Question for you:  How do you find your medical provider? The most obvious of answers to this question is our dear friend, Google. What was life like before this search engine giant? I don't remember. I mean, seriously, who doesn't google twenty things throughout the course of the day? The truth is, however, there ...

As spring and summer entice the sunshine and warm weather, short sleeves or sleeveless tops and spaghetti straps are the favorite fashion. Yet some people prefer long sleeves and sweaters year-round because they feel self conscious about their arms.  Due to the social climate of southern California, patients come to our clinic ...

Working in medicine, specifically dermatology, we know there is no such thing as a ''healthy tan.'' When it comes to educating younger generations, I wish the effects of sun were immediate. I wish when a young girl stepped out of the tanning bed she saw dark spots, wrinkles and skin cancers forming on the body. Only then might ...

For those of you just entering the healthcare world, you may have noticed that any and every field has a conference. Having lived in Orlando for 5 years, I know about conferences (Orlando is probably the conference capital of the east coast). So, why all these conferences? What's the point, besides the CME for actual professionals? Can't you ...

A new patient (below), a 60-year-old woman, presented for ''spongiotic dermatitis'' diagnosed after a biopsy in March 2011.  At the time, she received cortisone cream and no follow-up appointment. She comes to my office because she is concerned that the spot never went away and now it is very sore and tender. A shave biopsy shows this to be ...

The time has come! I've passed boards, obtained my state license and I am scheduled to have ''temporary privileges'' at my facility next week! This is such an exciting time for my family and me! We've worked so hard for so many years and this is it. The really amusing thing? I opened the mail a couple of weeks ago when my license came through ...

As the universities and secondary schools are preparing for spring break, it is important that we are educated and educate our young patients on the dangers of ultraviolet exposure. I am going to focus this blog more specifically towards the use of tanning beds. As a dermatology specialist and a parent, I find it unconscionable that ...

The real tragedy of getting a medical education is not the understanding of your own mortality or quantification of personal risk factors. It's not even the fact that friends and colleagues want you to look at something awful that is growing out of their body (I was sure that was a myth). It is the loss of good television. An EMT friend of mine ...

Editor's note: This blog is written by Miguel A. Bustillos, department chair and professor at California University of Management & Sciences in Virginia. Most of us have heard about the Medicaid expansion and how states like Florida, Texas and Virginia are against it. Some do not understand why the Medicaid expansion has become such a ...

Last month during the lull of winter break, I had a sudden fear that I would not be able to find a job after graduation. I guess it was because of the lull, no case studies to do, clinical hours completed for the semester, and final grade deemed passing, that I had the time to contemplate a life after school. This month, as my classes resume ...