Table of Contents

  • What is Dermatology?
  • What is the Scope of Dermatology?
  • Where We Practice Dermatology
  • What are Subspecialties in Dermatology?
  • How We Practice Dermatology
      1. Diagnosis
      1. Treatments Used in Dermatology
  • Why Be a Dermatologist?
  • By the End, You Have to Be Able To:
  • The Course Will Be Conducted in the Form of
  • Clinical Sessions
  • Groups for Clinical Sessions & Presentations
  • Student Presentations
  • References
    • Online References

Dermatology

Dr. Sami Billal - MBBS, PhD, MD

What is Dermatology?

  • A branch of medicine dealing with the skin, its structure, functions, and diseases.

What is the Scope of Dermatology?

  • Disorders of the skin, hair, and nails.
    • The specialty is divided broadly into medical and surgical fields.
    • Dermatologists in secondary care often practice both.

Where We Practice Dermatology

  • Dermatology is chiefly an outpatient specialty.

  • Most patient referrals request an initial diagnosis and treatment of an unknown skin disease or review of more complex and chronic cases beyond the skill of the general practitioner.

  • The dermatologist will assess emergency referrals from general practice and skin disease in hospital inpatients.

  • Provide advice to other physicians, such as general practitioners, over the phone.

What are Subspecialties in Dermatology?

  • Medical dermatology
  • Surgical dermatology
  • Dermatopathology
  • Hair and nail disorders
  • Genital skin disease
  • Geriatric dermatology
  • Pediatric dermatology
  • Immunodermatology, including patch testing
  • Blistering disorders
  • Connective tissue diseases (Rheumatology)
  • Photodermatology
  • Cosmetic dermatology
  • Genetic skin disease

How We Practice Dermatology

1. Diagnosis

  • Diagnoses in the majority of cases in dermatology require relatively few investigations.
  • Clinically diagnosing skin disorders requires skill, experience, and a good grounding in clinical medicine.

2. Treatments Used in Dermatology

  1. Topical therapies
  2. Systemic drugs
  3. Biologics
  4. Phototherapy and laser treatments
  5. Cryotherapy
  6. Cauterization
  7. Surgical procedures

Why Be a Dermatologist?

  • Dermatology offers an interesting clinical or surgical career in combination with a balanced and flexible working life.

By the End, You Have to Be Able To:

  • Describe the basic functional structure of the skin in correlation to common dermatological diseases.
  • Take the history from the patient with a dermatological complaint.
  • Examine and describe the primary and secondary dermatological lesions.
  • Diagnose common dermatological infections and prescribe suitable topical treatments.
  • Differentiate clinically between the common papulo-squamous diseases and prescribe the primary treatment.
  • Diagnose the dermatological life-threatening conditions and rescue the patient.
  • Be familiar with the major skin pigmentation disorders.
  • Suspect the most common skin benign lesions and malignancies.
  • Identify the common features of eczematous conditions and prescribe the first-line treatment.
  • Describe the different dermatological procedures used to treat or investigate common dermatological diseases.
  • Define laser fundamentals and its common uses in dermatology.
  • Define pruritus, mechanism, associated conditions, and treatment.
  • Identify the common vascular malformation.
  • Explain the common dermatosis associated with pregnancy.

The Course Will Be Conducted in the Form of

  1. Lectures
  2. Flipped sessions
  3. Clinical sessions
  4. Student Presentations

Clinical Sessions

  1. History and dermatology examination
  2. Morphology
  3. Dermatologic procedures
  4. Scaly lesions
  5. Red face

Groups for Clinical Sessions & Presentations

  1. Group A1
  2. Group A2
  3. Group B1
  4. Group B2

Student Presentations

  1. Treatment Eczema
  2. Pruritus Management
  3. HIV Dermatologic Manifestations
  4. Cutaneous Manifestations of Internal Diseases

References

  1. Lecture Notes: Dermatology by Robin Graham-Brown, Tony Burns
  2. Fitzpatrick’s Color Atlas and Synopsis of Clinical Dermatology

Online References

  1. Dermnetnz.org
  2. Emedicine.medscape.com/dermatology