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Careers in Medicine: Specialty Information

Dermatology

Nature of the work

A dermatologist is trained to diagnose and treat pediatric and adult patients with benign and malignant disorders of the skin (including skin cancers, melanomas and moles), mouth, external genitalia, hair and nails, as well as a number of sexually transmitted diseases.

Dermatologists can receive training in the following subspecialties:

  • Dermatopathology - diagnoses and monitors diseases of the skin including infectious, immunologic, degenerative and neoplastic diseases.

Training/residency information

The residency training for dermatologists is three to four years. The three year program must be preceded by a year of broad-based clinical training (PGY-1). Practice in a dermatology subspecialty requires one additional year of training.

Workforce and salary information

According to the American Academy of Dermatology, there is a shortage of dermatologists in both urban and rural areas. Dr. David M. Pariser, M.D., chair of the Ad Hoc Task Force: Dermatology Workforce Initiative states that “the outlook is expected to worsen over the next 3 to 5 years and beyond. An aging U.S. population, a rise in the incidence and prevalence of skin problems and melanoma, insurance carriers moving toward granting patients direct access to dermatologists, and a merely modest increase in resident positions, at a time when the population is growing, all contribute to the predicament that we’re in now." The annual salary for dermatologists ranges from $224,630 to $418,789

For more information

Source: Dermatology World, November 2004; The American Board of Medical Specialties; and the MGMA Physician Compensation and Production Survey: 2004 Report Based on 2003 Data. Reprinted with permission from the Medical Group Management Association, 104 Inverness Terrace East, Englewood, Colorado 80112-5306; 303.770.1111. www.mgma.com. Copyright 2004.

  

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