Women's Dermatologic Society

 By Dr. Susan Massick      Despite changing racial and ethnic demographics in the U.S. with African Americans composing 12.8% and Hispanics composing 16.3% of the U.S. population, African Americans represent only 3% and Hispanics 4.2% of all dermatologists (Pandya, Alexis, Berger, & Wintroub, 2016). Studies have shown that diversity among health care providers improves patient satisfaction with race-concordant visits showing greater patient satisfaction (Cooper, et al., 2003). Dermatology is the second LEAST diverse specialty in medicine, ranking behind only orthopedics in racial and ethnic diversity (Pandya, Alexis, Berger, & Wintroub, 2016). Moreover, lack of minority representation occurs in all aspects of dermatology, including faculty educators, resident trainees, and skin of color images in textbooks and publications. Where is the pipeline?      Key action areas for enhancing diversity in dermatology include widening and fueling the ...

  By the WDS Practice Advisory Committee   From Dr. Sarah Harvey:   The key for me for retaining excellent staff is to ensure that they know they are a valued part of the team. Frequent, specific, positive feedback and expressions of gratitude help my nurses feel appreciated and helps reinforce the qualities I am looking for in my staff. I think it is also very important to listen to any concerns that are voiced or ideas for changes in our process. It can be very disheartening to feel like you are not being listened to and this is a common reason for turnover. The occasional free office lunch or coffee break can go a long way, too!  From Dr. Shawna Flanagan:   Be an office that accepts externs in a Medical Assisting training program. We have a local Medical Assisting vocational program that we participate with and I have hired two of my best medical assistants from this externship. The externship is a great way to get to know someone and experience the “honeymoo...

We asked Dr. Wendi Wohltmann of the San Antonio Uniformed Services Health Education Consortium and her two medical students, Caroline Zhu and Marie Vu, some questions about organizing and conducting a TIPP Women’s Shelter event. Through the use of informative presentations, this TIPP initiative helps women in shelters and other facilities/organizations enter back into society with confidence and self-esteem. This program helps address the ‘whole-woman’ and her body and mind systems. 1) What made you want to hold a WDS event? Caroline and Marie: Our wonderful mentor, Dr. Wohltmann, introduced the WDS TIPP program to us. We are all actively involved in our community’s dermatology free clinic serving the homeless and uninsured, and the TIPP program felt like a natural extension of this same spirit of service. Dr. Wohltmann: I love the WDS! I really believe in the WDS mission statement and their strong commitment to community service. Also, they make their service events turnkey (shout ...

Janelle Nassim, MD is an Assistant Professor of Dermatology at the Indiana University School of Medicine. How did you become involved in the WDS and what benefits do you think WDS membership provides for residents/young physicians? I became involved in WDS as a first year resident. We had a strong community of women in Boston involved in WDS, and my co-resident at the time (now colleague and good friend) Dr. Neera Nathan did an incredible job getting everyone together for events at least quarterly. The first WDS event I attended was a dinner featuring a panel of women leaders including Dr. Alexa Kimball, Dr. Suzanne Olbricht, and Dr. Rachel Reynolds. I remember feeling so captivated when they spoke about their paths to leadership roles and inspired by their advice on balancing it all. WDS has continued to be that for me – a source of connection and communication with women who are doing big things and want to share their life learnings and mentorship with young physicians. At wh...