Bias towards attractive / beautiful people in derm?

[fancymylotus]

Yep, sidestep that madness fam. Wear a chastity belt when you're on OB/GYN. They're in heat.

Baby party!!

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[BurghStudent]

Baby party!!

Yep, add Peds rotation to that. Hell even I went baby crazy.

 

[BurghStudent]

Public service announcement: med school isn't great for the average male's appearance, either.

For what it's worth, I've been married since long before I entered med school so I don't really care what my male classmates look like. Just saying that the long hours of studying aren't discriminatingly unkind to my gender.

You're absolutely right. Men don't really catch my eye, so I haven't noticed.

 

[zero0]

Public service announcement: med school isn't great for the average male's appearance, either.

For what it's worth, I've been married since long before I entered med school so I don't really care what my male classmates look like. Just saying that the long hours of studying aren't discriminatingly unkind to my gender.

Yup, no argument here. Some of the guys in my class barely qualify as men. Makes me wonder if they even had dads or anyone who cared about them enough to pull them aside and say "look, your arms are pathetic and you need to go lift something."

 

[Lexicon0]

Yup, no argument here. Some of the guys in my class barely qualify as men. Makes me wonder if they even had dads or anyone who cared about them enough to pull them aside and say "look, your arms are pathetic and you need to go lift something."

Ha.. pretty much the opposite in my school. Vast majority of guys in my class are borderline fitness-obsessed and lift on the reg

 

[MedicineZ0Z]

Public service announcement: med school isn't great for the average male's appearance, either.

For what it's worth, I've been married since long before I entered med school so I don't really care what my male classmates look like. Just saying that the long hours of studying aren't discriminatingly unkind to my gender.

Yup, no argument here. Some of the guys in my class barely qualify as men. Makes me wonder if they even had dads or anyone who cared about them enough to pull them aside and say "look, your arms are pathetic and you need to go lift something."

Attractiveness is largely a product of facial aesthetics (your face determines your league). Body helps a bit but without the face it's irrelevant.

Aesthetics help with everything.

I should know - I have none.

Yes and no. They may provide marginal help at best at anything academic (usually none) to some help in the business world. But when it comes to social situations they matter a lot, and when it comes to things like dating it's by far the #1 factor.

 

[bannie22]

Generally there is a bias towards attractive people in any specialty.

 

[randomerasquestion]

A superficial specialty for superficial people. If you care a lot about your appearance, you're more likely to be interested in cosmetic medicine.

 

[username456789]

A superficial specialty for superficial people. If you care a lot about your appearance, you're more likely to be interested in cosmetic medicine.

Cosmetics is a minuscule part of dermatology and many/most dermatologists to little to no cosmetics.

Your post and opinion are essentially worthless. You would be better served sticking to topics on which you have even a tiny bit of experience or knowledge.

 

[randomerasquestion]

Seems I pushed a button.

In fact, cosmetics is a large part of dermatology. A very cursory pubmed search brought up this article: http://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamainternalmedicine/fullarticle/191779. Acne vulgaris was by far the most common reason to visit a dermatologist (see table 4). The study is high quality but relatively old -- I'd be happy for you to disprove me by citing a more recent one.

 

[username456789]

Seems I pushed a button.

In fact, cosmetics is a large part of dermatology. A very cursory pubmed search brought up this article: http://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamainternalmedicine/fullarticle/191779. Acne vulgaris was by far the most common reason to visit a dermatologist (see table 4). The study is high quality but relatively old -- I'd be happy for you to disprove me by citing a more recent one.

Acne is not at all "cosmetics."

No buttons pushed. You're just clearly not equipped for this.

 

[PhillyMed777]

.

 

[randomerasquestion]

Acne is not at all "cosmetics."

No buttons pushed. You're just clearly not equipped for this.

Please tell me more about the horrible pathological complications of acne, like scarring and psychological pimple trauma.

Or you could just stick to your "no-buttons-pushed" personal insults. Very mature for an attending.

 

[username456789]

Please tell me more about the horrible pathological complications of acne, like scarring and psychological pimple trauma.

Or you could just stick to your "no-buttons-pushed" personal insults. Very mature for an attending.

I accept your apology.

For your own personal growth, an "insult" would be suggesting that only ugly people choose to sit in a dark reading room all day. I wouldn't waste my time with something like that.

 

[randomerasquestion]

I accept your apology.

For your own personal growth, an "insult" would be suggesting that only ugly people choose to sit in a dark reading room all day. I wouldn't waste my time with something like that.

Hahaha, I love the effort, though I'm more likely to specialize in IR.

You seem to be revealing some insecurities you have about your profession. For your sake, I'll end the conversation here lest your self esteem take too big a hit. Botox can only remedy so much.

 

[username456789]

Hahaha, I love the effort, though I'm more likely to specialize in IR.

You seem to be revealing some insecurities you have about your profession. For your sake, I'll end the conversation here lest your self esteem take too big a hit. Botox can only remedy so much.

Your post is full of a lot of wishful thinking.

Happy to educate you and anyone else who is naive to the field of derm. I don't blame you directly for your lack of education here - medical schools in general do a terrible job of teaching any dermatology, let alone exposing students to the field so they have some clue about what it entails.

I only find it curious that you seem to revel in your lack of knowledge. Being so demonstrably proud of being wrong is not something to strive for.

I do appreciate you conceding and agreeing to discontinue any further conversation on your end - it is clear this was done for your benefit and not mine, but we both come out on top.

 

[username456789]

Holy **** what is with the hostility? This thread has been dead for two weeks and you decide to resurrect it to have a temper tantrum?

In my experience, there are a small but vocal minority of medical students/residents with an axe to grind against Derm and other perceived "lifestyle" specialties. Some of it is jealousy, some of it is lack of understanding, some of it is just trolling. I have a feeling he/she is partaking in all 3 here.

 

[Brorthopedic]

Seems I pushed a button.

In fact, cosmetics is a large part of dermatology. A very cursory pubmed search brought up this article: http://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamainternalmedicine/fullarticle/191779. Acne vulgaris was by far the most common reason to visit a dermatologist (see table 4). The study is high quality but relatively old -- I'd be happy for you to disprove me by citing a more recent one.

By your logic, any disease that deforms physical features is defined as cosmetics. I guess we should start classifying the treatment of Lupus as a cosmetic one too

 

[Pathman1000]

A superficial specialty for superficial people. If you care a lot about your appearance, you're more likely to be interested in cosmetic medicine.

An insufferable specialty for insufferable people. FTFY.

 

[PatsyStone]

I think it's worth noting that a large swath of dermatologists do not do any cosmetics, and it really is just a handful of people who are primarily cosmetic focused

 

[JB50]

Will be gunning for derm now thanks for the enlightenment everyone.

 

[Hotei]

A superficial specialty for superficial people. If you care a lot about your appearance, you're more likely to be interested in cosmetic medicine.

 

[JB50]

 

[jw3600]

By your logic, any disease that deforms physical features is defined as cosmetics. I guess we should start classifying the treatment of Lupus as a cosmetic one too

Dude what. Cutaneous manifestations of lupus are amateur hour compared to the other pathology those people get e.g. renal/cardiac disease. Not that the poster you replied to isn't a complete clown but your example is not analogous. Acne vulgaris is mainly cosmetic but it blows and can definitely affect quality of life (isn't that was disease is in a philosophical sense? Affect on quality or quantity of life?).

 

[BeddingfieldMD]

I've been looking at the web pages of derm residency programs, and it seems like the overwhelming majority of the residents are attractive females. Many are downright smoke shows. I'm a bit stunned, honestly. The dudes are more variable in the facial aesthetics department, but it seems like they're all at least lean / not overweight. Are they selecting for good-looking people in derm or am I just seeing things?

I think it's mostly self-selection, since as a specialty, dermatology is rather "superficial." Haha...sorry, couldn't resist.

My med school was similar, and most of those who wanted to do dermatology seemed fairly into skin care products and such--or had a family history of skin cancer or some zebra skin disease like EB.

Same thing with a disproportionate number of orthopedics residents being into sports, athletic, etc. There are certain fields that more than others tend to attract specific "types" of med students. Not 100% but definitely with some regularity.

 

[HG1HH217]

By your logic, any disease that deforms physical features is defined as cosmetics. I guess we should start classifying the treatment of Lupus as a cosmetic one too

Dude what. Cutaneous manifestations of lupus are amateur hour compared to the other pathology those people get e.g. renal/cardiac disease. Not that the poster you replied to isn't a complete clown but your example is not analogous. Acne vulgaris is mainly cosmetic but it blows and can definitely affect quality of life (isn't that was disease is in a philosophical sense? Affect on quality or quantity of life?).

I also think it's a false comparison from the get-go. Obviously SLE has very serious manifestations that may not immediately present whereas acne vulgaris ... not so much. For the most part, what you see is what you get unless it's linked to another syndrome (eg. hirsutism related to PCOS). I think it would be fair to say that disease which affects physical features without resulting in disability/morbidity is primarily cosmetic. If you would like to argue that cosmetic medicine derives its importance from how it interacts with psychology, that's another story -- and one that would not necessarily be limited to medicine but could also encompass traditional cosmetic products like make-up and clothing.

 

[SunsFun]

I also think it's a false comparison from the get-go. Obviously SLE has very serious manifestations that may not immediately present whereas acne vulgaris ... not so much. For the most part, what you see is what you get unless it's linked to another syndrome (eg. hirsutism related to PCOS). I think it would be fair to say that disease which affects physical features without resulting in disability/morbidity is primarily cosmetic. If you would like to argue that cosmetic medicine derives its importance from how it interacts with psychology, that's another story -- and one that would not necessarily be limited to medicine but could also encompass traditional cosmetic products like make-up and clothing.

What is your point?



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[HG1HH217]

What is your point?

I also think it's a false comparison from the get-go. Obviously SLE has very serious manifestations that may not immediately present whereas acne vulgaris ... not so much. For the most part, what you see is what you get unless it's linked to another syndrome (eg. hirsutism related to PCOS). I think it would be fair to say that disease which affects physical features without resulting in disability/morbidity is primarily cosmetic. If you would like to argue that cosmetic medicine derives its importance from how it interacts with psychology, that's another story -- and one that would not necessarily be limited to medicine but could also encompass traditional cosmetic products like make-up and clothing.

 

[SunsFun]

I don't know what "cosmetic disease" means and how it pertain to this thread.


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[HG1HH217]

I don't know what "cosmetic disease" means and how it pertain to this thread.

I was responding to the post I quoted in my first reply though I can understand how the formatting may have confused you.

Regardless, while I never used the words "cosmetic disease," I suppose we could define the terms. Suppose we define disease as some physiologic disorder that results in particular signs or symptoms, and we define cosmetic medicine as relating to treatment with the intent to improve/restore a person's appearance. Then a disease whose outcomes are primarily or exclusively cosmetic in nature would be what I tried to express above -- namely, an abnormal or dysfunctional physiologic process that results in signs that primarily relate to a person's appearance but are not disabling or morbid. For example, you could include in this category unwanted benign moles, skin tags, wrinkles, baldness, etc. (and, I'd argue, acne vulgaris -- though I'm open to counterarguments if you have any).