Women's Dermatologic Society

  TIPP: Women’s Shelter Initiative to Empowering Women Through Dermatology By Stephanie Choi, MS4, and Hanna Englander, MS2; UMass Chan Medical School   Community engagement offers healthcare providers a unique opportunity to make a meaningful impact and gain valuable insights into caring for patients from diverse backgrounds and with varied needs. For UMass Chan medical students Stephanie and Hanna, one particularly rewarding opportunity has been the Women’s Dermatologic Society (WDS)’s Transformative and Interconnecting Program Project (TIPP), the women’s shelter initiative.  Through the TIPP program, medical students and dermatologists can organize dermatology educational workshops for participants at women’s shelters. Each event requires involvement of a dermatologist with an active WDS membership; and interested dermatologists and medical students can utilize the toolkit detailed on the TIPP website to acquire WDS support materials. This includes the WDS pre-made...

  Women’s History Month: Recognizing contributions to dermatology by women (you may not have heard of!)  By Randie Kim, MD March is here again – that means daylight savings time, the start of spring, the annual American Academy of Dermatology meeting, and… Women’s History Month! This year’s Women’s History Month theme is “Women Who Advocate for Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion”. In honor of this year’s theme, here are some unsung heroines who have impacted our field. Madam C.J. Walker was an African American entrepreneur, activist, and philanthropist who became the first American self-made female millionaire. Born in 1867 as Sarah Breedlove, she was orphaned at the age of 7 and became a domestic worker at 10 years old. She suffered from a number of scalp conditions, including seborrheic dermatitis and alopecia. After consulting with her brothers, all of whom were barbers, she began experimenting and developing her own hair care products. In 1907, Walker launched...

  From Dr. Shawna Flanagan I think achieving career balance is a lifetime juggle! I have been out of dermatology residency for more than 25 years now. At times throughout my career, I have donated a lot more of my time to my children and husband and felt guilty about my career. At other times I have done the opposite and felt guilty about my family. As the late great Barbara Walters was once quoted, “Most of us have trouble juggling. The woman who says she does not is someone I admire but have never met.” From Dr. Mona Sadeghpour As women we are constantly judged for the type of physician, mother, spouse, or leader that we are. We are judged if we work too much or too "little”. These narratives often impart guilt on our conscience and unnecessary stress that we don't always address openly. The truth is that no one creates our life or productivity narratives, but us. Studies have shown that even when women and men dermatologists work similar hours and are "equal...