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Running head: DERMATOLOGY IN THE U.S

Dermatology in the United States: Medicine, Careers, and Future Application Quinn Pollok Chapin High School

DERMATOLOGY IN THE U.S Dermatology in the United States: Medicine, Careers, and Future Application This annotated bibliography includes information from various sources about the career in dermatology, focusing specifically on the United States dermatology. The sources explain from many different viewpoints what some believe to be the future of this medical field, as it becomes more and more competitive and selective. It has become apparent that with this being such a hard medical regime to complete, that the United States is greatly effected by there being only one dermatologist for every 32,000 American citizens. Rubenstein, D. S., MD, PhD, Blauvelt, A., MD, Chen, S. C., MD, MS, & Darling, T. N., MD, PhD. (2001). Report on the resident retreat for future physician-scientists. The Future of Academic Dermatology in the United States, 47(2), 300-303. doi: 10.1067/mjd. 2002.123491 This article explains the future of careers in dermatology. Many questions were posed in this article that made readers look at what can really happen in the United States if this career was looked over. It is apparent that many do not think that they can overcome all of the strenuous work that goes with actually becoming certified in this field. However, the article then explains the benefits of having this job as a career, such as financial and personal benefits that you may not get from other careers. This article made me wonder if the end result was not great enough for what a student must endure to be apart of this field. Since this article was composed by several doctors, the true test that someone

must go through to be able to practice this field will be difficult, and that is seen in this journal. DERMATOLOGY IN THE U.S Clayton, R., Lambert, T., & Burge, S. M. (2009). Career choices in dermatology. Clinical and Experimental Dermatology, 86-88. doi: 0.1111/j.1365-2230.2009.03397.x The options for a more specific career in this field are limited, but this article explains how specific the jobs of a dermatologist can be. From a clinical dermatologist, to a pediatric dermatologist that only works with children, this career does offer many opportunities for a person that would only like to work certain people. However, this comes with more work that a general dermatologist would not have to do. This article also includes charts that show how people are influenced to make a career choice as well as how dermatology could become a more widespread practice. This charts made me think about how I am being influenced in my life by my environment as well as how many people seem to follow a similar track that currently am.

Eisenberg DM, Davis RB, Ettner SL. (1998). Trends in Alternative Medicine Use in the United States, 1990-1997: Results of a Follow-up National Survey. JAMA. 1998;280(18): 1569-1575. doi:10.1001/jama.280.18.1569. This article was written based on a survey that was taken in 1997 that shows what medication was being used in American households, and what citizens were ignoring and not seeing a physician for. I found this research very interesting as many of the problems that these 3000 people were having, could have been treated by a dermatologist. After looking at this information, I can see that there really would be a positive outcome if we

did have more practicing dermatologists in the United States, as people would have more accessibility to them, as well as being more informed about what could be going on with DERMATOLOGY IN THE U.S them. This article also made me wonder that if there are so many of these people struggling with symptoms that a dermatologist could treat, how is the rest of the population that doesnt think to find a dermatologist is being affected. With skin cancer being on a high rise, it seems that it would be so beneficial for there to be more options for people who leave things untreated to see a dermatologist sooner than later.

Medscape Log In. (2012). Melanoma death rate linked to dermatologist density. Retrieved from http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/759153 After looking at the last journal, I was able to find an article that helped to show that the dermatologist density in our country greatly effects those who do have sever diseases that need to be treated by a dermatologist, such as melanoma. Melanoma is a very serious skin cancer that does lead to the death of many people, even those who receive early treatment. This article explains that there has been a link found between the death rate of these people with the amount of dermatologists in the country. The article shows that when looking a where there a densities of dermatologists (mostly in large, well known cities) there are more people treated and there lives saved from the disease. When looking at more rural and smaller cities, these people do not have as much of an option for treatment, and may put off seeing a physician until its too late. This article has made me realize that dermatologists are greatly needed for so many people that just do not have

access to them, because they are more willing to wait to see someone when they will no longer be able to help them.

DERMATOLOGY IN THE U.S Webb, J. M., MD, Rye, B., MD, Fox, L., MD, & Cash, J., MD. (1996). State of dermatology training: The resident's perspective. Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology, 34(6), 1067-1071. Retrieved March 5, 2013, from http://www.jaad.org/article/S0190-9622(96)90288-1 This article showed me that this career would be very difficult. The residents talked abut what they had to do while as a resident and what they had learned. However, they stated that their reward of actually becoming a medical doctor that could practice in the field was much more rewarding than the work that they had to do. I found this article to be the most helpful as it was coming straight from there perspective. I also believe that this helps to explain why the field is so difficult, and that is because a medical student must find it in themselves to continue on with the work if they really do enjoy it.