An important reminder
From the President
Dr. Kaufmann served as Academy president from March 2022 to March 2023.
By Mark Kaufmann, MD, FAAD, November 1, 2022
During my presidential year, traveling has become a way of life. I have been to the Annual Meeting in Boston, to the Innovation Academy in Vancouver, to the AADA Legislative Conference in Washington, D.C., and many state societies in between.
I recently finished giving an Academy Update in Atlanta to the National Medical Association (NMA). During my talk to the NMA, I stressed all the Medicare payment cuts that physicians are facing if no congressional action is taken by the end of the year. I then hopped a flight to Minnesota, where I started preparing a lecture for the following weekend on burnout. Surprisingly, between talking about the bad news, and preparing a talk on how the bad news affects all of us, I found an oasis of joy.
I was heading to Minneapolis so I could drive three hours to Crosslake, Minnesota — the site of the original Camp Discovery nearly 30 years ago. For those who need a refresher, AAD’s Camp Discovery gives kids with chronic skin conditions a life-changing summer camp experience. Campers make friends, find acceptance, and are free to be themselves. Camp Discovery provides these children a sense of community and fun, at no cost to their families. For three magical days I was transported into a state of mind where I once again understood WHY I became a physician in the first place. I watched how children ages 8 to 13, some with very low self-esteem, were able to learn about the commonality of their diseases and were able to celebrate their friendships. I also saw the profound effect it had on the counselors, medical directors, and camp directors.
We are all empathetic when we have a patient with serious skin disease, but at the end of the visit they go back to their world, and we go back to ours. This was a rare opportunity to see how everyone thrived in a setting where we remained in their world. Spending three days at Camp Discovery has reaffirmed my goal to expand the program to allow for all dermatology residents to experience and participate in Camp Discovery.
It’s easy to feel burned out by the aspects of medicine that are detrimental to our patients and practices. It’s easy to throw up our hands in exasperation when we hear about another onerous policy or payment cut. When I was sworn in as your Academy president, I encouraged everyone to take some time this year and find their “why.” My experience at Camp Discovery has been an important reminder about why I practice and why I became a dermatologist in the first place. I hope you will all consider participating in Camp Discovery, and any of the other ample volunteer opportunities that the Academy has to offer. Trust me, it will be worth it.
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