I pulled this off the derm forum on ezboard:

"I read an article about monkeypox in a public newspaper:
www.wausaudailyherald.com...0585.shtml

and found a source press release on the Web with personal interviews of some of the involved dermatologists:
www.marshfieldclinic.org/...sp?id=2279

Dermatologists were essential in discovering monkeypox in the Western Hemisphere, and hopefully in time to isolate it before it spread to the wild.

While derm is looked upon as a prestigious field within the medical community, I don't think the general public views it as prestigious. Dealing with moles, rashes, lesions, etc. is likely dirty work in the public's eye, and a pediatrician is probably more revered.

The monkeypox outbreak helps validate the importance of derm.

Does anyone else think there is a reputation dichotomy ?"

The links didn't copy over correctly. Here they are:

http://www.wausaudailyherald.com/wdhlocal/279638352490585.shtml

http://www.marshfieldclinic.org/mc/releases/details.asp?id=2279