Most days, Dermatology World is a very happy place.
From the Editor
Dr. Schwarzenberger is the former physician editor of DermWorld.
By Kathryn Schwarzenberger, MD, July 1, 2020
And why shouldn’t it be? After all, we in dermatology have what most of us feel certain is the best, most fascinating, and most rewarding medical career. We are privileged to care for people and we actually get paid for it. It is easy for us at DW to focus on the good, sharing new scientific findings that may enhance our care, helping our colleagues improve and refine their practice skills, and in some cases, offering amusing or inspiring personal stories about our colleagues.
Unfortunately, even paradise is not perfect, as the past few months have shown. As if a world-wide pandemic from a virulent virus that has taken the lives of hundreds of thousands of people wasn’t enough, the need by some to place blame for the virus has fueled a rise in xenophobia and racist behavior around the world. This hit home for me when, in one day, two of my Asian-American colleagues were independently accosted by hostile patients, blaming them for the need to wear protective masks and acting as if they were personally responsible for the virus. When I heard about this, I was flooded with so many intense emotions: I was immediately angry that this happened to my friends and was, at the same time, heartbroken that they were victim to this inappropriate and scary behavior. I realized that I needed help with my response, and I am so appreciative of our incredible colleague Kanade Shinkai, who listened, shared her time, and offered me valuable resources with ways to respond to xenophobic behavior. I hope to share some of these in a future edition of DW so that all of us can be armed with skills to interrupt inappropriate and racist behavior and become better allies with those impacted.
Sadly, I fear we may need this more now than ever. I do not know what the month of June will have wrought, but events in the last week of May as I write this has confirmed — if any of us thought otherwise — that racism is a real and pervasive problem. It is one that is way beyond my pay grade to fix on my own, but I recognize and acknowledge my responsibility to be part of the solution. I’m working on better and more enduring ways to do so. Racism is not, and has never been, OK, and I am truly sorry for those of you who have been harmed by it.
Perhaps it is timely that we address this month the rather uncomfortable topic of cyberbullying. While many of us have likely received what we felt were inappropriate and/or unwarranted online patient reviews, I hope most of you have not experienced cyberbullying. Members of our Academy leadership discuss cyberbullying. Because cyberbullying happens remotely, it may be easier for the perpetrator, who avoids face-to-face confrontation; however, the impact on the victim can be just as devastating. We speak with experts on the topic and offer steps for handling cyberbullying, as well as hopefully preventing it.
We have some other great articles for you this month. I was encouraged by our feature with experts discussing advances in the treatment of hidradenitis suppurativa, which I have always felt was one of our most devastating, and yet undertreated, conditions. I promise you will come away from this article feeling more confident about managing patients with this challenging disease. This and much more awaits you in this month’s DW. Some of it is even happy! Be well, my friends.
