From the editor
From the Editor
Dr. Schwarzenberger is the former physician editor of DermWorld.
By Kathryn Schwarzenberger, MD, August 1, 2019
August is already upon us. I never quite understand where the summer goes. It seems like the flowers begin blooming and, suddenly, the leaves already start to change colors. Don’t get me wrong, I love autumn. I spent too many years in Vermont not to appreciate that glorious season, but summer is, well, summer. While some of you are sweltering with high temperatures and humid nights, it’s still hard to beat the long hours of sunlight, the amazing fresh fruits and vegetables, and the lack of snow to plow! In case you need more to like about August, here are a few additional reasons to celebrate the month: August is Psoriasis Awareness Month, so perhaps this would be a good time to share your knowledge of all the fabulous new treatments available with your local news media. It’s also National Wellness Month, encouraging us to take care of ourselves, Family Fun Month, and National Golf Month (offering an excuse to play another round!). And if none of these resonate, August is National Goat Cheese Month, National Crayon Collection Month, National Catfish Month, and (who knew?) National Brownies at Brunch Month. August clearly offers plenty of opportunity for joy.
Those of you who are parents will not be surprised to learn that August is also National Back to School Month. Some of you are hopefully enjoying last-minute vacations before scrambling to get the back-to-school shopping done. As you are encouraging (forcing, bribing — you fill in the verb) the kids to complete their summer assigned reading, I hope you will spend a few minutes enjoying my favorite summertime read: this month’s Dermatology World! Our writers have put together some lovely articles for you, covering everything from coding to CLIA compliance, to teledermatology to digital marketing for dermatologists. We offer some very practical advice on emergency preparedness planning— one of those things you may not think about until you need it, at which point it may be too late. We can help you be prepared before disaster strikes. Our contributing writer, Jan Bowers, looks at the intersection of dermatology and oncology in providing care for our sickest patients with melanoma. And, of course, we offer everyone’s favorite, insights from our Editorial Advisory Workgroup in What’s Hot.
This month is a big one for me as I, like many of you, will be sending off my child to college for the first time. He and his close friends recently took a road trip to celebrate their graduation and, as he was walking out the door, I rushed to hand him a bottle of sunscreen. He kindly (and very patiently) handed it back, assuring me that he had already packed his own bottle — along with everything else he had packed without my assistance. I realized that my job here for now is done...he’s ready for the world, and I’m almost ready for him to go out there without me. Right now, the bottle of sunscreen is probably a familiar, and hopefully forgivable, Mom nag. I can only hope that someday, he will understand that to a dermatologist mom, that little bottle of sunscreen is really love.
