Student BMJ September 1998 volume 6 ABC of allergies: Venom allergy Papers Review: Advice to stay active is effective for acute low back pain but bed rest is not Life Challenging stereotypes More than just music and mud The not-so-secret diary of a medical student Planning your elective- Kenya Dissecting the doctors: anatomy lessons in Spain Student soapbox: Doctors should care, not cash in Letters Chronic revision syndrom Academic staff need to look after students' interests NHS reflections Self questioning can be healthy New curriculum may not have desired results All drugs should be legalised Soundings At long last, we are printing the results of our Soundings competition. Reviews Microbiology and Infection: Mastery of Medicine T J J Inglis Pathology: Mastery of Medicine Paul Bass and Clair du Boulay Physiology: Mastery of Medicine J G McGeown Before I say goodbye Ruth Picardie No Time to Die Liz Tilberis Because Cowards Get Cancer Too ... John Diamond Minerva Editor's choice A big welcome to those of you who have just started medical school, labelled `freshers', whether you're 18 or 35! The studentBMJ wants to ease your journey through the next few years of medicine. This issue we've got a great mix of educating and enlightening articles for you. If you are on a traditional course (with some tweaking to make it integrated), read Grzegorz Nalepa's demystification of biochemistry, the stuff that you will be swamped with over the next few months. Hodgson and Smart's article on humanities in medical education should inspire you to shout loudly at your dean to expand the course. And if studying is a headache, find out what tablets you can and cannot take before nipping out for a few drinks, with Robin Ferner's excellent guide. You will be hearing a lot about EBM very soon. Fiona Godlee explains why it is important, and Chris Ball explains why it's useful and fun. Who braved the UK summer festivals? Neil Sawbridge did last year, but didn't hear much music (who does?) as he patched up the revellers. DJ Bone writes a thought provoking account of what it was like to be a young man diagnosed with cancer, and about the prejudice he suffered. We also have reviews of books by writers living through their cancer.. The UK has just joined the IFMSA Simon Kirwin explains why you might be hearing a lot about it. And at long last, we have the results of the Soundings competition. Well done to the winners and runners up! Note that we've changed our email address it's now studenteditor@bmj.com. Don't use the old one it'll get lost in cyberspace.