Women's Dermatologic Society

  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 ·          Sexual orientation ·          Socioeconomic ·          Disability It may be helpful to try to identify your personal implicit biases. Consider taking an implicit bias test, such as the Implicit A

  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 or natio

  WDS Young Physician Spotlight Interview - Jennifer Adams, 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 learned about the free resident membership for WDS and signed up to stay in the loop during my first-year of dermatology training at University of Miami/Jackson Memorial Hospital. I was later chosen for the WDS mentorship award during my senior year which supported a rotation with the National Hansen’s Disease Program- reinforcing my career foundation for infectious disease dermatology.   Although WDS mentorship, networking with colleagues, scholarships and service opportunities have long been available to support residents/young physicians, I have also loved to direct our current residents to their fantastic recent resident lecture series (the repository of prior recorded lectures are available on-demand)!   2.)       A

  Tips for Communicating with Your Dermatopathologist By Randie Kim, MD This month, we will be discussing the requisition form as the primary form of communication between clinicians and dermatopathologists. The requisition form accompanies a biopsy specimen and ideally contains a specific clinical question for histopathologic interpretation, which is then sent back to the clinician to help guide management. Believe it or not, on average, 20 different handoffs can occur throughout the skin biopsy process (1). What information is typically included on a requisition form? In a survey of 145 surveyed dermatologists (2), three elements were rated as “important” for the requisition form and included biopsy site location, size, and the clinical impression. In contrast, dermatopathologists identified 10 clinical elements that they felt were critical for the requisition form. These included age of the patient, any prior diagnoses, location, duration, morphology, clinical impression, any

  From Dr. Molly Stout Store protocols (EMA) and dot phrases (Epic) for your frequently used visits Take the time to train your medical assistants and nurses to be comfortable with adding items to the EMR - it’s a team effort! The “diagnosis comment” plan on EMA is one of my favorite functions for adding history and/or my thought process without it ending up on the patient’s after-visit handout  Make a printed document of favorite sunscreens or skincare products so you can provide these to the patients if their handout isn’t ready yet    From Dr. Cather McKay    Investing time up front to train staff on my charting preferences helps me spend less time on documentation outside of clinic.  When I see common mistakes being made that take me time to correct or when there are CMS coding updates, I send out a message or have a short meeting to review. I also have  a preference sheet for staff to reference if needed.  When new nurses or MAs start, they are trained by oth