An article i'd like to share from Medscape.

Is Your Email Address Hurting Your Image?

Jessica Freedman, Medical Student, Emergency Medicine, 03:17PM Aug 19, 2009

luvs2partay@xxxx.com ratherbeshopping@xxxx.com martinilover@xxxx.com Do any of the above email addresses inspire confidence? Many medical students believe that their professional reputations begin during residency. Many residents believe their professional reputations being when they become attendings. In reality, your professional reputation begins even before your first day of medical school. In today's "virtual world," many of us are known by our online personas; we have Facebook and MySpace pages, we tweet, we blog, we "chat" and text. As a professional, you will be judged by everything that is visible to the outside world. So, imagine that you are a residency admissions officer. You are reading an application from an applicant who appears to be stellar. You are so impressed that you decide to send him or her a personal email interview invitation. As you type in their email addess, you pause: Studyhardplayharder@xxxx.com. Now you are concerned. Maybe this applicant isn't who you think she is. Intrigued, you decide to look her up on Facebook and there you see signs of the play harder persona. Discouraged, you decide not to send that email. Since most communications these days are via email, it is essential that your email address reflect your professionalism. I suggest that your email address always be some variation of your name. If your school provides an email account, this is likely their format. While it is fine to have a "fun" email address for your friends and family, be sure that all of your school and work communications are from a different account. Students and applicants often wonder if admissions officers or faculty look at Facebook and other social networking sites. The answer is yes. Even privacy settings may not protect you, since so many people are "friends." A recent survey of college admissions officers by Kaplan revealed that 10% looked at Facebook pages. It is essential that you keep your personal pages "clean" and do not have incriminating photos or comments. And, remember, the company you keep is important. If you have some friends who make less than exemplary posts on your page, you may want to get rid of them as friends (for the purposes of your Facebook page). Your classmates in medical school, your residents and your mentors will some day (soon) be your colleagues. The reputation you establish now will follow you, so make wise choices. xxxxxxxxxxxx So loves, your email address DOES matter.