R.O.A.D. To Success – Is Dermatology Hard?

R.O.A.D. To Success – Is Dermatology Hard?

As you may have heard there is a saying in the medical field – R.O.A.D. to success. This saying is made from 4 medical specialties – Radiology, Ophthalmology, Anesthesiology, and Dermatology. Why exactly these four specialties? It’s because doctors who are working in given specialties usually have more free time for their hobbies, have better work-life balance, and in general, are better situated than their colleagues.

Is dermatology hard? Is dermatologist’s lifestyle better? How much dermatologists earn? Are they happy?

This is what we will try to figure out today!

Table of Contents

It All Starts With The Medical School

All doctors must start at the same point – in the first year of medical school. During basic sciences and pre-clinical years students usually are getting general knowledge and are not learning any specific details regarding medical residency.

Nevertheless, many students feel that R.O.A.D. specialties have a better lifestyle. According to DeZee KJ et al., among 4th-year students dermatology was rated as the best lifestyle specialty of all. Students were asked to rate the lifestyle of doctors on a scale from 1 to 9 and 4 top places were as follows:

Dermatology scored 8.4,
Radiology scored 8.1,
Ophthalmology scored 8,
Anaesthesiology scored 7.5.

So, the main takeaway point is that students view R.O.A.D. specialities as the great choice in future!

How Long Does It Take To Become A Dermatologist?

In total it would take at least 10 years to become a fully certified dermatologist, but everything is not so easy.

To become a dermatologist you will need to finish medical school, get into residency, learn a lot of specific things regarding different dermatology methods, materials, and medicine.

As a result, even though we stated that it takes 10 years it can take more to become a real professional in the dermatology field. Dermatology as a specialty is evolving and thus there are new methods and new machines that are being used. For example, digital dermatoscope, skin biopsy, and biopsy guns, skin cryosurgery, and many other manipulations that are being updated daily.

So, even though you will get your dermatology certificate – learning doesn’t stop there! You will have to continue exploring new methods, tools, and gadgets, but it’s the same in all other medical specialties.

Dermatologist Lifestyle In Residency And Afterwards

Dermatologist’s work-life balance is considered to be one of the best in the medical field, but it comes with a negative side too.

During residency usually, dermatologists have 1 year in general clinical training and further go into the specific field of dermatology.

The dermatology residency curriculum will vary depending on the chosen hospital, but in general, it consists of dermatopathology, procedural dermatology, pediatric dermatology, inpatient and outpatient dermatology, immunohematology, dermatologic surgery and there can be some slight variations across the country.

Regarding lifestyle, it will depend on your hospital. Usually, dermatologists don’t have night-shifts and are not part of an emergency department, thus, it’s already a huge relief for those who don’t like to deal with emergency situations. As a result, you will have more free time for your hobbies, studies or any other activities.

Happiness In Dermatology

According to Medscape lifestyle report 2019, dermatologists take 4th spot “happiness at work” – 34% of dermatologists responded that they are very happy or extremely happy, trailing only to ophthalmology 39% (another R.O.A.D. specialty), preventive medicine and plastic surgery.

Regarding “happiness outside of the work”, dermatologists were about in the middle of the pack and 49% responded that they are very happy or extremely happy outside of work.

Actually, if you are in medicine, then sometimes it’s really hard to answer that you are very happy or extremely happy because you see people with diseases and problems every day and it affects your life and mood too.

One reason for this is the burnout in medicine.

Burnout In Dermatology

Approximately, 38% of dermatologists have signs of burnout (which is lower than physician average of 44%), 13% are colloquially depressed and 4% are clinically depressed.

There can be numerous causes for burnout. Main contributors to dermatologists burnout are:

Too many bureaucratic tasks (73%) and government regulations (40%). Unfortunately, as medicine evolves bureaucracy and regulations evolve too. With every new method there comes a new set of rules. So this is the one thing in common in all specialties. On the one hand, it could be a good thing for the general population but can be destructive for doctors.
Increasing computerization of practice (36%). This could be a generational issue. The new millennial generation takes great advantage of using digital means to deliver care to patients. As a result, medicine could become more effective and tackle a lot of problems that are easily manageable by data science. On the other hand, more experienced doctors are not used to new methods and it can lead to additional pressure on their mental health.
Spending too many hours at work (26%) and insufficient salary (20%). Sometimes it’s due to financial demands, sometimes due to willingness to save all patients in the world, sometimes juggling around these two issues doctors find themselves in a “mental prison”. The mastery is to find that sweet spot – help as many patients as you can without sacrificing your personal needs.
Lack of respect from patients (19%). Nowadays there is “Dr. Google” who has all the answers, unfortunately, you need to ask correct questions to get a proper answer. As a result, sometimes patients can be rude and aggressive if the doctor doesn’t agree with their opinion.

To cope with it dermatologists prefer exercise (53%, most of them do it 2-3 times per week or even more), sleep (40%), isolate themselves from others (34%, which is not a great way of coping), and talking with family (33%).

The good thing about dermatology is that 55% of dermatologists have high or very high self-esteem. That can help in dealing with numerous problems regarding burnout.

How Much Do Dermatologists Make?

Dermatologists take 5th place in the USA with 419 000 USD per year (better compensations are in cardiology, ENT, plastic surgery and orthopedics), according to the Medscape Compensation report 2019.

But there are some specifics that we need to look in to:

Dermatologists work on average 37 hours per week (males 39 hours per week, females 35 hours per week). Of those, approximately, 14-15 hours were devoted to paperwork and 12-13 hours devoted to clinical work.
90% of dermatologists are satisfied with their own job performance. That goes hand-in-hand in line with the R.O.A.D. specialties.
66% of dermatologists feel fairly compensated and take 3rd place in the overall ranking.

Another thing that is different from other specialties is that most of the dermatologists are working in an office-based practice and only 2% are working in a hospital.

This is the reason why dermatologists are able to score such a high paycheck.

Final Words On Dermatology And R.O.A.D. To Success

Dermatology is a specific field with a lot of things that are different from other medical professions. But it all comes down to what is interesting for you and which specialty will be the best for you.

If we look at dermatologists then 92% of dermatologists would take the same dermatology residency again.

When you go into medicine you shouldn’t look forward to the “easiest” road.

Any specialty can be a blessing or a curse – it depends on how you approach it and how you manage your life around medicine. In every specialty, you will find high-earning doctors unhappy doctors and low-earning happy doctors.

So it’s all about how you, your choices in medical school, and how you play your “medical career” cards in the field.