Women's Dermatologic Society

  By Shawna A. Flanagan, MD, FAAD Twenty plus years ago I decided to establish a practice that I could call my own.   However, I soon realized that establishing myself as a female business owner and doctor in a male dominated industry would be no easy feat.   Fast forward to 2020, I have established myself as a successful dermatologist and business owner. As my journey progressed, I somewhat foolishly believed that many of the gender specific roles placed on doctors in the past had dissipated.   However, this notion quickly vanished when one of my younger female colleagues lamented that she was struggling to get her patients to address her by her preferred title, “Doctor”.   Although I am not typically one to get hung up on the details, soon after she brought this issue to my attention I couldn’t help but notice thereafter every instance patients referred to me by my first name and not the title that I had worked so hard to gain.   No matter how hard I tr...

The “Business” of Dermatology By Shawna A. Flanagan, MD Practice Management During medical school and training many decades ago, business classes were not part of most physician’s curriculum. It is possible friends or family members may have helped guide your decisions, as far as business decisions were concerned, but usually, most of us just figured it out on our own. That is how I did things when opening my office twenty years ago. I just winged it! Fast forward to 2018, and it seems like the time has come for dermatology to be part of the business world. If you attended the annual meeting this year, you might have noticed the overwhelming number of practice management booths. I receive several emails and letters every month with the offer to buy out my office and take over the “management.” In this month’s editorial , I will try to explain the business of dermatology, and this current “buy out” frenzy in an oversimplified version from a doctor, not an investment banker or...