Women's Dermatologic Society

An Interview with Lawrence J Green, MD, FAAD Clinical Professor of Dermatology George Washington University School of Medicine Vice President Elect, American Academy of Dermatology Interviewed by Dr. Amaris Geisler and Dr. Brianna Olamiju  1.) How did you become involved in the WDS and what benefits do you think WDS membership provides for residents/young physicians? I started volunteering with the WDS about 10 years ago, when Dr Adelaide Hebert, who was part of my class on the AAD Board of Directors filled me on how important a role the WDS plays in dermatology. Before that, I never really appreciated the value the WDS adds to our field. Many/Most of the recent leaders in dermatology have come through the WDS. I believe this is because the WDS fosters not just collegiality among all dermatologists, but it also uniquely encourages and provides opportunities for young dermatologists (and dermatologists to be) to get involved in our field. The WDS also encourages and pr...

  From Dr. Morayo Adisa Staggered employee schedules that consider individual requests and allow for reasonable accommodations. Incentivized subsidized gym/wellness center memberships to promote healthy living and well-being. Mindfulness and respect for boundaries with after-hours texting/communication to maintain a clear distinction between work and personal time.   From Dr. Shawna Flanagan I am a small practice owner with multiple working moms as employees. We are a tight knit group, and everyone does their part to help each other out when things happen with the children. We have employees who stay later so the working moms can pick up their children from school or daycare. When a school play or concert occurs during the day at short notice, everyone chips in and picks up the slack if an employee must slip out of the office for a few hours. Over the years we have had children in the office for short stints when childcare fall through for someone. I think provid...

WDS Young Physician Spotlight Interview - Jordan Lim, 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 first heard about WDS in residency and I actually served as a resident liaison for my program. Since then, I have attended many of their events – one most recent that I found incredibly impactful was their Women in Dermatology Collaborative Event at the AAD where a panel of several dermatology leaders addressed issues that women dermatologists face on a daily basis providing supportive tools and resources to combat these issues. Another memorable event was one of their virtual panels regarding family planning in an academic career where they hosted fertility experts, and had members share their personal experiences. This event literally brought me to tears. That is the impact of the WDS. All of their events are inspiring, ...

  From Dr. Shawna Flanagan I used to give my staff a Christmas/Holiday Bonus at the end of the year. Sometimes staff would expect this even if they had only worked in the office for several months. I changed my policy to every 6-month review and bonus structure. Every six months the other staff anonymously evaluates the person who is having their six-month review. The person can get a one-week bonus check if they are doing well in the eyes of their coworkers. My office manager and I also have a sit-down meeting with the person to address any issues they may want to speak about or discuss things they are doing well and address issues that need work. This is better for the practice financially as well as the bonuses are staggered. Each staff member who is performing well gets a two-week extra bonus check per year. I have $5 bills and when someone on the staff goes beyond in the office, they can recommend another staff member for a high five---a $5 “tip” if you will. The staff...

  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 ...

  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 ...