The AAD and the international arena
From the President
Dr. Tomecki served as Academy president from March 2021 to March 2022.
By Kenneth Tomecki, MD, FAAD, October 1, 2021
The Academy is clearly a national organization, but it has appreciable international reach and influence in other countries. The Academy has more than 16,000 U.S. members and approximately 4,000 international members (20% of total membership) — 21% from Europe, 23% from Latin/South America, 26% from Asia, 14% Canada, and 5% Mexico. International members are a significant presence at the Annual and Summer Meetings and appropriately so, with education as the main reason for attendance. Both meetings typically include international speakers, all of whom meet the AAD speaking criteria. The AAD and EADV have engaged in joint educational sessions for several years, one at the annual EADV meeting each fall, the other at the AAD Summer Meeting. Those sessions are a unique reflection on the global derm community. The AAD also participates formally in other meetings (e.g., CILAD, Dubai Derma, IADVL Congress (India), and Sharm Derma (Cairo)).
Volunteer opportunities
Check out the Academy member volunteer opportunities.
That mutual interchange will undoubtedly continue and hopefully expand, but there’s more that we can do. Most of us have friends/colleagues in foreign locales (e.g., Europe, Asia, South America) who would probably welcome spontaneous attendance from U.S.-based AAD members. When possible/convenient, contact those folks and explore the possibility of attending one of their local, regional, and/or national meetings. Why? Why not? Offer to provide a presentation within your area of expertise. That overture would probably be welcomed and well received. Expect nothing in return, except perhaps a warm, genuine "hank you" and maybe waived registration. By doing that, we extend ourselves to others far afield. We volunteer and give back. In return, we get to see friends in their own locales and hopefully enjoy all they have to offer. And then the flip side: invite those same friends to attend AAD meetings. If they already do so, fine, but, if not, entice them in some way to make the trip. If finances are tight, perhaps offer to cover registration, just a thought, again another way of extending ourselves to others in the specialty, another way of being altruistic, another way to volunteer our services and provide good will.
To encourage inclusion and participation at its meetings, the AAD offers two scholarship programs to young international dermatologists — the Annual Meeting registration scholarship and the Strauss/Katz World Congress fund scholarship. To date, the AAD has granted more than 1,600 scholarships to dermatologists from 90 countries since 2006.
For U.S. AAD members with wanderlust and a desire to travel to distant locales, AAD offers three solid international programs: 1). SkinCare for Developing Countries which offers grants ($2,500-5,000, depending on proposal) to individuals and organizations for humanitarian efforts in developing areas; 2). Resident international grants (variable amounts for accommodation, travel, insurance) for 12 U.S. and Canadian senior derm residents to spend 4-6 weeks in one of four locales (Botswana, Durban, Nepal, Peru) providing supervised care in tropical locales with limited medical resources; 3). Health Volunteers Overseas (HVO) where the AAD works with HVO matching interested member volunteers with "hands on" teaching opportunities in Cambodia, Vietnam, Nepal, Uganda, and Costa Rica.
Lessons from across the globe
Read more about the Regional Dermatology Training Centre (RDTC) in Moshi, Tanzania.
Any review of the derm international scene must include a few words about the Regional Dermatology Training Centre (RDTC) in Moshi, Tanzania, a source for derm care in East Africa for the last 30 years. Established in 1990 as a joint venture by the ILDS and the Tanzanian Ministry of Health, the RDTC is a clinical/research/educational training center for the region, a "one of a kind" operation which includes clinical derm and surgical care, including maggot debridement, a dermpath lab, radiotherapy, PUVA, and a student hostel. Its mission is clear —derm/surgical care in a deprived area coupled with teaching/training local physicians and medical personnel. RDTC works collaboratively with several health care organizations, including WHO and most notably the AAD. U.S. dermatologists have traveled to the area and volunteered their services for decades. A tropical derm course occurs every 5-6 years and David Pariser, former AAD president, has directed the course since 2007. In that manner, the AAD extends itself to the center, and in return visiting physicians attend lectures and see patients with skin disease that is relatively uncommon in the U.S. (e.g., leprosy, filariasis, leishmaniasis, etc.). One particularly important initiative is the Program for People with Albinism (PWA) which addresses cancer prevention and complications of albinism. I could write more, but you the reader hopefully envision what is happening. If not, consider a trip. Volunteer your time and services in an area in desperate need of sound medical/derm care. There are many foreign opportunities and many potential destinations. Given the urge, renew your passport, obtain visas, if necessary, update/obtain vaccinations, pack a toothbrush and change of underwear, and enjoy the experience. Upon arrival, send a postcard.
