Education
Diagnosis? Lack of dermatologists With dermatologist ranks shrinking across the country and existing training programs at full capacity, the need for dermatologists is a problem that’s more than just skin deep. But thanks to the University of Calgary, help is on the way.
By Colleen Biondi [Photo] Dr. Régine Mydlarski with a patient.
For Albertans
it’s just the way it is. If you want to see your dermatologist, expect to wait up to three months. With a woeful ratio of approximately one dermatologist for every 78,000 people (well above the recommended ratio of 1:62,000), it’s unfortunately not a surprising fact. But starting this summer, the Faculty of Medicine’s new Dermatology Residency Program will do its part to ensure that changes. Led by Dr. Régine Mydlarski, an associate professor at the Faculty of Medicine, the program is a comprehensive hospital and community-based residency designed to train candidates to be competent and compassionate dermatological consultants. According to the Canadian Dermatology Workforce Survey update in 2006, the average age of dermatologists in Canada is 54.5, with 49.5% being over 55. It is estimated that by 2011, 50% of all Canadian dermatologists will have reduced their practices or retired. Add in the fact there are only eight Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada (RCPSC) accredited dermatology residency programs in the country and it is clear. We’ve come to a tipping point.
It is time for a new generation of dermatologists. This five-year initiative for medical residents will consist of two years of basic clinical training followed by three years of specialty training in inpatient and outpatient dermatology. Residents will rotate through several subspecialty clinics—such as pediatric dermatology, immunodermatology, phototherapy, dermatologic surgery, wound healing, solid organ transplant and skin cancer—and complete mandatory rural and research work. The program has been approved by the Specialty Committee in Dermatology at the RCPSC. Three residency positions have been selected to begin July 1; two are funded through Alberta Health and Wellness and one is an externallyfunded trainee from Saudi Arabia.
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A huge amount of planning and administrative work was involved to get this program off the ground, says Mydlarski. Both practicing dermatologists and academic specialists—based out of the Foothills Medical Centre—participated in the design. “For me, the best parts will be teaching and collaborating with the residents in order to fine-tune the program and ensure it provides a first class experience for all.” Once the program begins, anonymous teaching evaluations and collective feedback drawn from residents will inform changes to the program and preserve its integrity. Critical responses could result in removing teachers or adjusting the nature of their involvement. Every fall, members of the Residency Training Committee and participating residents will go on retreat. They’ll examine all aspects of the program— from the selection process and the program’s objectives and goals, to the evaluation process and the structure of rotations and electives. Improvements will be recommended and voted upon. Like any other democracy, the majority will rule. “I will be responsible for the overall conduct of the residency program,” says Mydlarski. As chair of committee meetings, she will conduct the review process related to the selection, promotion and evaluation of residents. Her key duty will be providing an education program which continues to meet the robust standards of the RCPSC. “I am most excited to have the Division of Dermatology move forward in our education mandate,” she adds. The Dermatology Residency Program is certain to tackle that challenge head-on as it offers up Canada’s latest (and Calgary’s first) detailed and multi-faceted framework to learn about the largest organ of the body—the human skin.
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