Congratulations Dr. Parekh

Palak Parekh, MD, a current UTMB dermatopathology fellow and recent graduate from the dermatology residency program at Texas A&M Medical Center/Scott & White Clinic in Temple, Texas, has passed the American Board of Dermatology certification examination on her first attempt. She is now a Diplomate of the American Board of Dermatology.

Dr. Berlingeri-Ramos Board Certified in Dermatopathology

Dr. Alma Berlingeri-Ramos recently received notification that she has passed the 2009 dermatopathology certification examination on the first attempt and is now board certified in dermatopathology. She is now "double-boarded" in dermatology and in dermatopathology. Congratulations!

All 2009 Graduating UTMB Dermatology Residents Pass Certification Examination

Congratulations to our 2009 UTMB dermatology residency graduates, Drs. Julie Brantley and Josh Dimmick. Both have passed the American Board of Dermatology (ABD) certification examination on the first attempt and are now Diplomates of the American Board of Dermatology. This is the 9th consecutive year that all UTMB graduating dermatology residents have passed their "boards" on the first try.

DIG Success at BP Health and Safety Fair

DIG members enjoyed volunteering at the 6th Annual BP Children’s Safety & Health Fair this weekend at Mall of Mainland. Thank you to 2nd year Rebecca Philips, 3rd years Kenne Ogunmakin and Lindsey Hunter, and 4th year Alison Wiesenthal for making this event such a success!

(L to R) DIG President Alison Wiesenthal and Community Service Chair Rebecca Philips volunteering Saturday morning at the Health and Safety Fair.

17 Days Left to Apply for a PGY-2 UTMB Dermatology Residency Position Starting in 2011

The UTMB Dermatology Department has a November 1, 2009 application deadline for the 3 NRMP PGY-2 dermatology residency positions being offered that start in July 2011. Applications must be complete by November 1, 2009 in order to be considered, and must be submitted through ERAS (Electronic Residency Application Service). No late applications will be considered. Application review will begin on November 2, 2009 for one day interviews of 20-30 outside applicants that are scheduled for February 4th or 5th, 2010.

Volunteers Needed for BP Children’s Health & Safety Fair

DIG will be participating in the BP Children’s Health & Safety Fair this Saturday, October 17. Come help us present Stay Shady! and make UV Bead bracelets with the children.

6th Annual Children’s Safety & Health Fair
Date: October 17, 2009
Time: 10am – 3pm
Place: Mall of the Mainland
Set-up time: 7-9:30am ~ Breakdown time: 3pm
Age Range: 0-99
Anticipated attendance: 2500

Interested in volunteering? E-mail Alison Wiesenthal at acwiesen@utmb.edu.

DIG Meeting Recap 10-08-09

DIG held its second successful videoconference this afternoon. Thanks to all who attended our meeting about dermatology honors research. For a copy of the handout, please visit the Honors Research Program website at http://www.som.utmb.edu/current/Description%20Honors%20Program.pdf.

Thank you to the fourth years for sharing their insights and to the 1st, 2nd and 3rd years for their great questions! Please feel free to contact us throughout the year. We are here to help!

Alison Wiesenthal
UTMB DIG Co-President
acwiesen@utmb.edu

Are Away Dermatology Rotations Helpful in Matching for a Dermatology Residency?

Yes, according to a study published in 2006 (Clark JT, Miller JJ, Sceppa J, et al. Success in the dermatology residency match in 2003: perceptions and importance of home institutions and away rotations. Arch Dermatol 2006;142:930-932). In this study, 53% of dermatology matches were at the applicants' home school or at a place where they did an away rotation. This study seems to mirror recent NRMP dermatology match experiences of UTMB students applying for dermatology residencies. UTMB students who are thinking about taking away dermatology rotations in their senior year are encouraged to prepare early, since away positions are limited and some have an application deadline.

UTMB Dermatology Residents Enjoy Texas Friday Night Lights

Former DePauw University football pass reception leader Dr. John Stephens and his wife enjoy a traditional Friday Night Lights at Galveston's Ball High School Kermit Courville Stadium last week. The Indiana natives were accompanied by UTMB dermatology residents who were formerly from Hawaii and Oklahoma.

Does a Dermatology Fellowship Increase the Chances for a Dermatology Residency Position?

Last September the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology published a Research Letter that addressed this question (Wasong SJ, Miller JJ, Zaenglein AL, Does a predermatology fellowship increase the chance to match in dermatology? J Am Acad Dermatol 2008;59:535-536). The authors contacted 46 preresidency fellowships and surveyed the fellowship directors and the fellow(s). There were responses from 26 (57%) fellowship directors The fellowship directors indicated that 176 of 190 (92%) past fellows obtained dermatology residencies. Of the current dermatology fellows who sought a dermatology residency, 24/27 (88.9%) indicated success. According to the authors, dermatology match statistics from 2005 showed that 57.8% of dermatology applicants matched into a dermatology residency. The authors concluded that "Participating in a preresidency dermatology fellowship appears to increase one's chances of subsequently matching to a dermatology residency program."

DIG Meeting Thursday 5 pm

Interested in research? Interested in doing a Dermatology Honors Thesis?

Please join us for our DIG meeting this Thursday, October 8th at 5:00 PM in the Department of Dermatology's conference room (4.112 McCullough Building). Fourth year students currently involved in honors research will be discussing their experiences with the program. This will be a great opportunity for the 1st, 2nd and 3rd year students to learn about the process.

If you are in Austin or any other location and interested in joining us, contact Alison Wiesenthal at acwiesen@utmb.edu. See you Thursday!

Stay Shady! Presents at Odyssey Academy

This past Tuesday, September 29, DIG members presented Stay Shady! to the fourth graders at Odyssey Academy. Thank you to our Community Service Coordinator, Rebecca Philips, for setting this up.

Stay tuned for more opportunities to help out with Stay Shady! or e-mail Alison Wiesenthal acwiesen@utmb.edu if you have a school in mind that would benefit from our Sun Protection Children's Education Project.

Presentation About Step 1 Scores at the 2009 Dermatology Teachers Exchange Group (DTEG)

A presentation from Ohio State University College of Medicine and Public Health (Columbus) at the 2009 Dermatology Teachers Exchange Group meeting in Chicago last week analyzed the correlation between dermatology resident Step 1 USMLE scores and the annual dermatology in-training examination given to residents (Fening K, Vander Horst A, Zirwas M. Correlation of USMLE Step 1 Scores With Performance on Dermatology In Training Exams and Board Examination). The authors found that Step 1 scores explained about 25% of the variability seen in in-training exam scores.

In the DTEG discussion that followed, an audience participant mentioned that it is possible that Step 2 scores may correlate with the visual portion of the actual board examination, but more analysis is needed.

UTMB Dermatology Residents Getting Lots of Surgery Experience

According to survey data presented at the 2009 Association of Professors of Dermatology Annual Meeting held last weekend in Chicago (Lee E, et al, A Survey to Assess Dermatologic Surgery Training in Residency), UTMB dermatology residents are typically in the top group nationally regarding number of Mohs layers taken during residency. Mohs surgery was found to be important in the acquisition of important surgical skills, such as suturing.

Harvard Offers New Fellowship in Derm/Rheum

Candidates need to have completed their PGY-1 year in Medicine for this one year fellowship that will place emphasis on connective tissue diseases and dermatology. To apply send an email to the fellowship director, Dr. Ruth Ann Vleugels (rvleugels@partners.org), along with your CV by October 19, 2009.

Best Ways to Work with Faculty and Residents on Academic Projects

Many medical students desire feedback about how their academic collaborations such as case reports, review articles and research projects are evaluated by dermatology faculty and residents. Here are a few tips about how to be successful in this process. UTMB has very supportive dermatology residents and faculty who will help you get the most of this experience. Many of our current residents have recently completed excellent dermatology research as medical students and they are happy to share their experiences with you. They want you to be successful too!

Good communication is definitely key to this activity. Residents and faculty should receive frequent updates from students about their progress. Successful projects require knowing what you want to do and having the time to do it. If you don't have time for a project or if the topic just does not interest you, be upfront about it. Another project more to your liking may become available, and you might be able to work on it. You could also come up with a project of your own. Those are often the best ones. The residents and faculty and the resources available on campus can help you design a good study using available resources.

Reliability is a close second to communication skills. If you are unable to attend a scheduled meeting, make sure you let everyone know in advance. If you are having problems meeting deadlines, quickly let your supervisors know and they probably will help. Depending on the type of project, sometimes other students are willing to join in with you to get it done. They should be rewarded by sharing the credit.

Requesting feedback on data analysis, the first or revised draft of a research proposal or manuscript and then not responding back again for several weeks or months after receiving a reply from the resident or faculty may be detrimental to the research. By then it is possible that your supervisor will have lost focus on the project and it may be difficult to revive it. Data can get old or get lost. Residents may graduate and now may be too busy to help right away as they transition into their new practices. Following up regularly and responding to feedback quickly is usually the best way to keep your academic project on track, get it completed and ready for submission to a meeting or a journal.

Good luck with your research!

Wake Forest University Offering 1 Year Dermatology Fellowship to Medical Students

Please see for http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=666406 more details.

UTMB Dermatologic Surgery Elective Open for Period 4

Due to a last minute student drop this week, our Dermatologic Surgery elective (DERU-4003) is now open to UTMB 3rd and 4th year medical students or for visiting MS4 medical students from other schools for Period 4. The 4 week elective starts next Monday, September 21, 2009. Please contact the UTMB registrar tomorrow if you are interested in taking this popular course.

DIG Video/Teleconference Success

DIG held its first combined video and teleconference this afternoon with great success! With the two campuses combined, we had almost 20 people in attendance.

Thank you to Dr. Ashley Group, Dr. Neda Nosrati and Dr. Nathan Davis for sharing their time and insights with us as we embark on our residency applications. We are grateful to have had all the first year residents share their advice.

Please join us at our upcoming Stay Shady! presentation at Odyssey Academy. Contact our Community Service Outreach Chair Rebecca Philips (rcphilip@utmb.edu) for more information.

Future volunteer opportunities discussed tonight include a skin cancer screening at the LPGA golf tournament in Houston, TX Nov. 20-22, our annual Miles for Melanoma Walk in May, and the Galveston County Health fair in April.

Do you have a school in mind that would benefit from Stay Shady! A Sun Protection Children's Education Project? Want to get more involved with DIG and our community outreach?
Contact Alison Wiesenthal at acwiesen@utmb.edu.

DIG Meeting Today at 5 pm: Attend, Call In or Videoconference

Interested in research? Interested in doing a Dermatology Honors Thesis?

Please join us for our DIG meeting this this afternoon at 5:00 PM in the Department of Dermatology's conference room (4.112 McCullough Building). Fourth year students currently involved in honors research will be discussing their experiences with the program. This will be a great opportunity for the 1st, 2nd and 3rd year students to learn about the process.

Starting today at 4:45 pm, you may call in to 409-797-1298. Access code is DERM (3376).

We look forward to seeing and/or hearing from everyone this afternoon!

If you have any questions, please contact DIG Co-President Alison Wiesenthal (acwiesen@utmb.edu).

"Iked" UTMB MS4 Students Rapidly Recover

Four current UTMB MS4 (senior) medical students have had their Dermatology Research Honors Proposals approved by the UTMB Honors Program Committee. The successful seniors are, in alphabetical order:

Doug Heiner: "Preventing Ultraviolet Light Scalp Injury: Scalp Cancer Awareness and Protective Behaviors in Men" (UTMB Faculty Advisor, Dr. Richard Wagner)

Jarad Levin: "Presentation of Skin Cancers in Latin Americans as Related to Their Access to Healthcare” (UTMB Faculty Advisor, Dr. Brent Kelly)

David Rains: "Ear Protection from Ultraviolet Light Injury at the Beach"(UTMB Faculty Advisor, Dr. Richard Wagner)

Alison Wiesenthal: "Dermal Scatter Reduction in Human Skin to Enhance Efficacy of Laser in Tattoo Removal" (UTMB Faculty Advisor, Dr. Dayna Diven)

Despite Hurricane Ike in September 2008, and the disruption of scheduled third year academic schedules in its aftermath, all four of these senior medical students were able to enter the Dermatology Research Honors Program at UTMB. If all of these students are able to successfully defend their research thesis, the Class of 2010 will have more Dermatology Research Honors Graduates than any previous graduating class! Good luck with your research this academic year!

DIG to Hold Teleconference September 15

Please join us for a joint Galveston-Austin DIG meeting on September 15th at 5 pm. Austin students please RSVP: Alison Wiesenthal at acwiesen@utmb.edu for further information.

DIG Meeting on September 15th

DIG's next meeting is on Tuesday, September 15, 2009 at 5:00 PM in the Department of Dermatology's conference room (4.112 McCullough Building). We are excited to have Dr. Ashley Group, current UTMB Dermatology resident, as our guest. Dr. Group will be sharing her personal experiences on the residency interview trail. See you Tuesday!

If you are in Austin and interested in joining us, contact DIG Co-President Alison Wiesenthal at acwiesen@utmb.edu.

Questions? Feel free to contact Lindsey Hunter (lihunter@utmb.edu)

UTMB Plans 2010 Dermatology Residency Interviews for February

In a departure from recent tradition, the UTMB Department of Dermatology has selected February 2010 (Thursday, February 4 and Friday, February 5) as the two interview dates it will be offering to outside applicants. Typically UTMB dermatology does not begin reviewing completed applications until the day after the current application deadline, November 1, 2009. Interview offers to 20-30 outside applicants are usually extended in December, and approximately 10 applicants are placed on an alternate list, with possible later interview offers made on a space available basis. There will be 3 advanced standing position offered in the 2010 NRMP, with matched applicants beginning their PGY-2 dermatology residency at UTMB in July 2011. UTMB Dermatology usually interviews all of its internal candidates informally before the outside applicants are interviewed.

UTMB no longer offers a combined 5-year dermatology/pediatric residency. It was discontinued following Hurricane Ike in 2008.

DIG's New Google Group

After switching over from Yahoo! Groups to Google Groups, DIG@UTMB's blog posts are now making it to our subscribers via e-mail without any delays! If you would like to re-subscribe to DIG, or if you need help switching over to DIG's new e-mail list, please e-mail Lindsey Hunter at lihunter@utmb.edu.

Leslie Scroggins Markle, MD's Dermatology Research Honors Thesis Accepted for Publication at JAAD

Leslie Scroggins Markle, MD had her dermatology research honors project accepted for publication in the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology ("JAAD"). Her research was included in the paper entitled, "The imbalanced expression of matrix metalloproteinases in nephrogenic systemic fibrosis." The authors of this in press publication are Brent C. Kelly, MD, Leslie Scroggins Markle, MD, Jennifer L Vickers, MD, Matthew S. Petitt, DO, Sharon S. Raimer, MD, and Catherine McNeese, MD. Dr. Markle will begin her dermatology residency at UTMB in July 2010, where Drs. Kelly and Raimer are dermatology faculty and Dr. Petitt is a dermatology resident. Dr. McNeese completed dermatopathology fellowship at UTMB and Dr. Vickers is a resident in the Department of Internal Medicine. Congratulations to all of the authors for submitting this interesting research so quickly!

Good News for UTMB!

The Galveston County Commissioners voted 3-1 today to support UTMB through a property tax increase for Galveston County residents. This is extremely good news for the UTMB Community and Galveston County residents because it will allow UTMB to restore the number of hospital beds that UTMB had before Hurricane Ike destroyed much of the campus on September 13, 2008. For additional information, please see http://www.galvestondailynews.com/story.lasso?ewcd=af83557461b1d3ea

DIG@UTMB is Moving, Please Come With Us!

DIG@UTMB will no longer be using Yahoo! Groups to communicate with our blog subscribers. Please join the DIG@UTMB Google Group to continue receiving updates and other important information via e-mail. We will be closing our Yahoo! Groups account in the next 30 days. Please e-mail Lindsey Hunter at lihunter@utmb.edu if you have any questions.

Thanks for your interest and support!

Sincerely,
UTMB DIG Officers

"Two Campus" Dermatology at UTMB Closer to Reality

Two campuses for UTMB Dermatology are on their way to becoming a reality following administration approval for a new, 6202 square foot dermatology clinic located in Bay Colony Town Center, League City, TX (west side of I-45) near the HEB. This new clinic will be a "state of the art" facility with greater patient care capacity. It will also have a large conference room that will facilitate educational activities for dermatology residents and medical students. The two UTMB dermatology conference rooms in Galveston and League City will be linked for videoconferencing and teleconferencing, permitting joint conferences between the two locations for morning and afternoon educational conferences. It is anticipated that the new League City facility will officially open in late 2009 or early 2010. The dermatopathology lab and the Mohs service will remain at UTMB in Galveston.

Record Number of UTMB Seniors May Apply for a Dermatology Residency in 2009

This year, eight senior UTMB medical students are planning to apply for a dermatology residency. This is a new school record for dermatology. The UTMB DIG wishes all applicants good luck in the match!

Author! Author!

Congratulations to our Austin DIG Co-President, Alison Wiesenthal for her essay, "Death on Call: Trauma Surgery from a Medical Student's Perspective." Her essay has been accepted for publication by The Pharos, Alpha Omega Alpha's quarterly publication.

Stay Shady Reaches over 100 Students

(L to R) Dr. Mika Yamazaki, Alison Wiesenthal and Michaela Marek

This past Friday, August 21st, DIG members Alison Wiesenthal, MS IV, Michaela Marek, MS III and Dr. Mika Yamazaki, 2nd year resident, presented Stay Shady! at Trinity Episcopal Lower School. They taught over 100 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th graders about sun safety. After the presentation, students asked thoughtful questions such as: Can I go outside right after I put on sunscreen or should I put it on a while before I go out? If I put on sunscreen in the morning before school do I need to put in on again before playtime?

Dr. Mika Yamazaki, UTMB's own Austin Kelly and MS IV Alison Wiesenthal show the students how to dress for a day in the sun.

The children enjoyed their UV bead bracelets which show them when they are being exposed to the sun's harmful rays. They were impressed as the beads turned from clear to color in the light and then back to clear again when walking back inside.

Thank you to Trinity Episcopal for hosting our team and being such a great audience.

A big thank you to our resident liaison, Dr. Yamazaki, for sharing her time and expertise with the Trinity students. We appreciate it!

First DIG Meeting Recap

DIG had a great first meeting on Thursday. A big thank you to Dr. Wagner for his captivating presentation on "Dermatology in the Media." If you are interested in this topic, Dr. Wagner teaches "Skin Disease Depicted in Film" (DERU-4007) and "History of Dermatology" (DERU- 4008) which may be taken for elective or BSHS credit.

President Alison Wiesenthal and Vice President Lindsey Hunter discussed their experience volunteering at the Bacliff Community Funfest and plans for future Stay Shady! presentations. We also discussed future community service projects, including visiting local schools to teach about sun protection and our annual Miles for Melanoma walk. Stay tuned for more details!

To get more involved with DIG and our community outreach, feel free to contact Alison Wiesenthal at acwiesen@utmb.edu.

DIG Success at Bacliff Community FunFest

DIG officers Alison Wiesenthal and Lindsey Hunter got up early last Saturday morning and had a great time volunteering at the Bacliff Community FunFest this past weekend. We made UV bead bracelets with the children and gave out information on sun protection. We showed the children that when their bracelets begin to turn from clear to color, it's time to put on sunscreen or come in out of the sun. The kids really enjoyed running inside and outside, watching the beads change color as the youngsters exposed their bracelets to UV light.

Here is a kind thank you letter from the FunFest chairman for UTMB DIG's participation:

Dear Alison and UTMB Dermatology,

Thank you so much for your participation in the Community Funfest! I think it was a terrific event with a lot of good, healthy things going on! We really appreciate your staffing this event on a Saturday, when so many folks are on vacation. The community was definitely benefited (and had a lot of fun!) by this event.

Many thanks!
Pam Merrill
Chair, Local Outreach
Clear Lake Presbyterian Church

DIG Meeting on August 6th

Join us August 6th at 5 PM in the Dermatology Department’s conference room (4.112 McCullough Building) for our first DIG meeting of the year. We are pleased to have Dr. Wagner present “Dermatology in the Media.”

Questions? Feel free to contact Lindsey Hunter (lihunter@utmb.edu) or Alison Wiesenthal (acwiesen@utmb.edu).

See you Thursday!

Good Advice to Dermatology Residency Applicants

A recent peer-reviewed article about the experience of several medical students who matched into dermatology residencies was published in the July 2009 issue of Dermatology Online Journal ("Advice for medical students interested in dermatology: Perspectives from fourth year students who matched"). The UTMB Dermatology Program Director recommends it to all UTMB medical students who may be interested in a dermatology career. The link for the article is: http://dermatology-s10.cdlib.org/1507/commentary/students/alikhan.html

UTMB Austin Not Offering Dermatology AI

The dermatology program at UTMB in Austin will not be offering an Acting Internship in Dermatology (DERO-4013) this academic term.

How do the 2008 UTMB Dermatology Residency Graduates Rate Their Program?

The current UTMB dermatology program director, Dr. Richard Wagner, recently surveyed dermatologists who graduated from the program in 2008 (one year since graduation). The survey asked graduates to evaluate the graduate medical education in dermatology they received at UTMB during their residencies, and asked them how the program could continue to improve in order to benefit current and future dermatology residents. Responding graduates (all in private practice) were very satisfied with their overall dermatology training at UTMB, felt very well qualified for private practice, and commented about how well prepared they were for procedural dermatology. They thought that it would be valuable for the current and future dermatology residents to receive more training on coding and private practice management. In addition, they suggested that senior resident clinical schedules could be modified in the future to permit additional continuity clinics. Dermatology residents in the UTMB dermatology residency program start dermatology continuity clinics in the first year of residency training. These continuity clinics are increased during the second and third years of residency. All of the continuity clinics are supervised by dermatology faculty. This approach permits dermatology residents to have long term followup on their patients.

Baylor College of Medicine Department of Dermatology Applicant Info Session

The Baylor College of Medicine Department of Dermatology faculty and residents would like to invite students interested in dermatology to their annual applicant informational session. Please RSVP through their evite if you are interested in going!

http://www.evite.com/pages/invite/viewInvite.jsp?event=XZVEYUCDYWJIVCNDLAIV&unknownUser=true

Location: Baylor Clinic, 14th Floor Dermatology Suite
Address: 6620 Main St, Suite 1425 Houston, TX 77030
Date: Thursday, August 27, 2009
Time: 6:30 PM
Phone: 713-376-6867
Purpose: They will be talking about the application process in general, how to prepare for the interview trail, and they will answer any questions you might have. Dinner will be served; please RSVP via the evite link above so that they may have an accurate head count. (Don't forget to bring something to write with!)
Contact Person: Stanley Chan
Contact Information: stanchan7@gmail.com

DIG to Volunteer at Community Fun Festival 2009

Join DIG Saturday, August 1st at the Bacliff Community Fun Festival. We will be presenting Stay Shady!: a Sun Protection Project for Kids. Come help the children make UV bead bracelets so they can know when they are being exposed to the sun's harmful rays. No experience required!

Community Fun Festival 2009
Date: Saturday, August 1, 2009Time: 10am – 2pm
Place: K. E. Little Elementary School, 622 Oklahoma, Bacliff, TX 77518

If interested in volunteering, e-mail Alison at acwiesen@utmb.edu.