“The visit with my patient helped to change my perspective. I should not have made assumptions about her based on my implicit bias. I highly recommend the Harvard Implicit Bias tests as an exercise in introspection. We also need to share and refl…
Category: Dermatology
A call to dismantle structural heteronormative care
“That is a very heteronormative lens.” These words were uttered to me by a 23-year-old female patient as I explained i-PLEDGE and the steps she must complete to take oral isotretinoin. The visit started as fairly routine. A young female pre…
Think TikTok is smarter than me? Then I’m not the right doctor for you.
“I don’t think I am the right doctor for you.” In over 20 years of practice, I had never uttered those words before this year. Now, as my medical assistant of 20 years remarks, almost two years into the pandemic, I say it almost daily…
Technology’s impact on dermatology [PODCAST]
“During COVID, the medical training system had to adapt because people couldn’t meet in person and even those that could didn’t have access to patients or facilities in the same capacity. However, the explosion of remote training tools that becam…
The evolution of medical training in dermatology and the impact of technology
In nearly every field, ongoing education is warranted, if not explicitly required. Be it the informal transfer of knowledge between colleagues, or a more formalized process like recertification, nearly every profession mandates some form of maintenance…
How I accepted hair loss at 19
I will never forget the first time my thinning hairline hit me in the face with an openhanded, five-finger slap. It was in February of 2014, the spring semester of my freshman year in (undergraduate) college. I was only 18 at the time. A then-football …
Chlorophyll, acne, and TikTok: Should these mix?
Available in 155 countries, found in 75 different languages, and having at least 689 million monthly active users worldwide, the social media platform, TikTok, has taken the online world by force since its arrival in 2016. Its ability for users to crea…
Confession from a female doctor: I am sexist
Maybe it’s a testament to a hardy relationship that there was no resulting argument. Without thinking, I blurted out, “You are so sexist!” I could immediately tell by my husband’s face, his upper eyelids and eyebrows lifted a bit, his mouth freeze-fram…
A dermatologist reflects on his career [PODCAST]
“At that point, I realized Thanksgiving came early this year, and I missed it. It was a reminder of why many of us go into medicine. I didn’t go into medicine for glory or fame. Nor did I go into medicine for financial reward. Still, I often told…
3 strategies for matching into a competitive specialty, even with a lower USMLE score
For applicants seeking to match into a competitive specialty, it can be challenging. In fact, it’s not uncommon for programs to receive over 100 applications for a single residency position. To sort through that many applications, many programs…
