Young Physician Spotlight: Kaitlin Blankenship, MD

 

Interview and written by Neha Chandan, MD, MPH

 

Kaitlin Blankenship, MD is a board-certified dermatologist and fellowship-trained Mohs surgeon at Dermatology & Skin Cancer Surgery Center in Texas.

 

How did you become involved in the WDS and what benefits do you think WDS membership provides for residents/young physicians? 

I was introduced to WDS through my program chair, Mary Maloney, who was serving as WDS president at that time, and my co-resident, Julia Baltz, who was my program’s WDS resident liaison. When Julia graduated, I took over her role as resident liaison, and my involvement has continued since then. I currently serve on the WDS social media committee. WDS allows residents/young physicians incredible networking opportunities, whether it is for fellowships, research opportunities, or even jobs. Most importantly, it provides you with a group of like-minded individuals who will support you, encourage you, and become some of your best friends.

 

At what point did you decide that you wanted to do academics versus private practice?

I am currently in private practice, but have always felt a call to academics as I love teaching. While I wanted to stay in academia, I also wanted to go back home to Texas, where my husband’s family and my family is. There was a limited selection of academic hospitals during my job search, and none of them were hiring for Mohs, so I fell into private practice, but I have been loving it. The area I am serving is more rural and has a large underserved population, which has made me more passionate about access to care issues. But if there was a way to also get back into academia, I’d do it.

 

Advice to young physicians regarding leadership? 

Get involved! No role is too small. There is such a breadth of leadership opportunities to choose from, and you can tailor the role to be exactly what you want, so find something you enjoy and are passionate about and go for it.

 

Who were/are your mentors?  

I was so fortunate to have had great mentorship during residency. Mary Maloney and Julia Baltz have served as mentors to me both through UMass and WDS. I was in residency when COVID hit, making networking opportunities more limited, so this was really valuable for me.

 

What are you working on now? What future goals do you have?

 I’m currently working on improving access to care in the community I work in. A lot of my patients come to me with advanced cancers requiring multiple stages and complex closures, and I’d love to be able to help educate these patients and improve their ability to get earlier care and treatment. My future goals are to get back into research and continue to publish.  

 

Do you have advice to young physicians on achieving work/life balance? 

Surround yourself with like-minded, positive people and lean on them. As a mom of two young kids, I am still navigating work/life balance. I have a 2 year old, who I had in residency, and a 5 month old, who I had in fellowship. I was lucky to be supported both by UMass, which is such a family-positive program, and the amazing women in WDS. Feeling that much support around me has made the biggest difference. It’s a lot, but its all great when you love what you do.

 

What do you like to do in your free time? 

We’re a big outdoors family - we love hiking, camping, and kayaking. The kids love the visiting the park and zoo, so we spend a lot of time there too. 

 

Any final thoughts you have for residents/young physicians? 

If you are wondering if you can, the answer is yes, you can. No matter what it is – the fellowship, the career, starting a family – you can do it. It may not always be the path you thought but if you surround yourself with empowering people and form a tight knit community, you will get there.