Women's Dermatologic Society

  WDS Service Spotlight – Behind the Play Safe in the Sun event at the Chicago Triathlon with Mariam Mafee, MD Interviewed by Chiara Rosenbaum, MD The WDS Play Safe in the Sun program enables members to share sun safety education, offer skin checks, and hand out complimentary sunscreen samples to the community. Of the many service events organized this past year, the Play Safe event at the Chicago Triathlon has been attended by members for years. This past August, Dr. Mariam Mafee led the event and had a great volunteer turn out of thirty WDS members, residents, and medical students. They performed over 60 free skin cancer screenings and handed out over 700 sunscreen samples, along with UV detecting bracelets. We wanted to highlight Dr. Mafee and share her experience and insights from being involved in the service event. 1) Can you tell us a little bit about yourself? I am a board-certified dermatologist and Mohs surgeon, and I practice at Rush Medical Group in C...

Tips for Applying to the Pediatric Dermatology Fellowship Special thanks to Drs. Marcia Hogeling and Jennifer Huang for providing tips on how to best prepare and apply for a pediatric dermatology fellowship! Dr. Hogeling serves as the Director of Pediatric Dermatology at UCLA. Dr. Huang serves as the Director of Pediatric Oncodermatology and Program Director of the Harvard Combined Dermatology Residency Program.    1. What steps should applicants take if they are interested in a pediatric dermatology fellowship? Hogeling – Join Pediatric Dermatology organizations like the Society for Pediatric Dermatology and PeDRA. This is a great way to meet other Pediatric Dermatologists and they both have mentorship programs. Meet with a Pediatric Dermatologist in your residency program or affiliated with your residency program as a mentor to discuss your career goals. Consider having your resident continuity clinic in Pediatric Dermatology. Huang - There are currently 40 AC...

WDS Young Physician Spotlight Interview - Jordan Lim, MD Interviewed by Brianna Olamiju, MD and Amaris Geisler, MD   1.) How did you become involved in the WDS and what benefits do you think WDS membership provides for residents/young physicians? I first heard about WDS in residency and I actually served as a resident liaison for my program. Since then, I have attended many of their events – one most recent that I found incredibly impactful was their Women in Dermatology Collaborative Event at the AAD where a panel of several dermatology leaders addressed issues that women dermatologists face on a daily basis providing supportive tools and resources to combat these issues. Another memorable event was one of their virtual panels regarding family planning in an academic career where they hosted fertility experts, and had members share their personal experiences. This event literally brought me to tears. That is the impact of the WDS. All of their events are inspiring, ...

  From Dr. Shawna Flanagan I used to give my staff a Christmas/Holiday Bonus at the end of the year. Sometimes staff would expect this even if they had only worked in the office for several months. I changed my policy to every 6-month review and bonus structure. Every six months the other staff anonymously evaluates the person who is having their six-month review. The person can get a one-week bonus check if they are doing well in the eyes of their coworkers. My office manager and I also have a sit-down meeting with the person to address any issues they may want to speak about or discuss things they are doing well and address issues that need work. This is better for the practice financially as well as the bonuses are staggered. Each staff member who is performing well gets a two-week extra bonus check per year. I have $5 bills and when someone on the staff goes beyond in the office, they can recommend another staff member for a high five---a $5 “tip” if you will. The staff...

  TIPP: Women’s Shelter Initiative to Empowering Women Through Dermatology By Stephanie Choi, MS4, and Hanna Englander, MS2; UMass Chan Medical School   Community engagement offers healthcare providers a unique opportunity to make a meaningful impact and gain valuable insights into caring for patients from diverse backgrounds and with varied needs. For UMass Chan medical students Stephanie and Hanna, one particularly rewarding opportunity has been the Women’s Dermatologic Society (WDS)’s Transformative and Interconnecting Program Project (TIPP), the women’s shelter initiative.  Through the TIPP program, medical students and dermatologists can organize dermatology educational workshops for participants at women’s shelters. Each event requires involvement of a dermatologist with an active WDS membership; and interested dermatologists and medical students can utilize the toolkit detailed on the TIPP website to acquire WDS support materials. This includes the WDS pre-made...

  Recognizing and Reducing Implicit Bias: Strategies to Improve Equity in Dermatology By Susan Massick, MD Implicit Bias in Dermatology The Merriam-Webster definition of “bias” is “an inclination of temperament or outlook.” By itself, bias is a neutral term, but one can harbor biases that are positive or negative aimed toward a person, an object, or a concept. “Explicit bias” pertains to our beliefs on a conscious level—we are aware of them; however, “implicit bias” refers to our unconscious beliefs and attitudes outside of our conscious awareness that may positively or negatively impact our behavior, our actions, and our decisions. What are examples of common implicit biases? ·          Gender ·          Race/Ethnicity ·          Age ·          Religion ·         ...

  Applying for Cosmetic Dermatologic Surgery Fellowship Special thanks to Dr. Murad Alam for providing tips and guidance on the best way to prepare and apply for a cosmetics fellowship! Dr. Alam currently serves as the Vice-Chair of Dermatology and Chief of Cutaneous and Aesthetic Surgery at Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine. He has also been elected American Academy of Dermatology president for 2026. 1. How can an applicant best demonstrate their interest in a cosmetic fellowship? To demonstrate interest in a cosmetic fellowship, an applicant should reach out to the director of cosmetic dermatology at their residency program as early as they can in training.  This allows the director to take special interest in the potential applicant and work with them to develop their skills. There may be increased exposure to cosmetic procedures, opportunity to participate in related clinical research, and other enrichment opportunities like attendance at regional...