Dr. Erica Kelly Featured in March 2012 Coast Article

Dr. Erica Kelly, UTMB’s cosmetic dermatology subspecialist, is featured in the Beauty/Style section of the March 2012 issue of Coast (page 20). She is quoted several times in the article about the use of sunscreen, antioxidants and retinoids to maintain youthful skin.

UTMB Dermatology Rated High By Residents

The results of the 2012 Resident Survey of dermatology residents at UTMB (conducted annually by the ACGME), showed that the UTMB Dermatology Residency Program achieved 100% compliance in the areas of duty hours, faculty, evaluation, educational content, resources, patient safety and teamwork. This year all 9 of the UTMB dermatology residents completed this survey. Congratulations to all for achieving this truly impressive program benchmark!

Tomorrow is Dermatology Night at St. Vincent's Clinic

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

When: Tuesday, February 28th, 4:30-8PM
Where: St. Vincent's House, 2817 Post Office Street, Galveston, Texas 77550

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

Dr. Mara Dacso at The Grand 1894 Opera House

Dr. Mara Dacso is performing at the The Grand 1894 Opera House (2020 Post Office Street) on Thursday, March 8th at 7 pm for the annual St. Vincent’s Clinic Benefit Concert (see http://www.thegrand.com/StVincentsBenefit2012.asp ). St. Vincent’s Clinic is a free clinic made possible in part through the voluntary support of UTMB students, residents and faculty (see http://acs.etxahec.org/LinkClick.aspx?link=09-Shoemake+Student+Brochure.pdf&tabid=76&mid=423 ). Tickets are $7 now and $10 at the door. Dr. Dacso is currently a PGY3 Dermatology resident at UTMB . This is her 7th consecutive year performing at this fundraising event. Please come and enjoy a night out for a very worthy cause.

UTMB PGY3 Dermatology Resident Dr. Mara Dacso Publishes in Archives of Dermatology

Congratulations, Dr. Mara Dacso, for your first author, February 2012 publication in the Archives of Dermatology (Dacso MM, Petitt MS, Berlingeri-Ramos AC, Kelly BC. Progressive sclerodermoid skin changes - quiz case, diagnosis. Arch Dermatol 2012;148(2):247-252.) Her co-authors are former dermatology resident, Dr. Matt Petitt, and dermatology faculty, Drs. Cris Berlingeri and Brent Kelly.

Good Luck, UTMB Dermatology Residents

The American Board of Dermatology "Practice Board" examination is Thursday, February 23, 2012. Good luck!

Volunteer Opportunity: Santa Fe High's Community Health & Wellness Fair

The UTMB DIG is looking for volunteers for this fun event:

Community Health & Wellness Fair
Hosted by Santa Fe High ISD
When: THIS Saturday, February 25th, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Where: Santa Fe High School Cafeteria, 16000 Highway 6, Santa Fe, TX 77510

Please email Rebecca Philips (rcphilip@utmb.edu) for details.

UTMB MS4 Donnie Warren's Dermatology Honors Research Thesis Presentation Scheduled

UTMB MS4 Donnie Warren has scheduled his UTMB Dermatology Honors Research Program thesis presentation, “Preventing ultraviolet radiation hand injury: hand cancer awareness and protective behaviors,” for Monday April 9th at 12 pm. His thesis committee members are Drs. Simon Lewis, Richard Wagner (faculty advisor), Brent Kelly and Sharon Raimer. Preliminary results of this research were previously presented at UTMB's 15th Forum on Aging Poster Session in 2011. His UTMB collaborators on this research were UTMB MS4 Ryan Riahi, UTMB MS3 Jason Hobbs, Dr. Daniel Freedman (UTMB Office of Biostatistics), and Dr. Richard Wagner (UTMB Department of Dermatology). All are welcome to attend this presentation in the UTMB Dermatology Conference Room, 4.112 McCullough Building. It is the only Dermatology Honors Research Project scheduled for presentation during the 2011-2012 academic year.

American Board of Dermatology (ABD) Changes Policy on Board Eligibility

According to the February 2012 issue of Dermatology World (page 29), as of January 1, 2012, residents completing an approved dermatology residency will not be allowed to take the ABD certification examination more than 5 years following their training. However, the ABD reserves the right to grant a brief extension in the event of military deployment or catastrophic illness at their discretion. This new policy will generally serve to prohibit dermatology residency graduates who have not passed the certification examination within 5 years of completion to claim being “board eligible.” This new rule will also apply to subspecialty fellows that have certification examinations available.

Neurotoxins and Fillers Remain Popular With Patients

According to a recent article by Kim Painter in USA Today (please see http://yourlife.usatoday.com/health/healthyperspective/post/2012-02-10/plastic-surgery-numbers-rise-with-economy-stay-below-peak/624550/1 ), in 2011 Americans had outpatient procedures such as neurotoxin injection (5.7 million), fillers (1.9 million), peels (1.1 million), hair removal (1.1 million) and microdermabrasion (900,000) performed. The UTMB Dermatology Residency Program is fortunate to have premier cosmetic dermatologist, Dr. Erica Kelly on faculty because of her subspecialty interest and expertise in this area. UTMB dermatology residents learn these techniques during their three years of dermatology residency in Galveston, and are able to offer them immediately to patients when they begin to practice independently.

The UTMB DIG presents "Stay Shady!" to Odyssey Academy

A huge thank you to UTMB DIG Community Outreach Co-Chairs, André Pitt (MS2, right) and Ryan Riahi (MS4, middle), and UTMB DIG member, Jeremy Hall (MS2, left), for bringing our new and improved "Stay Shady!" presentation to Odyssey Academy in Galveston this morning. They taught sixty 4th graders about the importance of sun safety.


After the presentations, students made UV bead bracelets. The UV beads change colors when exposed to UV rays, reminding the students that their skin is being affected by the sun. Additionally, each student was given sunscreen and a pamphlet summarizing key points of the presentation to share with family and friends.

Thank you, Odyssey Academy, for hosting the UTMB DIG and for being such a wonderful audience!

Dr. Brent Kelly Named as Inaugural Holder of Professorship

Dr. Brent Kelly, Associate Professor of Dermatology at UTMB, was named as the inaugural holder of the A. Dearl Dotson Providential Distinguished Professor in Dermatology. It was established by former UTMB medical student, dermatology resident and dermatology faculty member, A. Dearl Dotson, MD (now in private dermatology practice in San Antonio) “…for the purpose of sustaining excellence in clinical teaching in the Department of Dermatology.” Thank you, Dr. Dotson, and congratulations, Dr. Kelly!

Academic Characteristics of 2012 Outside Dermatology Applicants Interviewed at UTMB

UTMB medical students considering dermatology as a career are interested in feedback about how competitive their applications would be at other programs. One way to evaluate competitiveness is through comparison with outside applicants who recently completed dermatology interviewing at UTMB for our 3 NRMP dermatology residency positions. The 21 (out of 25 invited) outside applicants completing interviews last week had a mean Step 1 score of 252 (236-265). For the 11 applicants submitting Step 2 scores, the mean score was 260 (251-274). Only one applicant had a Step 3 score (228). All but one were selected for AOA at their medical schools. They were from 14 medical schools located in 10 states.

Overall, UTMB interviewed 30 applicants for the 3 available positions, including 4 of our own students and 5 outside applicants who were interviewed in November. There was only one visiting medical student this academic year. We will learn who matched with our program on Friday, March 16th. Good luck to everyone who interviewed with us!

"Stay Shady!": Looking for Volunteers

The UTMB DIG is looking for volunteers to present our sun protection presentation, "Stay Shady!," to Odyssey Academy's 4th grade classes.

When: Tuesday, February 7th, 10:30-11:15am
Where: Odyssey Academy (2412 61st Street, Galveston, TX 77551)

This is always a fun event! Interested in participating? Please email Rebecca Philips (rcphilip@utmb.edu).

CNN Report Critical of American Board of Dermatology (ABD) Certification Examination

CNN reported that the ABD uses previous examination questions on its certification examination (see http://www.cnn.com/2012/02/03/health/doctor-cheating-dermatology/index.html?hpt=hp_t2 for the full report). According to this article, about 20% of previously used test questions appear on the current dermatology certification examination. One solution to this criticism is for the ABD to cease using all old questions on its certification examination immediately. Each year a new examination could be prepared and administered. Alternatively, the ABD could publish all of its test questions with an answer key after each examination as a “study guide” for those preparing for the next test. That way, if the ABD decides to reuse previous questions, all test takers would have an equal opportunity to prepare for the test. Regardless of its decision, the ABD needs to act quickly to protect dermatology residents from this type of criticism.

UTMB Dermatology Resident Accepts Dermatopathology Fellowship at UT Southwestern

Congratulations to Dr. Mara Dacso, a current PGY3 dermatology resident at UTMB. Dr. Dacso has accepted a dermatopathology fellowship at highly prestigious UT Southwestern (Dallas) for the 2013-2014 academic year, following her completion of dermatology residency at UTMB.

Dermatology UTMB Summer Research Program Opportunity for MS1

Dr. Wilkerson has a dermatology laboratory position available for a first year UTMB medical student from May 27th to June 29th. His laboratory research involves basic science studies about nanoparticles and the skin. Cell culture techniques, mutagenicity assays and electron microscopy imaging are used to study nanoparticles and their impact on cell viability. UTMB DIG members participating in this type of research have been able to present posters at national meetings and use this type of research as a topic for their UTMB Honors Research Program in Dermatology. Students interested in learning more about this unique research opportunity should contact Dr. Wilkerson at mgwilker@utmb.edu

National Concern About Dermatopathology Workforce Impacts UTMB Dermatopathology Fellowship

There is growing national concern that too many dermatopathologists are being trained for the current job market (Suwattee P, et al. Dermatopathology workforce in the United States: A survey. J Am Acad Dermatol 2011;65:1180). UTMB Dermatopathology has recently announced that it will decrease the number of dermatopathology fellows it trains from two to one, beginning in the 2013-2014 academic year.

Reminder: DIG Meeting Tonight!

The next UTMB DIG meeting is tonight (Monday, January 30th) at 5:30 PM in the Dermatology Conference Room (4.112 McCullough).

We look forward to seeing you there!

Next DIG Meeting: Monday, January 30th

Join us for the next UTMB Dermatology Interest Group meeting! We will talk about upcoming events and make plans for the semester.

When: Monday, January 30th at 5:30 PM
Where: 4.112 McCullough, Dermatology Conference Room

We look forward to seeing you there!

American Board of Dermatology Certification Pass Rates in 2011

The January 2012 issue of the American Board of Dermatology News contains information about the pass rates for two recent certification tests that they administer (page 3). 419 candidates took the dermatology examination in 2011, and the pass rate was 89.7%. 34 dermatologists took the dermatopathology certification exam, and all of them passed it in 2011. However, for the 57 pathologists taking the dermatopathology exam, 84.2% passed.

Former UTMB Dermatology Resident Featured on Cover of Texas Medicine

Dr. Dan McCoy, a former UTMB dermatology resident who completed our program in 1997, is on the cover of the January 2012 (Volume 108, Number 1) issue of Texas Medicine. He is also featured in an article, “Social media connects physicians and patients,” by Crystal Conde (pages 14-20). He practices dermatology in Dallas, and publishes a blog, DocDano.com, for patients.

What is the Job Market for Dermatologists?

There has been recent concern, especially in view of recent health reforms, about the future job market for dermatologists. The January 2012 (Volume 33, Number 1) issue of Dermatology Times investigated this issue in their front page article, Supply & Demand: ‘Chronic’ Shortage of Derms Leaves Some Areas Underserved (pages 1, 16, and 20). In 2009, the average starting salary for dermatology was $325,000 (Medical Group Management Association). Practice location tends to be the first consideration for dermatologists who have recently completed residency, and because of strong market demand for dermatology services in most areas, there is little economic incentive for dermatologists to locate in underserved areas.

Misrepresentation on Dermatology Residency Applications

Dermatology Online Journal’s lead article in the January 2012 issue presents research from the University of California Davis (Sacramento) indicating that dermatology applicants who list greater numbers of “in preparation” or “submitted” manuscripts on their ERAS dermatology applications gain a significant advantage in the match, even though only 16.3% of these articles are ever published. Surprisingly, these authors found that applicants with published articles were not more likely to match. (Maverakis E, Li C, Alikhan A, Lin T, Idriss N, Armstrong AW. The affect of academic “Misrepresentation” on residency match outcomes. Dermatology Online Journal 18 (1):1; http://dermatology.cdlib.org/1801/1_org/01_11-00285/article.html).

These authors also researched applicants who specifically identified the prestigious Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology (JAAD) as the recipient of 17 articles reported as submitted on applications. JAAD could only verify that 6 of these articles had been submitted to them.

These findings are certainly disturbing to many in academic dermatology, and this publication has the potential to radically change dermatology match outcomes in 2012 and future years based on previous predictive models. Dermatology residency programs that count numbers of publications and include unpublished manuscripts in the totals may ironically be rejecting applicants who have really published.

UTMB MS4 Rebecca Philips Publishes Case Report

Congratulations to UTMB DIG President, Rebecca Philips (MS4), for her publication in the January 2012 issue of the Dermatology Online Journal (Philips RC, Motaparthi K, Krishnan B, Hsu S. HIV photodermatitis presenting with widespread vitiligo-like depigmentation. Dermatology Online Journal 2012; 18(1):6). Her co-authors for this case report were Dr. Kiran Motaparthi (BCM Dermatology, PGY-4), Dr. Bhuvaneswari Krishnan (BCM Pathology) and Dr. Sylvia Hsu (BCM Dermatology). The entire case report can be read at: http://dermatology.cdlib.org/1801/2_csr/06_11-00267/article.html.

Douglas Heiner, MD Publishes UTMB Dermatology Research Honors Thesis

Congratulations to former UTMB DIG member, Dr. Douglas Heiner for the peer-reviewed publication related to his 2010 Dermatology Honors Research Program at UTMB. His co-authors are MS4 UTMB DIG member Donnie Warren, UTMB faculty Tatsuo Uchida (Office of Biostatistics) and Dr. Richard Wagner (Dermatology). The citation for this study is: Heiner DJ, Warren DB, Uchida T, Wagner RF Jr. Preventing ultraviolet radiation scalp injury in men. Household and Personal Care (HPC) Today 4/2011: 18-20. Dr. Heiner is currently a first year dermatology resident at Roger Williams Medical Center in Providence, Rhode Island.

AAD President Predicts Future Decrease of Dermatologists

According to an article in the January 2012 issue of Dermatology World (“What does the future of our specialty look like?”, page 33), American Academy of Dermatology (AAD) President Dr. Ronald Moy predicts that in the future, there will be fewer dermatologists due to decreased Medicare funding for Graduate Medical Education.

Are Structured Interviews for Residency More Reliable than Unstructured Interviews?

The issue of structured vs unstructured interviews for dermatology residency has received a lot of attention recently. A recent study from Canada that compared the results of these two types of interviews for 30 Emergency Medicine residency applicants has provided some answers (Blouin D, Day AG, Pavlov A. Comparative reliability of structured versus unstructured interviews in the admission process of a residency program. Journal of Graduate Medical Education 2011;3:517-523.) Surprisingly, structured interviews did not have higher overall reliability than unstructured interviews for this small group of applicants.

Dermatology Night at St. Vincent's Clinic

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

When: This Tuesday, January 3rd, 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 St. Vincent's Clinic, please visit their website at: http://www.stvsc.org/.

Difficult Questions at Dermatology Residency Interviews

Although still the exception, some dermatology faculty ask applicants difficult questions at interviews for residency. How many of us are still able to do calculus? One interviewer on the trail is well known for asking this type of question. Others like to see how quickly applicants can reassemble a pen. Another program asks that applicants teach staff something new, and gets a performance report back that is part of the interview evaluation. One procedural fellowship director requested that applicants send him a video of themselves performing surgery during their dermatology residency. Don't worry, UTMB does not do any of this! We know of no studies that link dermatology residency or fellowship performance to these types of questions (not even getting the calculus question correct). An article by William Poundstone about hiring at Google in December 24-25, 2011 issue of The Wall Street Journal (pages C1 and C2) provides some insight into the motivation behind these out of the ordinary questions. However, what seems to be working for Google hiring ("How would you escape from a blender?") may not work for other companies (or dermatology residency programs). Poundstone is the author of a new book, Are you Smart Enough to Work at Google? Google reportedly only hires 1 person per 130 applicants.

UTMB Dermatology Residency Alum, Andy Perri MD, Featured in “Top Docs of Houston” Video

Click here to see the video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=34Ff9HcIP5A&feature=youtu.be.

Elective Version of Novels/Film Class Now Available (DERU-4017)

Good news for students interested in dermatology and the impact of written and visual media on public perceptions of skin diseases. Dr. Richard Wagner’s newest course, Skin Diseases in Novels/Films, is available as an elective (DERU-4017) starting this Monday, December 12th (Period 13). There is currently a maximum enrollment of 3 elective students each Period. This class meets with the selective section of the course, DERU-4402. The course requirements are identical for elective and selective students, but only the selective will count toward UTMB’s BSHS MS4 writing requirement for graduation. The UTMB Electives Committee will not permit students enrolled in the elective to switch into the selective once the course starts, even if the class is required for graduation.

DIG Meeting Recap: 12/6/11

We had a great DIG meeting on Tuesday and were excited to welcome several new first and second year medical students to our group!

Thank you to the UTMB Dermatology residents for providing a very informative Q&A panel at the meeting. The residents covered many topics, including their reasons for going into Dermatology, a description of the field and what they do during a typical day, types of surgeries performed by Dermatologists, a description of Dermatopathology, research advice, and ways to get involved with the UTMB Dermatology department as a medical student. Remember, the UTMB Dermatology residents and faculty are available to help!

Dr. Raimer Receives "Texas Super Doctor" Distinction by Texas Monthly magazine

Dr. Sharon Raimer, the UTMB Department of Dermatology Chair, is one of 23 UTMB physicians recently named Texas Super Doctors® by Texas Monthly magazine. Congratulations, Dr. Raimer!

Click here to see the ad featured in the December 2011 issue of Texas Monthly magazine.

Reminder: DIG Meeting Tomorrow!

Our next Dermatology Interest Group meeting is tomorrow!

Tuesday, December 6th at 5PM
4.112 McCullough, Dermatology Conference Room

We will be having a Q&A panel with some of the UTMB Dermatology residents.

See you then!

Zaemon Inducted into Louisiana Music Hall of Fame

Zaemon fans were thrilled to learn that Zaemon (UTMB's Dr. Brent Kelly, far left of the photo) was recently inducted into the Louisiana Music Hall of Fame. Zaemon released two cd's and was a key club band in the live music scene in Baton Rouge during the early 90's. Watch for upcoming concerts starring Zaemon and other Hall of Fame bands.

Next UTMB DIG Meeting on 12/6/11

Join us for the next UTMB Dermatology Interest Group meeting!

When: Tuesday, December 6th at 5PM
Where: 4.112 McCullough, Dermatology Conference Room

We are excited to have a panel of UTMB Dermatology residents to answer questions about getting involved in Dermatology and what it's like being a Dermatology resident. We will also discuss upcoming DIG events.

We look forward to seeing you at the meeting!

Dr. Brandon Goodwin Accepts UTMB Dermatology Residency Position for July 2012

Congratulations to Dr. Brandon Goodwin, a 2011 medical graduate of the University of South Alabama College of Medicine, and a current PGY1 (Preliminary Medicine) at Tulane University School of Medicine. Dr. Goodwin will begin dermatology residency at UTMB in July 2012. UTMB Dermatology’s proposal for a permanent resident complement increase from 9 to 10 was approved by the Dermatology Residency Review Committee in September 2011. UTMB will still be offering three advanced dermatology residency positions for July 2013 in the upcoming NRMP.

Film Class Helps UTMB MS4 Diagnose Patient in the Emergency Room

Medical students who have taken Dr. Richard Wagner's film class (DERU-4051 or DERU-4007) gain exposure to a broad spectrum of common and uncommon skin diseases. Most students taking this course have not seen patients with many of the skin diseases studied in this class. A previous film class student recently wrote Dr. Wagner with the following comment:

"I just thought you would like to hear that I saw a case of delusional parasitosis yesterday during an ER shift. It was a textbook case and she even brought a "sample" in for us to look at. Thanks to your class I was able to recognize it!"

The film class currently studied the film Bug and its depiction of the skin disease, delusions of parasitosis.

UTMB MS4 Donnie Warren Presents Dermatology Poster

UTMB MS4 Donnie Warren presented his research about ultraviolet radiation hand injury prevention at UTMB's 15th Forum on Aging Poster Session. His UTMB coauthors were MS4 Ryan Riahi, MS3 Jason Hobbs, Dr. Daniel Freedman (Office of Biostatistics), and Dr. Richard Wagner (UTMB Department of Dermatology). Their poster was titled, “Preventing ultraviolet radiation hand injury: hand cancer awareness and protective behaviors.” The research presented is part of Donnie Warren’s UTMB Dermatology Honors Research Program. This meeting, sponsored by The Sealy Center on Aging and Research Services each fall, is a major research event on the UTMB campus. Through 2010, there have been 915 poster presentations given at this conference (249 by students).