Jul 16, 2020
Dermatology residents must be
knowledgeable about dermatologic conditions presenting in patients
of various ethnic backgrounds. Dr. Vincent DeLeo talks to Drs.
Abigail Cline, Susan Taylor, and Amy McMichael about
improving and expanding multiethnic
training in dermatology residency. “Now that I’m in residency, it has become
very clear how different presentations in skin of color can be, and
I can really see the importance of proper training in a racially
diverse population,” says Dr. Cline. They discuss ways to ensure
that dermatology trainees get adequate exposure to conditions
affecting ethnic skin and highlight the role of the Skin of Color Society in
reducing racial disparities within the specialty.
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This week in Dermatology News:
1. Topical PDE-4 inhibitor for psoriasis effective in phase 2b
trial
2. Subcutaneous nemolizumab eases itching for atopic
dermatitis
3. About 1/3 of older Americans receive shingles vaccine
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Key takeaways from this episode:
- There
is a lack of minority representation in dermatology educational
materials such as textbook photographs, which often are heavily
skewed toward lighter skin types.
- Results from a recent survey revealed that
dermatology residents in the Midwest and Northwest were not seeing
a diverse patient population: “[Residents] in the Northeast,
Southeast, and Southwest tended to see more diverse patients, and
so they didn’t feel the need for continued lectures or skin of
color clinics, but the respondents within the Midwest and the
Northwest really wanted to see these patients and really wanted to
see what these dermatoses look like in skin of color,” Dr. Cline
explains.
- To
ensure dermatology trainees get adequate exposure to diverse
populations, home programs can allow residents to travel and rotate
to other programs where they can get firsthand experience
diagnosing skin of color patients.
- The
Skin of Color Society aims to reduce racial disparities in
dermatology through a variety of programs, including its annual
scientific symposium, mentorship program, and research
grants.
- Skin
of color centers throughout the United States allow dermatology
residents to rotate through and work with large numbers of skin of
color patients. “[They also provide] an opportunity for trainees to
see patients who are very satisfied with race-concordant
visits—that is, the patient and the provider are of the same racial
group—so they can observe what goes into making that type of
interaction very successful and rewarding for the patient,” says
Dr. Taylor.
- Practicing dermatologists can make a positive
impact by mentoring high school, college, or medical students who
do not have social capital as well as contributing a gift to
societies with mentorship programs that provide opportunities for
residents.
- Dermatologists can create diversity within
their own practices to improve patient access to care. “You can be
great at what you do, you can be a fantastic dermatologist but
still not be culturally competent, so looking at what that really
means—how to understand populations that are different from you
culturally, how to look at perhaps having individuals in your
practice that can make those patients more comfortable . . .
whether they may be your nurses or your intake people . . . just
sort of looking around and seeing how you can diversify your own
space so that when others come they feel like you know what you’re
talking about, and I think that’s really the goal overall,”
explains Dr. McMichael.
Hosts: Nick
Andrews; Vincent A. DeLeo, MD (Keck School of Medicine of the
University of Southern California, Los Angeles)
Guests: Abigail
Cline, MD, PhD (New York Medical Center, New York, and Wake Forest
School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, North Carolina); Susan C.
Taylor, MD (University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine,
Philadelphia); Amy J. McMichael, MD (Wake Forest Baptist Medical
Center, Winston-Salem, North Carolina)
Disclosures:
Dr. DeLeo is a consultant for Esteé Lauder. Drs. Cline, Taylor, and
McMichael report no conflict of interest.
Show notes by:
Alicia Sonners, Melissa Sears
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