Scope, Current Trends And Challenges In Pursuing Dermatology As A Career

As when you have a stomach ache you visit a physician similarly when you have a skin concern like eczema, skin spots, or inflammation you visit a dermatologist. A dermatologist not only makes you confident by addressing your skin concern but also identifies threatening concerns like basal and squamous cell skin cancer cells which are found in the epidermis. Dermatology has multiple disciplines and job roles right from concerns for kids, and cosmetic surgery to the detection of cancerous tissue. Let us find out more about this field and how it has evolved through technology.

Skin is the largest organ of our body and sometimes it needs the care of a professional expert. A dermatologist is a doctor who solves skin, nail and hair-related problems of their patients. To become a dermatologist, a student must choose Physics, Chemistry, and Biology as their core subjects in Class 12. As dermatology is a postgraduate specialisation they must first complete an MBBS (Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery) degree. Once the student has obtained an MBBS degree, they can enrol in a Master's program in dermatology. This specialised degree will qualify you to practise as a dermatologist. Dermatology also has a vast number of multi-specialisations some of which are listed below.

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Scope Of Dermatologist

Paediatric Dermatology: A branch of dermatology that focuses on skin conditions and disorders affecting infants, children, and teenagers.

Surgical Dermatology: A field of dermatology that involves surgical procedures to treat skin conditions, such as skin cancer removal, mole removal, and scar revision. Generally, all dermatologists are eligible to carry out both medical and cosmetic surgery. In surgical dermatology, the expert has to do extra schooling practised under the guidance of a certified surgeon.

Teledermatology: The practice of providing dermatological consultations and care using technology, like video calls or images. Patients can receive medical advice from a distance via teledermatology. This type of dermatology practice became quite prevalent after the pandemic.

Cosmetic Dermatology: A speciality that focuses on improving the appearance of the skin, addressing concerns like wrinkles, acne scars, and age spots through procedures like botox, fillers, and laser treatments.

The field of dermatology has been changing drastically with new everchanging development and innovations in technology. Some of such changes include:

Telemedicine

About: Telemedicine is a new introduction to the field of dermatology where you can send photos of your skin concern to your dermatologist. Through this, the patient can connect with the skin expert in no time from a distant location. The practitioner can easily deal with simpler cases in a shorter time period.

Effect on dermatology career: As per the International Foundation for Dermatology, approximately 3 billion individuals in 345 rural communities lack adequate access to dermatologic care. By reducing the requirement of face-to-face visits, teledermatology helps save costs associated with travel and workplace absenteeism. Though the traditional method of diagnosis is still more accurate, mobile teledermatology serves as an effective triage system. This prioritises patients with suspicious skin lesions for further evaluation by in-person visits.

Limitations: The accuracy of the diagnosis in teledermatology is still debatable, especially in the case of chronic, inflammatory skin diseases. The lack of dependable technological platforms also is a barrier to the usage of telemedicine in dermatology.

Skin Checking Apps

About: There are various applications that are used to assist the dermatologist in the diagnosis of a skin, or hair-related issue like MoleScope, SkinVision etc. The app asks general questions about the concern, including how long it has been bothering the patient. This is not used as a substitute but as an aid to the personal diagnosis

Effect on dermatology career: Skin apps have had an impact on dermatology as a career. These apps allow users to submit images of their skin conditions, which are then checked by artificial intelligence (A.I.) technology. Though the final diagnosis is always done by a doctor the app pre-evaluates the images and suggests potential skin conditions.

Limitations: More trustworthy applications are needed to be created as there are many cases of overdiagnosis observed in the case of sometimes detecting non-cancerous tumours as a skin concern.

Robotics

About: Robotics is becoming increasingly useful in the field of dermatology. Canfield Scientific, a leader in imaging systems or products for science-related research, has introduced the Vectra WB360 system. This system can scan the entire body and identify skin lesions or areas with skin concerns. Researchers have also found that robots can improve laser treatments for skin cancer and other skin issues.

Effect on dermatology career: New development in dermatology aligned to robotics includes an automatic laser hair removal system. Robotic surgeries and laparoscopic surgeries have been shown to be less invasive i.e. use of minimum instruments entering the skin. This results in fewer scars and greater accuracy. Dermatologists trained to perform surgery via robotics technology can effectively perform these new procedures.

Limitations: Technology involving robotics are quite costly and often unaffordable by regular practitioners.

Insights From Experienced Dermatologists

Since time immemorial people have always wanted to present themselves in a more captivating manner. Medical sciences, especially fields such as cosmetic dentistry and dermatology have only made good on the demand.

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Dr Devesh Sinha from Bihar who has been practising dermatologist shared some interesting insights. According to him, dermatology has changed a lot over time. The major reason for medical students to choose dermatology is the demand for cosmetic and aesthetic surgery. This is a very lucrative branch of medicine as beauty being a basic desire of human nature, has given a tremendous boost to the ever evolving branch of Dermatology. “For this very reason it is the most sought after branches for budding doctors,” says Dr Sinha

Dr Sinha also shared the challenges his profession has to face. The biggest challenges according to him are “the quacks and the untrained salons and beauty parlours.” Often patients are exploited by these persons in the name of giving cosmetic solutions. He points out another big challenge, “Wrong and misleading advertisements in the media affect individuals and with our limited resources it is very difficult to counter such false propaganda,” shares Dr Sinha.

There are people who pretend to be experts in beauty but actually don't have proper training. They work in places like beauty parlours and can take advantage of people who want cosmetic treatments. Another problem is that advertisements can be misleading. This makes it hard for dermatologists to provide accurate information.

It is important for dermatologists to learn new techniques and use the internet to stay up-to-date. He suggested that aspiring dermatologists should start by learning the basics before getting into more advanced cosmetic treatments. By doing this, they can build a strong foundation for their future career.

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Staying Relevant In The Field Of Dermatology

Dermatology as a career is transforming at a very fast pace. This change in current trends and dependence on artificial intelligence (AI) often creates doubt in the mind of aspiring dermatologists. Dr Sangita Reddy from Apollo Hospitals believes that, “AI is never a replacement for doctors in the healthcare field.” However she adds that it is definitely a roadblock for those who do not adapt to the technology. Artificial Intelligence can suggest the best diagnosis, but cannot solve the human concern on its own.