Women's Dermatologic Society

    By Dr. Sara Dill, Dermatologist and Life Coach   What is work-life balance? Do you have it? What’s your reaction when you hear that term? For so many physicians, including us dermatologists, there are very strong and often-negative reactions to the phrase “work-life balance.”   What if defining work-life balance is actually pretty simple? I like to define work-life balance as simply creating a healthy balance between your working life and your personal life. Notice I said creating and not having or finding. Work-life balance doesn’t just HAPPEN to us. We don’t just FIND it one day. Right? What happens to us typically is the opposite: our work life takes over and our personal life shrinks to almost nothing. I first experienced encroachment of my work life into my personal life in medical school and then it continued in residency and in my first few years of work as an attending. Add in other personal responsibilities like children, family, community, etceter...

By Kachiu C. Lee, MD MPH, Cosmetic Dermatologist and Laser Specialist (Photo taken prior to the pandemic) From Left to Right: Dr. Rachel Eisenstadt, Dr. Alvin Li, Dr. Spencer Ng, Dr. Molly Stout, Dr. Jessica Labadie, Dr Emily Merkel, and Dr Parul Goyal The mission of the Transforming Interconnecting Project Program: Total Women's Health Via the Dermatology Gateway (TIPP) is to lift up women in need.   By treating the total woman, we will address all her needs. WDS members through this service initiative help by teaching skin care, self-care habits, nutrition, social skills and more, so that individual women may go out into the world and be the best versions of themselves, inside and out. This initiative was developed by Dr. Pearl Grimes in 2018, and the first event was hosted by Dr. Elizabeth McBurney in Lafayette, LA that same year. Since then, WDS members have hosted over 40 events, both nationally and internationally. These events are conducted by WDS members who partner wi...

  Special thanks to Julia Baltz, M.D., current Chair of WDS RFYP Committee; Whitney Fancher, M.D., Mohs physician in Oregon and Washington ; Kaitlin Blankenship, MD Mohs fellow at University of Massachusetts   In residency, prior to applying: · Be a good resident- team player, treat everyone including staff and co-residents with respect   For all applicants, especially if your home program doesn't have a Mohs fellowship, make sure you network early on! You can utilize professional societies like WDS, ASDS or the Mohs College. Many have mentorship opportunities and are expanding their virtual options during COVID   Do everything you can to expand your surgical skills as some programs will ask you to suture during the interview and at the very least, programs expect you to have the basics down pat   Get involved in research, ideally surgical and Mohs-related research if possible   Make time to volunteer (i.e. skin cancer screenings) Especially if your...