Advertisement - Members don't see this ad
Many schools still internally rank their students (and use this for class rank/AOA determination), even if they only report P/F on your transcript.
My school was H/P/F during our preclinicals.
Ask a Derm Resident Anything...
Started by Skinceutical
Get help with your application
Use all the free resources available to you from SDN: articles, guides, expert advising, forums discussions, and school research.
My school was H/P/F during our preclinicals.
I don't know what you've been reading in your "cosmetic dermatology printouts," but microdermabrasion fell out of favor in the US 10+ years ago. I don't think anyone I've worked with still even offers it.
Residual erythema wouldn't be treated the same way as post-inflammatory pigment alteration, which wouldn't be treated the same way as mild, isolated atrophic scarring, which wouldn't be treated the same way as moderate-severe atrophic scarring. The patient's skin type and coloring would also impact the kinds of treatment offered. Unless your "cosmetic derm printouts" and medspa experience taught you to assess that over the internet and treat accordingly, I'd recommend you keep the medical advice to a minimum.
Is that so?
http://skincare.murad.com/skincare/Microdermabrasion and http://www.murad.com -- Dr. Murad is one of the most respected cosmetic dermatologists in the world
http://www.totalbeauty.com/reviews/product/509503/patricia-wexler-md-resurfacing-microbrasion-system -- Patricia Wexler is the Upper East Side's most respected cosmetic dermatologist
etc.
Apologies. My Dad's a physician and from what he's told and showed me, microdermabrasion is an exfoliating treatment that works on ALL skin types.
Good luck on your licensing examination.
http://skincare.murad.com/skincare/Microdermabrasion and http://www.murad.com -- Dr. Murad is one of the most respected cosmetic dermatologists in the world
http://www.totalbeauty.com/reviews/product/509503/patricia-wexler-md-resurfacing-microbrasion-system -- Patricia Wexler is the Upper East Side's most respected cosmetic dermatologist
etc.
Apologies. My Dad's a physician and from what he's told and showed me, microdermabrasion is an exfoliating treatment that works on ALL skin types.
Good luck on your licensing examination.
Advertisement - Members don't see this ad
Those are over the counter exfoliants. You obviously have no clue as to what actual microdermabrasion is.
I really don't care what an internist has to say about cosmetic dermatology.
Good luck matching in derm at UCSF or Penn. Hell, good luck getting into med school...be sure to let the admissions committee know how you never want to learn how to read an EKG or look at "ugly people." They'll really like that.
Hahaha. I hope you become humbled sooner rather than later, so that you may limit the people who figure out you are an arrogant, ignorant prick. Work hard and keep your head down... you won't have a respected opinion until you are far into residency. It sucks, but it is better to figure this out early instead of in front of your evaluators.
Last edited:
It's like watching a car wreck in slow motion.
1. Your electives and away rotations are essentially a 4-week long interview for a residency position. You will need to impress your residents and attendings, but no one will expect you to make complex diagnoses on your own. I'd say that you should be able to accurately describe any lesion using proper derm terminology, and you should be familiar with common dermatologic diseases and their treatment.
Lookingbill and Marks have a derm text at the student level:
http://www.amazon.com/Lookingbill-Principles-Dermatology-DERMATOLOGY-LOOKINGBILL/dp/1416031855
It's about 150-200 pages. I'd recommend that you read through it cover to cover before you start any derm electives, and be familiar with all of the material in it.
There's also a book called Dermatology Secrets. It's similar to Surgery Recall, and goes through many of the common pimp questions. I'd carry that one around with you and flip through it when you have time.
2. We're assigned about 100-120 pages of reading every week, which takes up a fair amount of my free time. I spend a few hours a week on outside, non-derm-related reading.
I'm curious about research being essentially mandatory for a residency match. Does the emphasis on research continue throughout your clinical training and career? What sort of topics would be included in dermatology research? Does it lean more towards clinical research or basic science research? Would basic science research on melanoma be applicable or does that venture too far into more oncology type research?
Thanks!
Thanks!
This has been such a great thread, thank you for taking the time to do this! 🙂
Came for helpful information.
Stayed for the always-entertaining varsityblue.
Stayed for the always-entertaining varsityblue.
1. As in every other medical specialty, dermatologists in academics tend to remain active in research throughout their careers, and those who shift into private practice generally aren't. Research expectations during residency vary from program to program - at my program, we're expected to present an abstract at the AAD meeting every year (usually just a case report), and are supposed to publish at least 1 peer-reviewed study before graduating.
2. In my experience, there might be a slight bias towards clinical research, especially clinical trials. That said, there is still plenty of basic science & translational research, looking into the pathophysiology and molecular biology underlying a whole slew of dermatologic diseases and neoplasms.
3. Basic science research on melanoma is completely applicable, and would be looked upon favorably at any program.
Do you consider yourself a real doctor? I am not tryin to make this a post that is insulting but many of the doctors i shadowed laughed and made fun of derms by saying they aren't real doctors etc when I asked th about being a derm. Do you face the same criticism? How do you deal with it?
I don't think I could take a physician who felt that way seriously.
Thanks OP for creating this thread!
As a sidenote to everyone, please refrain from asking for or dispensing medical advice on SDN. If you have a medical issue, go see a doctor! Do not ask for medical advice on an anonymous forum from clinicians who don't know anything about you or your history. Even if you think it's for something "simple" like a blemish. We want to keep the no-medical-advice nature of the forum. So, again, please do not seek or dispense medical advice on SDN. Thanks! 🙂
As a sidenote to everyone, please refrain from asking for or dispensing medical advice on SDN. If you have a medical issue, go see a doctor! Do not ask for medical advice on an anonymous forum from clinicians who don't know anything about you or your history. Even if you think it's for something "simple" like a blemish. We want to keep the no-medical-advice nature of the forum. So, again, please do not seek or dispense medical advice on SDN. Thanks! 🙂
Advertisement - Members don't see this ad
Yes.
Who cares?
Practically every specialty enjoys belittling other fields. Internists think surgeons only know how to cut and sew; surgeons think internists only know how to check and re-check labs ad nauseum; practically everyone thinks the guys in EM are just glorified triage nurses.
At the end of the day, everyone serves their particular role. When the internists have a patient with an acute abdomen, they call surgery...when the surgeons have a 85 year old post-op GOMER with 20 chronic medical issues, they call medicine...when any clinic patient becomes unstable or acutely ill, they get rushed down to the ED...and when anyone has a patient with a new eruption and they need to know if the antibiotics/chemotherapy/anticonvulsants/etc they started the patient on could be responsible, they call us.
Last edited:
Probably just jelly they didn't have the board scores, grades, research, and overall prestige needed to match into Derm.
Very true, that's good to know. Now as for my actual questions, whats the lifestyle like as a derm resident?
2
235788
What were your study habits in medical school? Do you still keep up a studying as a resident? How does it change?
http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?p=11910597#post11910597
I was a procrastinator. I usually didn't study at all until about 2 weeks before exams.
I have much less free time now, and I can't skip clinic because I need to cram for the mock boards. We also have fairly regimented didactics, so I think I study more consistently now than I did in medical school (we cover about 100-120 pages of reading per week).
👎Came for helpful information.
Stayed for the always-entertaining varsityblue.
Hello Skinceutical,
1) Just a question regarding preclinical grades. You said before that pre-clinical grades did matter as medical schools would often rank you relative to your class and that the grades would be used to determine AOA. What if a school does neither of these? Would you still consider doing extremely well during your pre-clinical years or would our time be better spent doing research or getting a head start on our board review?
2) You stated before that you had one first author publication while many other applicants had multiple publications. Would you say that the publications other received were almost all from the summer between MS1-MS2? If not, what are some other optimal times during medical school that we can get involved in research. Would you advise to students to get involved with research as much as they can to maximize their chances of receiving multiple publications (i.e. doing research during the MS1 and MS2 school year)? I guess this would be easier if preclinical grades did NOT play a role in determining AOA and/or class rank.
Thanks for the input,
Lunasly.
1) Just a question regarding preclinical grades. You said before that pre-clinical grades did matter as medical schools would often rank you relative to your class and that the grades would be used to determine AOA. What if a school does neither of these? Would you still consider doing extremely well during your pre-clinical years or would our time be better spent doing research or getting a head start on our board review?
2) You stated before that you had one first author publication while many other applicants had multiple publications. Would you say that the publications other received were almost all from the summer between MS1-MS2? If not, what are some other optimal times during medical school that we can get involved in research. Would you advise to students to get involved with research as much as they can to maximize their chances of receiving multiple publications (i.e. doing research during the MS1 and MS2 school year)? I guess this would be easier if preclinical grades did NOT play a role in determining AOA and/or class rank.
Thanks for the input,
Lunasly.
Last edited:
If you're absolutely certain that your school is pass/fail, does not internally rank students, and does not award AOA, then obviously preclinical grades don't matter as much. I don't know of very many schools like this, however. If that is the case, I would still try to learn the material well without necessarily obsessing about your grades, as it will ultimately help you with studying for Step I.
I don't think it was all from the summer after MS1. Many of these publications are case reports, which people are able to write during the school year. Perhaps after the department has gotten to know you after your MS1 summer research, you could ask to help some of the attendings with their case reports.
Otherwise, several people arrange for research electives at the end of MS3/early MS4, and may have something in submission by the time applications are due.
Do you get any summers off if you're going for Derm or anything else that is highly competitive?
Haven't had a chance to shadow any dermatologist... what do they actually do...? Is the field really just about everything skin-related? Nothing even internal? Do you actually have an actual interest in it or is it for the every other great things that comes with the specialty?
And I guess this question doesn't just apply to this thread, but if you're a specialist and someone comes to you with no other options in an emergency situation that involves some other specialty related thing, and you treat the patient, are you liable for anything? Is it legal to touch the patient? So if you mess up, then you're even in more trouble?
Haven't had a chance to shadow any dermatologist... what do they actually do...? Is the field really just about everything skin-related? Nothing even internal? Do you actually have an actual interest in it or is it for the every other great things that comes with the specialty?
And I guess this question doesn't just apply to this thread, but if you're a specialist and someone comes to you with no other options in an emergency situation that involves some other specialty related thing, and you treat the patient, are you liable for anything? Is it legal to touch the patient? So if you mess up, then you're even in more trouble?
What kind of facial wash do you use? (srs)
I am curious why research is considered an absolute requirement for a dermatology residency. Is it simply a function of hyper-competitive applicants trying to differentiate themselves from the crowd or does the field require an interest in research to be successful at the job?
I mean, let's say you're a 4th year medical student with AOA/excellent grades/240+ on STEP 1 and then at that point you decide dermatology is your calling. Are you just **** out of luck and shouldn't even bother applying without research? Or do you have a shot at less competitive programs?
I mean, let's say you're a 4th year medical student with AOA/excellent grades/240+ on STEP 1 and then at that point you decide dermatology is your calling. Are you just **** out of luck and shouldn't even bother applying without research? Or do you have a shot at less competitive programs?
Last edited:
lol certain unnamed poster here takes it to a new level.
It's a function of very well qualified applicants trying to differentiate themselves. That said, derm residencies and our board exams are pretty basic science heavy, so an interest in basic science research could potentially help you there. However, as in every single other specialty, the amount of research you actually do in practice depends on where you are - academic attendings tend to remain pretty active in research, those in private practice, not so much.
As for your example, that applicant certainly should try. If they impressed their home department or another program where they rotated, they certainly could match. However, the average successful derm applicant last year had a 244 on Step I (at my program this year we didn't even look at applications with Step I scores less than 240), excellent grades, and over half were AOA. In addition to all of that, the mean number of publications and abstracts was over 7. The applicant you described would be fairly unremarkable, and would have an uphill struggle facing them.
Advertisement - Members don't see this ad
Regarding what you said about research, for the competitive residencies like derm, is it crucial to go to a med school with that particular residency program? Like, if a school doesn't have that residency nearby, will there be no research opportunities in that field there, thus severely hurting one's chances?
And does one have to decide on their residency early so as to focus on getting research in that field, or do many people going into derm (or other competitive residencies) have more generic research early on?
Basically, what I'm asking is, if I'm interested in going into a ROAD/plastics/ortho residency, do I need to go to a school that is associated with a residency of that specialy (or at least have one nearby) and decide on which one I want to do during my first year so as to get started on the proper research?
And does one have to decide on their residency early so as to focus on getting research in that field, or do many people going into derm (or other competitive residencies) have more generic research early on?
Basically, what I'm asking is, if I'm interested in going into a ROAD/plastics/ortho residency, do I need to go to a school that is associated with a residency of that specialy (or at least have one nearby) and decide on which one I want to do during my first year so as to get started on the proper research?
Having a dermatology department with a residency program at your medical school will help you quite a bit. It will make getting research projects, rotations, and letters of recommendation a lot easier for you. Also, statistically speaking, your chances of matching are highest at your home program. That said, people from schools without derm programs still match every year - however, this requires significant legwork on their part (finding research projects at other institutions, etc).
Getting involved with specialty-specific research early on will help your application, but isn't necessary if you decide on derm later on. Typically, if there's any possibility that you're going to want to pursue a career in derm/plastics/neurosurgery/etc, I would recommend that you get involved in specialty-specific research as soon as possible. If you decide later on that you'd rather do peds, I doubt any program will hold that plastic surgery publication against you.
scumbag derm resident: says ask me anything, SKIPS MY QUESTION
Dude you have issues. Go seek some help! Not the first time I've seen you harass residents who are willing to answer questions for us.
All medical students get the summer after their MS1 year off. They also get a few weeks off between MS2 and MS3, but most people spend this time studying for Step I.
The rest of your questions have been addressed earlier in this thread.
-_- *SIGH* the thing I said refers to a popular internet meme called scumbag steve, IT WAS A JOKE. seriously guys get your nose out of your books once in a while not everything said is meant to be serious 🙄
edit: now I think I know why a med student kept advising people to interact with other med students as little as possible in a different thread, hanging out with people with no sense of humor for 4 years would kill me
Last edited:
So true...I'm a premed student and I do everything I can to NOT be around other premed students. They take everything way too seriously and just bring the mood down. BTW i got your joke from your first post 😎
Good luck on your medical school applications. I really hope you consider the tone of your personal statement more than you considered the tone of this reply.
👍👍
👍👍
Last edited:
I am interested in road(s) specialties.
Is it essential that I attend medical school in the state I would like to do my residency/be hired as an attending?
I have my eyes set on NY but would like to move back to CA in the long run.
Is it essential that I attend medical school in the state I would like to do my residency/be hired as an attending?
I have my eyes set on NY but would like to move back to CA in the long run.
This has been addressed at length throughout this thread. Yes I did research, please refer to my previous posts for more details.
Yes.
Yes.
General dermatologists can perform basic excisions, but generally are not qualified to practice Mohs surgery independently (which is the major component of a procedural fellowship). Fellowship-trained Mohs surgeons are also better-versed in complex repair techniques, like advancement and rotation flaps and grafting.
There's demand for both general dermatologists and Mohs surgeons in most markets. That said, I'd focus on getting into medical school and finding a specialty you enjoy before worrying about the post-fellowship job market.
Not at all.
You should know, however, that getting into residency programs (esp. in competitive specialties) in NY and CA is notoriously difficult.
Just wanted to say thank you for answering all of these questions. Even the stupid ones. For example, answering the third time someone asked about attractiveness vs. matching into derm. People.
I mean, I'm crazy, but you people asking questions like that bring new life to the word.
I mean, I'm crazy, but you people asking questions like that bring new life to the word.
Advertisement - Members don't see this ad
My school of choice (accepted) does not give 3 mos after MS1. We have 3 weeks. What would you suggest in this case?
We are on a ranked p/f system, so my concern is that while I may be able to do research while in school, it would hit my preclinical grades....which are important for AOA at my school and damage my rank overall.
We are on a ranked p/f system, so my concern is that while I may be able to do research while in school, it would hit my preclinical grades....which are important for AOA at my school and damage my rank overall.
I'm happy to help. And yes, I'd appreciate it if we could keep the totally ridiculous questions and/or repeats to a minimum.
I would get something started during that time, and see if you could continue it for a couple hrs per week to finish it up during your MS2 year.
Just out of curiosity, which school is this? I wasn't aware of any schools that don't give you a full summer off after MS1.
Similar threads
