Bashing of Dermatology Applicants Reported

Authors from University of North Carolina (Chapel Hill) have published a research letter in the November 2012 issue of the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology (Ziemer CM, Morrell DS, Burkhart CN. Specialty bashing during medical training: Experiences of students applying to a dermatology residency program. J Am Acad Dermatol 2012;67:1086-1087) about surveyed dermatology applicants to their program. Surprisingly, 58% of respondents reported “…some form of mistreatment after sharing their decision to pursue dermatology” from residents, faculty and other medical students. Mistreatment included marginalization and belittlement. Mistreatment resulted in 26% of respondents feeling humiliated.

Procedural Skills Taught During UTMB Dermatology Rotations

Dr. Julie Martin, a PGY4 UTMB dermatology resident, has initiated a procedural skills workshop for dermatology elective students during the 2012-2013 academic year. Rotating students will be taught how to perform tangential biopsies, punch biopsies, and suturing techniques.  Students will also become familiar with the surgical instruments frequently used by dermatologists. This new educational offering is part of her dermatology scholarly project. Other scholarly projects by the current UTMB PGY4 dermatology residents are described on the UTMB homepage: http://www.utmb.edu/dermatology/current_research_projects/index.html

UTMB Dermatology Residency Application Due November 1st

The deadline is looming for applicants to complete their dermatology residency application for the UTMB dermatology residency program. The deadline for applications is November 1, 2012 for the 2013 NRMP. Only applications submitted through ERAS will be considered. Interview offers are usually made in December for late January and early February interviews in Galveston during 2013. The UTMB dermatology residency will be offering 4 PGY2 positions (to start July 2014) through the NRMP in the current cycle. There will be 12 full time dermatology residents in this program during July 2014.

UTMB Dermatology Article “The Best of the Best”

The October 2012 Archives of Dermatology listed an article published from the UTMB Department of Dermatology in 2005 as “The Best of the Best” on page 1182. The article cited was, “UV light tanning as a type of substance-related disorder” (Arch Dermatol 2005;141:963-966). This UTMB research was the top-accessed article from the Archives of Dermatology website from October 2010 to August 2011. Its coauthors were Molly Warthan (Class of 2004 UTMB SOM), Tatsuo Uchida (now retired from the UTMB Office of Biostatistics), and Dr. Richard Wagner, a current UTMB Department of Dermatology faculty member.

UTMB Dermatology Provides Expertise for Textbook Chapter in New Nanotechnology Book

Congratulations to coauthors Allison Lowe (UTMB MS4), Lindsey Hunter-Ellul, MD (PGY2 UTMB Dermatology Resident) and Michael Wilkerson, MD (UTMB Dermatology Faculty) for their recently completed book chapter entitled, "Nanotoxicology." Their chapter is in press for a new book entitled, Nanotechnology in Dermatology, to be published in by Springer next month. For additional information about this text, please see http://www.springer.com/medicine/dermatology/book/978-1-4614-5033-7

Both UTMB Dermatopathology Fellows Pass Subspecialty Certification Examination

Congratulations to Drs. Kim Hookim and Josh Dimmick for passing the 2012 subspecialty certification examination in Dermatopathology. Dr. Hookim is currently on the Pathology Department faculty at LSU-Shreveport, and Dr. Dimmick is in private dermatology practice in Springfield, Missouri.

Early Dermatology Residency Interview Offers Catch Some Applicants Off Guard This Year: Is the De Facto Application Dermatology Residency Application Deadline Now October 1st?

Some dermatology applicants were pleasantly surprised last week when they received interview offers from dermatology residency programs. In the past, most dermatology residency programs did not begin to offer interviews until after their application deadline, typically November 1^st. However, now that the Dean’s Letter is released to Program Directors through ERAS on October 1st, dermatology residency programs are free to review completed applications on October 1st and offer interviews earlier than was possible in previous years. Future dermatology applicants may want to complete their ERAS applications as soon as is possible so that they will be considered for competitive interview slots at these “early bird” programs. In addition, this changing national timeline for dermatology could reward students who complete all of their home and visiting dermatology rotations by October 1^st  with additional interviews. Time will tell if more dermatology residency programs embrace this practice next year. With the earlier availability of the Dean’s Letter, perhaps dermatology programs will use October 1^st as their application deadline in future years.

Tonight: Dermatology Night at St. Vincent's Clinic

Join UTMB Dermatology faculty and residents for Dermatology/Medicine Night at St. Vincent's Clinic!

When: Tonight, October 23rd, 4:30-8PM
Where: St. Vincent's House, 2817 Post Office Street, Galveston, Texas 77550

St. Vincent's House offers a UTMB student-run free health clinic serving Galveston. UTMB Dermatology residents and faculty can be found volunteering at the St. Vincent's Clinic each month, where they aid medical students in providing free skin cancer screenings, biopsies, excisions, and routine dermatologic care.

For more information about the St. Vincent's Student Free Clinic, please visit their website at: http://www.stvsc.org/.

VSAS—A Helpful Resource for Arranging Away Rotations in Dermatology

VSAS (Visiting Student Application Service)  https://www.aamc.org/students/medstudents/vsas/119290/article_for_host_institutions.html ) may be helpful for identifying dermatology electives for visiting medical students. Participating institutions provide online information about their electives and other information for visiting students. The biggest drawback of this website is that not all US medical schools participate. However, all of the medical schools in Texas are members.

Speedy Publication of Case Reports Now Possible

Medical students and dermatology residents interested in the speedy publication of their dermatology case reports may be interested in this resource. Karger has a journal, "Case Reports in Dermatology" that is devoted exclusively to case reports. This open access, peer-reviewed journal accepts electronic online submissions, and is indexed in PubMed. However, as is the case with many open access journals, Karger charges a premium publication fee from its authors. Payment (currently CHF 680) must be made with a credit card at the time of article submission. For additional information, go to: http://content.karger.com/ProdukteDB/produkte.asp?Aktion=JournalHome&ProduktNr=239060&ContentOnly=false

UTMB course electives available to students at UTSW-Austin

The Dermatology Residency Program at the University of Texas Southwestern in Austin offers UTMB Clinical and Pediatric Dermatology course electives. This is a great opportunity to work with UTSW faculty and residents in Austin. Visit UTSW-Austin's recently updated website for more information. 

 

http://www.austingme.com/residency-programs/dermatology

 

 

UTMB Dermatopathology Presents Three Posters at Annual Meeting

UTMB Dermatopathology was well represented at the annual American Society of Dermatopathology (October 11-14, 2012) in Chicago. The following UTMB dermatopathology abstracts were published in the program (some of these posters were modified for presentation after abstract submission):

McNab P, Dacso M, Martin J, Kelly B. Atypical cutaneous manifestations in a patient with systemic lupus erythematosus: a diagnostic and therapeutic challenge (Poster 188, pages 57-58).

Patel A, Chandler H, Thompson C. Sebopsoriasis: an uncommon diagnosis with unique histologic features. (Poster 185, page 56).

Drone E, McNab P, Kelly B. Trichoadenoma of Nikolowski Presenting as a in an Unusual Large Subcutaneous Nodule (Poster 637, page 145).

Congratulation to the UTMB medical student, dermatology residents, dermatopathology fellows, and faculty who participated!

Congressional Interest for Increasing Number of Residency Positions

The Texas Medical Association is reporting (It’s Academic, Volume 9, Number 10, October 2012) that a bill has been introduced to the United States House of Representatives (Resident Physician Shortage Reduction and Graduate Medical Education Accountability and Transparency Act) that would create 3000 additional residency positions annually for the next 5 years. However, this pending legislation may not lead to the creation of additional dermatology residency positions nationally, since one of the goals of the bill is to create positions in federally defined physician shortage specialties.

Texas Now a Magnet for Physicians

The Texas Medical Association, through its newsletter (Volume 9, Number 10, October 2012) notes that Texas had a record number (3630) of medical licenses granted in 2012. Most new licenses were issued to physicians who did not graduate from Texas medical schools. The article mentions Texas’ adoption of Proposition 12 in 2003 (medical liability reform) as a possible reason for the increased interest in Texas medical licenses since that time.

Dr. John Stephens Sponsors Friday Dermatology Journal Club

Thanks go out to Dr. John Stephens (UTMB Dermatology Residency Class of 2011) for sending pizza for last Friday’s dermatology journal club (first half of September 2012 JAAD). This is the first time that we are aware that one of UTMB’s graduated dermatology residents has done this. It was greatly appreciated! Dr. Stephens is currently in private dermatology practice (Greencastle, IN and Noblesville, IN).

UTMB Dermatopathology Announces Additional Fellow for 2013-2014

Michael Leslie, MD, PhD, a current dermatology resident at UT Houston, has accepted a dermatopathology fellowship at UTMB for the 2013-2014 academic year. He will join Dr. Elizabeth McQuitty, who completed a pathology residency.

DIG Meeting Recap: 10/1/12

UTMB DIG would like to thank Dr. Wagner for his very informative Q&A session on Dermatology residency and other related topics such as research, fellowships and electives. Below is a summary of the items Dr. Wagner discussed.

1. Residency/Applicant Information:
a.   Dermatology is an extremely competitive field. Applicants who match into dermatology often have many publications, research experiences, volunteer activities, superior USMLE Step 1 scores, and approximately 50% belong to the AOA Medical Honor Society.  Many schools have USMLE Step1 cutoff to decrease the application pool. Of note, the dermatology department at UTMB interviews all of their fourth year UTMB applicants. Overall, UTMB interviews around 30 applicants per year. In addition, UTMB is one of the few schools that offer the opportunity to do an Acting Internship.

2. Research
a.   Research is highly encouraged for dermatology applicants and there are many opportunities to get involved in research at UTMB, both within and outside of the dermatology department. The key is to develop a project that matches your interests. There are diverse interests represented in the UTMB dermatology department that you can pursue, such as topics in general adult and pediatric dermatology, dermatopathology, dermatologic surgery and cosmetic dermatology.
b.   It is never too early to start a research project – you can even start during your first year. Working on case reports and reviews is a great way to start learning to research articles and work on writing skills. The UTMB School of Medicine allows you to participate in a summer research elective between 1st and 2nd year. This is a good way to gain a research mentor, compete for various research awards, and perhaps even have the opportunity to get published. You can also participate in the Honors Research Program in Dermatology. The official deadline for the Honors Proposal is 12/31 of the third year, but extensions may be possible with permission from Dr. Simon Lewis. This research is typically completed and presented by April of the fourth year.

3. Step 2:
a.   Some students with lower step1 scores can take advantage of the opportunity of doing very well on step2 and in a sense “make up” for their former standardized test score.
b.   Step 2 scores are not required in order to apply for or to receive interviews from residency programs, but some programs are required to have your step 2 scores in order to rank you.

4. Don’t get in the first time?
a.   If you don't match the first year and dermatology is really your passion, don’t give up. It is very possible to match into Dermatology the second or third time around. There are a number of Dermatology research fellowships in the country that you can pursue after your intern year. The important thing is to be productive throughout the fellowship with multiple publications and the opportunity to become an expert on a particular topic of interest will add to your application. There are also alternative routes to becoming a dermatologist. For example, a pathologist who has completed a dermatopathology fellowship or a pediatrician may be attractive applicants to certain programs.

5. Opportunities in Dermatology residencies:
a.   Some dermatology programs have a combined intern year and residency; however, most dermatology training programs are unattached to the intern year and therefore require a separate application process.
b.   There are a number of fellowships that you can pursue after a dermatology residency, such as Pediatric Dermatology, Dermatopathology, Procedural Dermatology and Immunodermatology.

Do Dermatology Interviewers for Residency Applicants Need Online Training?

This suggestion for dermatology interviewers was made by Sbicca et al, in their September 2012 article in the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology (67:429-35). As a follow-up study of their 2009 research, the authors again surveyed 2011 applicants to the Stanford dermatology residency program. The current study demonstrated that 2011 dermatology applicants were asked by programs to reveal ranking information, other interviews, and information about marriage and children. The authors’ concluded their article, writing “Perhaps with increased knowledge of applicant rights, applicants would be more inclined to report unethical behavior and interviewers would feel less comfortable breaking NRMP policy.”

Stay Shady! Looking for volunteers

The UTMB DIG is looking for volunteers to present our sun protection presentation, "Stay Shady!," to the students at Early Childhood University Elementary School 

When: Tuesday, October 23, at 2pm
Where: Early Childhood University Elementary School 7100 Stewart Rd. Galveston, TX 77551

This is fun teaching experience and a great way to get involved with DIG (especially for first and second year students)! Interested in participating? Please email Alex Acosta at kaacosta@utmb.edu