Dermatology Residencies Need More Skin of Color Training

WEDNESDAY, Sept. 17 (HealthDay News) -- Dermatology residents in the United States receive relatively little training in treating skin of color, which needs to be improved given that about 48 percent of the U.S. population will be non-white by 2050, according to research published in the October issue of the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology.

Rajiv I. Nijhawan, and colleagues from the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine surveyed 41 program directors and 63 chief residents from U.S. dermatology residency programs regarding the education, exposure and experience dermatology residents receive in treating skin of color during their training.

The researchers found that similar percentages of both groups (14.6 percent of program directors and 14.3 percent of chief residents) recognized an expert at their institutions who conducted a skin of color clinic. Some (19.5 percent of program directors and 25.4 percent of chief residents) said they had lectures on skin of color from an expert. Only 12.2 percent of program directors but 30.2 percent of chief residents reported having a rotation where residents gained experience treating patients with skin of color. The authors note that 65.9 percent of program directors and 52.4 percent of chief residents said that lectures or didactic sessions focusing on diseases in skin of color were part of their training.

"The results indicate a need for increased exposure, educational sessions, and overall training in diseases pertaining to skin of color in U.S. dermatology residencies," Nijhawan and colleagues conclude.

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