What is the single most valuable thread you've read on SDN?

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SeminoleVesicle

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I've been reading SDN for several years and signed up in January of 2011, and am happy to report that I have received a great deal of valuable and pertinent information on how to get into/succeed in medical school. For the SDN veterans, noobies, and everyone in between, what is the most valuable thread you've read on SDN? I think it would be nice to compile a list of threads that other people found helpful, so that others can refer to and perhaps learn new information that they can use in the future.

...and please no poop hot dog reponses.

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I like how to beat a troll senseless.
 
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Heh, I can already tell this thread is going to be a major crash and burn.
 
Heh, I can already tell this thread is going to be a major crash and burn.

SDN can't be srs.

I think a sticky with particularly helpful/popular threads would be useful. These are present in almost all of the residency forums and would probably cut down on the crap that gets posted every 30 minutes.
 
I'll srs a bit. The stickies at the top of each forum.

The general pre-allo board doesn't have an actual useful list of useful threads in a sticky though. Maybe this can be a personal project when I get bored...

In fact I think I'll do that tonight. brb
 
The general pre-allo board doesn't have an actual useful list of useful threads in a sticky though. Maybe this can be a personal project when I get bored...

In fact I think I'll do that tonight. brb

Godspeed, good sir.
 
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Most of the stickies outside of premed. Often are a lot more informative and as a result those sections do not get as much redundant spam. I remember that stupid question thread which was deemed helpful by most, and was linked to often in replies to stupid questions. But it was never stickied for whatever reason so the stupid questions continue.

Even the recent Excel spreadsheet made by the members did not get a sticky or even a mention. So much valuable information is just throw around all over the place and lost in all the spam.
 
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Include the one in my sig (the link).

:thumbup:

I actually have that thread bookmarked and referenced it throughout the past year.

Also "The Answers To Your Stupid Questions" thread has my vote.
 
the thread about how flatearth is a f**
 
the thread about how flatearth is a f**

Interesting first post...


Anyway, I like these threads:
 
Senior EM resident here, very happy with my job/life/career.

A few thoughts:

1. Look at the people who are telling you they are unhappy: were they happy in college? Med school? Residency? If you are a negative person then getting a long white coat doesn't magically change that.

2. Med school is hard, residency is hard, being a doc is hard. You know what else is hard? Subsistence farming, working in a sweatshop in Laos, fleeing war zones, or being kidnapped and sold into sexual slavery - hundreds of millions of people live like this right now as you sit in your AC'ed living room with your MacBook Pro. Get over yourself.

3. This loan/salary ratio stuff is such BS. You will make plenty of money. The people who cannot manage their loans on an attending salary would not manage their loans if you doubled their salary because they consistently spend more than they make. Understand that for the VAST majority of physicians this "hardship" is the difference between a 2011 BMW vs a 2008 Civic, not some more fundamental issue.

4. I don't know a single person who has had a relationship fail only because of their medical training. I am surrounded by people with happy marriages and lives outside of medicine.

5. If you want to spend your life looking for ways the world is out to get you, you will find them - no matter what career you chose.

6. If you want to use the fact that you work harder than your college friends who became engineers as an excuse to be an a**hole, go right ahead.

7. If you want to delude yourself into thinking that your college friends who now have desk/office jobs are in some nirvana of professional satisfaction, have a beer with them an ask them about it.

8. If you want to view medicine as a job instead of as a career, calling, and privilege you will be miserable.

Sorry for the rant but SDN is such toxic waste as far as these conversations go. Med students reading these forums probably get the idea that medicine is just terrible, nothing could be further from the truth.

^ this one
 
and firefighterdoc, your sig is hilarious. That post has to be up there.
 
Most of the stickies outside of premed. Often are a lot more informative and as a result those sections do not get as much redundant spam. I remember that stupid question thread which was deemed helpful by most, and was linked to often in replies to stupid questions. But it was never stickied for whatever reason so the stupid questions continue.

Even the recent Excel spreadsheet made by the members did not get a sticky or even a mention. So much valuable information is just throw around all over the place and lost in all the spam.

The man has a point. A good one too. :thumbup:

^ this one

+2
 
This thread is the single most valuable thread I've read on SDN.
 
What kinds of questions would you like answered that are asked OVER 9000 times daily?

If you have a link to threads that answer the question, feel free to post those also.

I'll update these with threads later:
- How to calculate BCPM / what courses count
- Difference between MD and DO
- How to choose undergrad major/school
- How many / what type of med schools to apply to
- What ECs should I do during undergrad
- When should I take my pre-reqs (template schedule)
- How can I find a clinical/research/shadowing/etc experience as an undergrad
- What's so bad about the Caribbean
- I've got a poor undergrad GPA / MCAT, what do I do now
- Can I take pre-reqs at CCs, how many is too many
- Anything related to reporting misdemeanors / institutional actions
- Clinical experience abroad: good, bad, or indifferent
- Why DO I want to be a doctor
- Outline of the application cycle (steps involved, timeline, etc)
- Interview FAQs
- How to deal with more than one acceptance
- Med school finances
 
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I'll update these with threads later:
- How to calculate BCPM / what courses count
- Difference between MD and DO
- How to choose undergrad major/school
- How many / what type of med schools to apply to
- What ECs should I do during undergrad
- When should I take my pre-reqs (template schedule)
- How can I find a clinical/research/shadowing/etc experience as an undergrad
- What's so bad about the Caribbean
- I've got a poor undergrad GPA / MCAT, what do I do now
- Can I take pre-reqs at CCs, how many is too many
- Anything related to reporting misdemeanors / institutional actions
- Clinical experience abroad: good, bad, or indifferent
- Why DO I want to be a doctor
- Outline of the application cycle (steps involved, timeline, etc)

Prepare for these threads to be endlessly bumped.

Edit: Make sure to include some of those classic threads with long L2D posts. His are always quite thorough and well informed.
 
I'll update these with threads later:
- How to calculate BCPM / what courses count
- Difference between MD and DO
- How to choose undergrad major/school
- How many / what type of med schools to apply to
- What ECs should I do during undergrad
- When should I take my pre-reqs (template schedule)
- How can I find a clinical/research/shadowing/etc experience as an undergrad
- What's so bad about the Caribbean
- I've got a poor undergrad GPA / MCAT, what do I do now
- Can I take pre-reqs at CCs, how many is too many
- Anything related to reporting misdemeanors / institutional actions
- Clinical experience abroad: good, bad, or indifferent
- Why DO I want to be a doctor
- Outline of the application cycle (steps involved, timeline, etc)

Solid list as I've searched for the answers to almost all of the questions.
 
I'll update these with threads later:
- How to calculate BCPM / what courses count
- Difference between MD and DO
- How to choose undergrad major/school
- How many / what type of med schools to apply to
- What ECs should I do during undergrad
- When should I take my pre-reqs (template schedule)
- How can I find a clinical/research/shadowing/etc experience as an undergrad
- What's so bad about the Caribbean
- I've got a poor undergrad GPA / MCAT, what do I do now
- Can I take pre-reqs at CCs, how many is too many
- Anything related to reporting misdemeanors / institutional actions
- Clinical experience abroad: good, bad, or indifferent
- Why DO I want to be a doctor
- Outline of the application cycle (steps involved, timeline, etc)

I'm sad/proud to say that I managed to get about 80% of those on my list as well.
 
Also, maybe questions about interviews, the financial aspects of medical school, and choosing between multiple acceptances could be useful.
 
This is the most valuable thread on SDN:

Seriously.


http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=817516

It is an eye opening reminder of why one needs to force themselves to have balance in their lives. Medicine has a way of taking over completely, success breeds success, other financial opportunities outside of medicine, etc. You forget what matters, your head's in the clouds, than ...

You get kicked in the balls.

Read it.

Remember.


Follow up threads:
http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=821705

(jet style);)
 
This is the most valuable thread on SDN:

Seriously.


http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=817516

It is an eye opening reminder of why one needs to force themselves to have balance in their lives. Medicine has a way of taking over completely, success breeds success, other financial opportunities outside of medicine, etc. You forget what matters, your head's in the clouds, than ...

You get kicked in the balls.

Read it.

Remember.


Follow up threads:
http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=821705

(jet style);)

Also, if you look at his blog, you'll see that his cancer is responding to treatment. Excellent news to read after reading his posts on the thread. God bless.
 
Because it reminds me so much of my nephew/godson (on the left)
61321_10150092423129616_569109615_7329185_7368361_n.jpg
 
Namerguy, I think i realized why your avatar creeps me out so much...

Because it reminds me so much of my nephew/godson (on the left)
61321_10150092423129616_569109615_7329185_7368361_n.jpg

Whats it from?

Haha, I bet that would make it pretty creepy.

It was originally taken by some photographer and placed on his website. It was then later used (photoshopped to it's current form) for an anti-child abuse campaign. From there it got used for a variety of things (like my avatar :) ).
 
Haha, I bet that would make it pretty creepy.

It was originally taken by some photographer and placed on his website. It was then later used (photoshopped to it's current form) for an anti-child abuse campaign. From there it got used for a variety of things (like my avatar :) ).

It took me a while to figure it out.
 
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