PRACTICE PLACEMENT PROJECT

Practice placement project

Practice placement project

Introduction

The assignment will provide information about my practice done at dermatology unit for a period of 6 weeks. I was fortunate to grow up in a successful family where my father was a prominent physician at the famed Tuskegee Institute in Tuskegee, Ala. At the time I was applying to medical schools, there were limited opportunities for people of color. I tried applying to the University of Chicago and New York University but was denied because the “black” slots usually were reserved for their undergraduates. The only medical schools that accepted me were Howard University and Meharry Medical College. I chose Howard because it was farther north. I decided to become a dermatologist after he was approached by the Cleveland Dermatological Society. Many white dermatologists would not accept very dark patients. (Orfield 2009 p.35) Those who did were not trained in the subtleties of skin of color. As I practiced dermatology, the differences between black and white skins became more evident to him. This strengthened his passion for academics.

I believe that it was my destiny to advance black physicians in dermatology. I spent 6 weeks in a dermatology unit. Over there I learned many things which helped me a lot. It is perhaps my first experience of practical work with a dermatological unit. Given that I now count among my patients a considerable number of expatriates. This is due partly to the position of my offices in suburban Washington, DC. Partly to my own roots (though American-born, I was raised in England); and, to a lesser extent, perhaps a consequence of my good command of "English" English and my passable French, which render me somewhat Euro-friendly albeit that my French is of the schoolgirl variety and rather deficient in medical terminology. (Nivola 2005 p.25)

Many of my European patients express surprise at the limited number of injections available in the US, coming as they do from locales where a plethora of botulinum neurotoxin and dermal filler options is the norm. The FDA approval this April of Dysport, a new botulinum neurotoxin A for temporary improvement of glabellas lines, brings us a little closer to the European model. And we will draw closer still over the next couple of years as further toxins and fillers are accepted and the outlook of a topical botulinum neurotoxin becomes less remote. (Myers 2006 P.19)

With the excitement of a new aesthetic device, there may furthermore arrive some inertia. Incorporating a new botulinum neurotoxin into our remedy paradigms takes a little work: There are dilutions to be figured and treatment flats to be calculated. Much has been made of the need to devise a conversion factor to translate Botox Units to Dysport Units (Porter 2002 P.12). There has been pre-approval conjecture considering the seen advantages and handicaps of the new product. Botox has assisted us immeasurably well; it's a gold standard treatment and has so revolutionized our area that it is no exaggeration to speak of facial aesthetics ...