Navigating Difficult Conversations in Dermatology Clinics
Difficult conversations are a routine part of dermatology. They are especially tricky in our specialty because of the time pressure in a full clinic (often 30+ patients a day) and the visual, often deeply personal, nature of skin disease. Medical school teaches universal communication techniques, such as active listening, teach-back, agenda setting, and shared decision-making, that are necessary t …
Difficult conversations are a routine part of dermatology. They are especially tricky in our specialty because of the time pressure in a full clinic (often 30+ patients a day) and the visual, often deeply personal, nature of skin disease. Medical school teaches universal communication techniques, such as active listening, teach-back, agenda setting, and shared decision-making, that are necessary t … Continue reading "Navigating Difficult Conversations in Dermatology Clinics"
My colleagues often joke about how much my patients “love me.”
Over the years, I’ve come to think that what they are really seeing in my patients is a profound commitment to the therapeutic relationship: a willingness to trust the plan we have laid out and a deep engagement in their own care, even when visits are short and clinic is moving fast.
For physicians, that same commitment is … 
Scalp biopsies are an important tool in diagnosing central centrifugal cicatricial alopecia (CCCA), especially in atypical presentations where making an accurate diagnosis through other means is challenging. Even though a biopsy-confirmed diagnosis could lead to hair-saving treatment, hair loss patients sometimes balk at the recommendation to biopsy. The authors of a brief communication published …