Careers in Medicine: Specialty Information
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
(PGY3). 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 were
in now." The annual salary for dermatologists ranges from $224,630 to $418,789
