From the editor
From the Editor
Dr. Van Voorhees is the physician editor of Dermatology World. She interviews the author of a recent study each month.
By Abby S. Van Voorhees, MD, February 1, 2018
I sit here this afternoon realizing that this is my last Dermatology World column. It has been a total delight serving as your medical editor. The staff and I have striven to be sure that there was content that was meaningful and interesting for every segment of dermatology. General dermatology, dermpath, dermatologic surgery, pediatric dermatology, military dermatology — we’ve tried to cover it all. I hope that you feel that the columns each month have been relevant to you and your practice.
I have grown much from my work with Dermatology World. For starters, I’ve become a better writer. I guess it is the old adage that practice makes perfect. If only my 7th grade English teacher could see me now! Additionally, I’ve learned so much about the whole of dermatology. It’s been like doing a residency all over again. Normally, we each tend to get caught up in our own little niches, but DW has gotten me out of mine. Sometimes it has gotten me into funny predicaments though; for example, when I speak with someone about fillers. I sound like I know what I’m talking about until it reaches a certain point. Then I have to confess that my entire knowledge is based on columns in DW. Thank goodness so many of you have been willing to share your knowledge when answering our pleas for help and guidance. That is the third way I feel I’ve grown from this experience. I’ve realized how small our specialty truly is, and how generous so many of you are. I feel like we’ve become friends along the way.
And while the planning of the content has been fun, it is, however, the writing of this column that I will look back on most fondly. In the quiet of my weekend mornings many a column was born. Many of you have asked me how I came up with what I was going to say. I wish I could tell you...often the words just poured out. Sometimes my columns were light — just highlighting what I especially enjoyed in that month’s magazine and therefore wanted to share with you. Other times it was a place to say a few more serious words about what was going on in dermatology or in medicine at large. I appreciate that many of you let me know over the years that you actually read my columns. It has been very sweet to know that we shared a few moments together each month.
None of this would be possible without the amazing staff that the Academy has in its midst. The entire publishing team is exemplary! While all are deserving of my praise, I am going to limit myself to saying a few words about Richard Nelson. A better managing editor I could not have hoped for. He is brilliant, funny, organized, and simply a delight to work with. I will miss our monthly ponderings about how to handle charged topics and the like. However, make no bones about it, it takes a whole team, from artists to writers to publishing staff, to put together the many parts of Derm World each month. Each year the number of national awards won by these talented folks on behalf of DW just grows and grows. I am extraordinarily proud of their successes; we in dermatology are lucky to be the beneficiaries of their hard work.
I’d also like to say thank you to the DW Editorial Advisory Workgroup physicians who were always full of wonderful ideas and suggestions many of the best ideas were theirs. A special thank you to Alex Miller, Cliff Lober, and Nada Elbuluk for their fabulous work as well. I have been so lucky to work with each of these talented dermatologists.
As my tenure ends, I am pleased that Derm World will now be in Kathy Schwarzenberger’s capable hands. Thank you for entrusting dermatology to me for these past eight years. It has been my absolute pleasure to have served you. Please feel free to keep in touch when ideas cross your mind.
Enjoy your reading.
