries, and I've never seen that included in any survey. Not that the averages collected would be that accurate in an absolute scale, but on a relative scale it can help further compare specialties and geographic locations. Not sure there are enough practicing doctors who would actually read SDN and add a stat though! 🙂

Very similar request was made regarding USMLE stats in the Psych. forum -- this would be one of the most helpful and most utilized ideas offered!

 

[Psycho Doctor]

How about an Adcom forum? Can you pleeeease convince some adcoms to frequent the forum and we can ask them all of our questions-- anonymously and honestly... and then they can tell us their opinion or what they think of our question? That'd be really cool.

you really want acoms reading these forums and seeing the stupid things we say and do??? 😕

 

[Psycho Doctor]

When I do that I get this message:
"you do not have permission to access this page. This could be due to one of several reasons"

Am I doing something wrong? I'm logged in and everything.

i get that too andhave reported it. As an angel I thought i had the ability to do many of those functions...i think it;'s a bug.