Student Life: Dermatologists Making a Difference
When I tell family, friends and acquaintances that I am going to enter a residency in dermatology, I often am playfully called a "pimple popper MD" in reference to the infamous "Seinfeld" episode "The Slicer." I also get asked if a career in dermatology is anything similar to the recent "Grey's Anatomy" episode in which the dermatology residents received regular spa treatments and hand massages.
In response, I like to tell them about my inspiration to become a dermatologist, working at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health (SMPH) MEDiC Free Dermatology Clinic to serve the uninsured of the Madison area. It was an experience that involved much more than "pimple popping" and definitely no hand massages.
This free walk-in dermatology clinic was started in 2004 by William Aughenbaugh, MD '97, the UW-Dermatology Residency Program director, as a specialty clinic associated with the Southside MEDiC Clinic. He started working in the MEDiC clinic as a UW medical student when he noted that a fair number of patients who were seen there had dermatologic concerns.
As a dermatology resident at UW-Madison, Dr. Aughenbaugh became interested in sharing his knowledge of dermatology with medical students and using that knowledge to provide care to an underserved population. He started the clinic when he joined the School of Medicine and Public Health faculty.
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| William Aughenbaugh, MD '97, examines a patient while medical student Julia Kasprzak (in red) and dermatology resident Rosemarie Liu look on. |
My interest in dermatology was piqued when I met Dr. Aughenbaugh while working as the medical student clinic coordinator at Southside MEDiC during my second year. Every month Dr. Aughenbaugh and other dermatology faculty and residents dedicate their time on Saturday mornings to the free clinic to serve individuals who otherwise could not have afforded care.
An Eye-Opening Experience
Working with these physicians was not only a stimulating educational experience, it also opened my eyes to the huge need for dermatologists among the uninsured. I witnessed them provide in-depth care and follow-up to patients with complicated, sometimes debilitating dermatologic conditions.
One attending physician, Dr. George Reizner, diagnosed and treated scabies in a whole family, including two adorable children who were miserable from the constant itching. For patients with conditions requiring more complex care than can be provided at the Saturday free clinic, UW general and subspecialty dermatologists as well as dermatopathologists graciously volunteer their services during normal clinic hours at their 1 South Park Street office.
For example, contact dermatitis specialist Dr. Rita Lloyd volunteered her expertise to find the source of a patient's contact dermatitis by doing thorough patch testing. This particular patient had lived with a rash on his hands and forearms for over 12 months. For him, not only was it painful because of the fissures it created, but the dermatitis also caused a great deal of emotional stress because of its unknown origin.
In the end, after all the testing, he was greatly relieved to finally understand that the rash was caused by various chemicals in the materials he used in his job as a mechanic and that he could control it.
Overall, it was striking to see how physically and psychologically challenging some dermatologic conditions can be for each individual patient — and how grateful patients are for the care they receive. Even during visits in which we can only reassure patients about conditions such as drug eruptions or benign nevi, it is incredibly rewarding to see their relief.
Dermatology Clinic Improves Students' Skills
In addition to providing care to the underserved, the clinic enhances the academic and clinical skills of the medical students. The attendings and residents are remarkable educators and mentors.
First- and second-year medical students learn how to perform skin examinations and then write progress notes using proper dermatologic terms, such as differentiating between macules and papules and vesicles and bullae. This often is the students' first introduction to dermatology. The clinic setup allows them to have one-on-one teaching opportunities with the attendings and residents.
Dr. Rosemarie Liu, one of the current chief dermatology residents and a future attending, has dedicated a significant amount of time to the clinic and the education of students. Before residency, she volunteered at a clinic for the underserved in Virginia and wanted to continue that work in Madison.
She has found that she enjoys working with patients of different socioeconomic and ethnic backgrounds. She often prepares mini-presentations about common dermatologic conditions for all the clinic student volunteers, which really builds their enthusiasm for the field of dermatology.
The dermatology attendings and residents at UW-Madison have been some of the most compassionate, humanistic physicians I have known in my four years of medical school. Working with them at this free clinic was my inspiration for entering the field of dermatology, and it is my goal to follow in their footsteps and continue to provide care for the underserved in my future career. They demonstrated to me the true meaning of serving others selflessly and showed me the art of troubleshooting the socioeconomic barriers to healthcare that our patients are faced with every day.
My training at the clinic has prepared me well for my future dermatology residency at Cook County Hospital in Chicago, where I will be working for underserved and uninsured patients every day. My experience with the free dermatology clinic has given me the initial skills and determination to serve this patient population. I am sure the UW dermatologists will continue to inspire future generations of medical students to dedicate their time and talents to working with the underserved.
By Julia Kasprzak, MD '09
This article appears in the summer 2009 issue of Quarterly.
Date Published: 09/28/2009
