WDS Career Corner: Tips for Applying to a Cosmetic Dermatology Fellowship

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Special thanks to Kachiu Lee, MD, Monica Boen, MD, Lindsey Goddard, MD and Arisa Ortiz, MD


What should I do if I’m interested in a cosmetic dermatology fellowship?

  • Attend meetings that will allow you to network with various program directors - ASDS, ASLMS. Try to submit abstracts to present at these meetings.
  • Consider which ASDS cosmetic fellowships you would want to apply for during your second year of dermatology residency. Then, reach out to these programs to try to spend a week rotating at these programs. Funding is available through the ASDS, ASLMS, and WDS for these rotations.
  • Look into different ASDS cosmetic programs and what procedures they focus on (available on the ASDS website average numbers of each procedure/category) so that you can apply/rotate at a program that best fits with your career goals (some heavy on lasers vs fillers vs lifting procedures).
  • If you’re unable to rotate, reach out to your program of interest to see if they have any reviews, book chapters, or publications that you can help with.
  • Ask the faculty in your program if they know anyone at these fellowships that you can talk to- either a doctor at the fellowship program or former fellows. This can be super helpful!
  • Attend the program director and co-directors talks at meetings and introduce yourself.
  • Consider conducting a cosmetic-focused research study during residency. Start this early because they take time to get through IRB. Funding is available through the ASDS Cutting-Edge research grant and ASLMS.

What are tips for a successful cosmetic dermatology rotation?

  • When on rotations, ask to be involved in a research project. This will show initiative and interest.
  • When rotating at an away program, show up prepared. Read the program directors publications and make sure you have read up on cosmetic derm so that you appear prepared for the rotation. The ASDS has great learning resources on their website.

What are tips when applying to a cosmetic dermatology fellowship?

  • BE HONEST about whether you are also applying to Mohs fellowships. The cosmetic fellowship SF match was designed to match AFTER the Mohs match because program directors understand that some candidates will be applying to Mohs also.
  • Ask your program director, or other faculty to call and put in a good word for you with the program
  • If possible, talk to prior fellows about their experience to get a real picture of how much hands-on opportunity there is and what the day to day experience is like (especially if unable to rotate). 

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