No pain, no gain?
From the Editor
Dr. Schwarzenberger is the former physician editor of DermWorld.
By Kathryn Schwarzenberger, MD, FAAD, January 1, 2025
It may be true for sports (although I remain skeptical), but pain associated with doing our jobs does not bode well for a long and happy career in dermatology. One might not consider us to be at high risk for occupation-related musculoskeletal issues, but particularly — although not exclusively — the surgical aspects of our careers involve considerable repetitive work and more physical activity than we might realize. Over the course of a 30+ year career, even sitting at a computer can take its toll in the form of neck, back, hand/wrist, or other pain. When severe, it can be a career-ending handicap. Recognition of the risk of the work we do and paying attention to proper ergonomics is crucial to protecting our most valuable career asset: ourselves. This topic is near and dear to several of our members who generously shared their expertise in this area this month along with stories of what led them to embrace ergonomics in their offices. Whatever point you are in your career, I suspect their wisdom will be of benefit to you.
Scars. I feel like our profession has spent years refining techniques to minimize the creation of scars and from many of the results I have seen from my talented surgical colleagues, we have done an excellent job. (Read Dr. Abate’s column in What’s Hot for the latest on this!) Unfortunately, some scarring is beyond our control, and the impacts can be devastating for those affected. I spent time during medical school at one of the Shriner’s burn hospitals and was left with a lifelong appreciation for those who work to improve the horrific scarring that can result from traumatic burns in children. These days, I am privileged to serve veterans — some returned from their military service with traumatic scars. The imperative to help improve the function and appearance of scars is clear and, fortunately, some of our colleagues are willing to share their experience and expertise in managing these challenging scars. The message they share is inspirational and makes me really want to up our game to ensure that we are providing this critically important care. Who better than us to own this? After all, we know skin better than anyone else.
Nails disorders. In my experience, you either love them or hate them. Personally, I am comfortable diagnosing nail disorders up until the point a biopsy is needed, at which time I am happy to rely on my surgical colleagues to back me up. Fortunately, we have talented nail experts in our specialty willing to share their tips for diagnosing common and less common nail disorders that might walk into our offices. I cannot promise that reading our nail feature will make it easier to biopsy (or inject!) a nail, but somehow our nail gurus make recognizing challenging nail disorders almost easy!
And so, we head into 2025. Hard to believe another year has gone by already. This new year promises many changes. From a career standpoint, there are new coding changes to be aware of (which, of course, we review for you!) and it’s never a bad idea to take a few minutes to ensure that you are up to date on your knowledge of — and compliance with — the Americans with Disabilities Act. I am still refining my New Year’s resolution, but it will involve a commitment to self-care. Hopefully, I can encourage all of you to do the same! Happy New Year!
