The need for new ways to establish mentorship connections and encourage disadvantaged groups in dermatology led to the creation of the National Mentorship Match Algorithm or NMMA, a unique program started by dermatology resident Dr. Surya Veerabagu while she was in medical school. NMMA uses a proprietary algorithm to match medical students with dermatologists and dermatology residents based on shared experiences and interests. Mentees can gain advice from their mentors about the dermatology residency application process, which helps level the playing field for disadvantaged groups seeking to match into dermatology. A 2024 article in the Journal of Drugs in Dermatology highlighted the program and included a call for mentors.
For more on this novel program and how trainees and practicing dermatologists can get involved, I interviewed:
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- Surya Veerabagu, MD, NMMA founder and dermatology resident PGY-3 at the University of New Mexico
- Sheeva Shahinfar, MD, NMMA co-chair and PGY-1 medicine – preliminary resident at UC Irvine School of Medicine
- Adam Friedman, MD, FAAD, NMMA mentor and advocate, and residency program director at GW School of Medicine & Health Sciences
The NMMA program started during the pandemic. What was the impetus behind its inception and what was the core issue it was designed to address?
SS/SV: Dermatology away rotations and conferences are vital in the dermatology match process to establish connections and find mentorship. During the pandemic, these opportunities were restricted for the ultimate good of keeping our communities safe. Dr. Veerabagu created the program as a medical student, hoping it could help create personalized mentorship pairings based on similar experiences. Of the 101 NMMA mentees from the first NMMA iteration in 2020, 89 (88.1%) successfully matched into dermatology. Approximately 61/101 mentees answered a post-NMMA survey that was sent to help improve the program. A total of 93.4% (57/61) found NMMA’s personalized algorithm particularly helpful, 83.6% (51/61) reported that their NMMA mentor reduced their application anxiety, and 96.7% (59/61) expressed difficulty in finding mentorship before NMMA.
Finding a mentor in dermatology as a medical student can be a challenge. How does this program work, and what makes it unique?
SS/SV: You’re absolutely right! The word “mentor” is frequently used in medicine and can be confusing for a medical student: Where do I find one? What does a mentor do? Do I need to officially ask someone to mentor me, or does it come naturally over time? “Mentor” is a very fluid term. This is why NMMA provides a specific, yet flexible definition of mentorship. Mentors and mentees must meet for approximately one hour virtually to review questions about the dermatology residency application process. This can include personal statement review, interview practice, etc. During this time, mentors and mentees are de-affiliated from their respective institutions to keep the process equitable. For NMMA, a mentor is someone who is a few steps ahead of you and can guide you – this could be a dermatology resident or an attending physician. The specialized mentorship pairings, free access, and virtual mentorship make NMMA unique. We are proud to say that we have matched over 700 mentees over the last 5 years, since our inception! We ask that former NMMA mentees who match “give back” to the program by serving as mentors at least once after matching to help keep the program running.
The program prioritizes groups that are disadvantaged during the dermatology match process. What are these groups and what makes them disadvantaged? How has the makeup of the mentees changed over time?
SS/SV: There are several disadvantaged groups in medicine. Thankfully, we are one of many organizations shedding light and helping provide resources for marginalized groups. The particularly disadvantaged groups that we serve are those who are underrepresented in medicine (URM), as defined by the National Institutes of Health, and those who do not have home dermatology programs. NMMA’s algorithm prioritizes these applicants to ensure they are paired with a mentor. Our mentee demographics change every year. If there are more mentors available, then sometimes we can accommodate all dermatology residency applicants who fill out the NMMA mentee survey. Since NMMA’s algorithm always prioritizes the aforementioned groups, a large majority are those who are URM and/or without home dermatology programs.
What are the responsibilities of mentors and who makes a good mentor?
SS/SV: NMMA is a 100% volunteer-run program from NMMA leadership to NMMA mentors. NMMA provides a specific definition for mentorship in order to manage mentor and mentee expectations. A one-time, one-hour time commitment is more practical for busy dermatology residents and dermatologists and is tremendously beneficial for mentees. During this meeting, mentees can ask any questions they have regarding the dermatology application process (personal statements, away rotations, signaling, conferences, ERAS, etc.). Mentors and mentees are de-affiliated from their respective programs to avoid biases. A good mentor is communicative and helpful. No path to success is truly 100% independent, and the best mentors remember that at one point they were previously in their mentees’ shoes. We have all benefited from those more advanced than us who believed in us, provided support, and shared knowledge from their experiences.
Why should an intern, dermatology resident, fellow, or early-career dermatologist consider becoming an NMMA mentor?
SS/SV: The dermatology residency application process is constantly evolving. Now there are geographic and program-specific signals in the process and recommendations regarding away rotations, amongst many other changes. Early career dermatologists, dermatology residents/fellows, and current interns have experience with these changes that can help their NMMA mentees. That being said, we welcome dermatologists at any stage of their career to consider volunteering an hour of their time to help an NMMA mentee. Since the matching algorithm is automated, the only limitation to the program is the number of volunteer-mentors. NMMA is an opportunity for early-career dermatologists, dermatology residents/fellows, and current interns to help “pay it forward” and help others join the wonderful field of dermatology. Mentees and mentors have shared heart-warming stories of meeting “IRL” (in real life) at dermatology conferences, etc., and becoming “dermatology friends.
AF: Simply put, one hour of your time could change someone’s trajectory. The National Mentorship Match Algorithm (NMMA), which I was fortunate enough to assist with its build, is free for mentees, and the only real bottleneck is the number of volunteer mentors. Just a single 60-minute call meets the commitment (I feel like a Sally Struthers commercial saying that, for those old enough to remember), and many mentors find it so rewarding they become repeat offenders. The broader dermatology community needs you. Independent data show that mentor and home program connections heavily influence match outcomes, especially in the context of the competition heating up even more than ever before (last year boasted the most competitive numbers, with only a 50% match rate for applicants). Formal, scalable mentorship helps level that playing field, which is exactly what NMMA is designed to do.
Traditionally, NMMA matches have occurred between a medical student’s third and fourth year, but the timeline is changing to match medical students in January of their third year. What are the projected benefits of this change?
SS/SV: Since our inception, we’ve always matched students in the summer of their M4 year, just a couple of months before they apply to residency. We collect feedback forms every year. The feedback was overwhelming that mentees wished they had been matched with their mentors earlier. Away rotation applications happen in the middle of the students’ third year of medical school (around March/April). With this feedback, we’ve decided to push the mentorship match to around January of the student’s third year of medical school, which ends up being about nine months before they apply to dermatology. With this ample amount of time, conversations can be more tailored to the application process overall.
The program matches approximately 100 medical students a year with a mentor. What are some of the stories you’ve heard about the program’s impact?
SS/SV: Yes! And every year we continue to grow. We really rely on programs like Next Steps in Dermatology, the Association of Professors of Dermatology, and the Dermatology Interest Group Association to help expand our work. A lot of our reach is also through these programs and word of mouth, with students personally reaching out, stating that their friend used the mentorship program or that a faculty member recommended it to them. As mentioned in the first part of the interview, NMMA’s first year mentee class had a staggering 88.1% dermatology residency match rate. Outside of these hard numbers, we have heard numerous stories of mentors and mentees meeting at conferences in real life and becoming friends. It is wonderful to meet and connect with people from different parts of the country at different stages of training within the same field. Around April/May, we ask NMMA mentees who successfully matched into dermatology to serve at least once as NMMA mentors to pay it forward. It is incredible how in minutes, we have numerous former NMMA mentees signed up to be NMMA mentors. We love hearing about ALL of our former NMMA mentees’ (and mentors’) experiences, and we are enthralled to be a part of their journey to dermatology.
Why is it important to make entry into a dermatology training program fair for everyone?
SS/SV: Research has shown that dermatologists should represent the patients we serve. Making the dermatology residency application process more equitable allows for the field to become more diverse, representing the patient population we serve. Many organizations have risen to the challenge to help make the process fairer. For example, away rotations are quite expensive, and in the past, applicants with more financial resources benefited from procuring more away rotations. Now, the APD has established limitations on away rotations to help make the process more equitable. It is important for many reasons, but most importantly, it greatly benefits our dermatology patients. Faculty and residents who either personally have experienced setbacks or have learned about those from their colleagues who have should really consider volunteering one hour of their time to be an NMMA mentor. Like we mentioned before, no path to success is 100% independent. We all had someone who either provided us with an opportunity, taught us an important concept, or shared an experience to help us improve and grow. Mentorship is a critical piece of making dermatology equitable and ensuring that those who match continue to improve the field as well.
AF: It’s important because our workforce still doesn’t mirror our patient population, which we know impacts the patient experience, trust, and ultimately care. Fair entry isn’t just the “right thing,” it’s clinically meaningful. Studies link patient–physician racial and/or ethnic concordance to better patient experience, communication, adherence, and in some settings, even improved preventive care and lower mortality. We at GW have even published on this let alone many of our wonderful colleagues around the country. While concordance isn’t the only route to equity, a more diverse dermatology workforce measurably strengthens trust, satisfaction, and outcomes.
Let’s be clear, the stakes are rising. After recent legal and political shifts, early reports show declines in Black and Hispanic medical school matriculation, which threatens to narrow the pipeline further unless we build robust, fair, mentorship-driven pathways. Programs that expand access, especially for applicants without home departments, are essential to keep talented people from being filtered out by structural barriers rather than merit. Bottom line: Mentoring through NMMA is a high-yield, low-hanging fruit to expand opportunity, reduce anxiety for applicants, and build a dermatology workforce that better serves everyone we see.
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