Brooke Walls, DO

One of the challenges of the American Academy of Dermatology (AAD) annual meeting is attending all the lectures that spark your interest while trying to attend lectures that offer a variety of topics. Many of the lectures that you want to attend are offered at the same time and there is just no way to attend every lecture that is appealing. The dermatology review 2-day course (C009) is the answer to this problem. This course was one of the highlights of my AAD experience this year. It brought together some of the top presenters and clinical investigators to highlight emerging discoveries in their respective areas of expertise. It was an honor to sit among these dermatologists and quite a compliment to the course design that they actually stayed the full 2 days to learn as well. Topics covered a wide range of dermatologic areas including advanced treatment of melanoma, actinic keratoses, photoprotection, contact dermatitis, flap design, and cosmeceuticals. I would highly recommend this course to second- or third-year dermatology residents who are preparing for the boards examination, as much of the presented material recently had been published in the literature and will likely end up on our boards. Not to mention the lectures were captivating.

Another must for residents was Dr. Christine Ko’s forum entitled “Dermatopathology Made Simple” (F131). Dr. Ko discussed basic pattern analysis that dermatology residents must know for the boards and the most important differential diagnoses to be included in each pattern. She made dermatopathology seem easy and she was an engaging speaker. As a forum-style lecture, personal computers were set up throughout the room for the audience to follow along. She covered 33 patterns and 174 entities in this 2-hour course. She also provided a session handout that is available on the official AAD 2013 CD-ROM. I would encourage all residents to attend this lecture next year.

One final suggestion is to attend the Skin Cancer Foundation annual meeting and reception. It is truly an amazing group of dermatologists who have given back so much to the community and are dedicated to raising awareness of and preventing skin cancer. Residents and medical students could attend for free and had the opportunity to meet some of the great names in our field, such as Dr. Perry Robins, president of the Skin Cancer Foundation. It was an excellent networking opportunity. At the end of the evening, Skin Cancer Foundation members received complimentary copies of a patient education DVD for office use. The DVD included interviews with 2 young women who have battled melanoma after using tanning beds as teenagers and aimed to help physicians communicate the dangers of indoor tanning to patients.

I hope some of these suggestions help you navigate through next year’s program book, and I look forward to attending next year’s event in my hometown of Denver, Colorado. What were your favorite sessions at this year’s annual meeting?

We want to know your views! Tell us what you think.

One of the challenges of the American Academy of Dermatology (AAD) annual meeting is attending all the lectures that spark your interest while trying to attend lectures that offer a variety of topics. Many of the lectures that you want to attend are offered at the same time and there is just no way to attend every lecture that is appealing. The dermatology review 2-day course (C009) is the answer to this problem. This course was one of the highlights of my AAD experience this year. It brought together some of the top presenters and clinical investigators to highlight emerging discoveries in their respective areas of expertise. It was an honor to sit among these dermatologists and quite a compliment to the course design that they actually stayed the full 2 days to learn as well. Topics covered a wide range of dermatologic areas including advanced treatment of melanoma, actinic keratoses, photoprotection, contact dermatitis, flap design, and cosmeceuticals. I would highly recommend this course to second- or third-year dermatology residents who are preparing for the boards examination, as much of the presented material recently had been published in the literature and will likely end up on our boards. Not to mention the lectures were captivating.

Another must for residents was Dr. Christine Ko’s forum entitled “Dermatopathology Made Simple” (F131). Dr. Ko discussed basic pattern analysis that dermatology residents must know for the boards and the most important differential diagnoses to be included in each pattern. She made dermatopathology seem easy and she was an engaging speaker. As a forum-style lecture, personal computers were set up throughout the room for the audience to follow along. She covered 33 patterns and 174 entities in this 2-hour course. She also provided a session handout that is available on the official AAD 2013 CD-ROM. I would encourage all residents to attend this lecture next year.

One final suggestion is to attend the Skin Cancer Foundation annual meeting and reception. It is truly an amazing group of dermatologists who have given back so much to the community and are dedicated to raising awareness of and preventing skin cancer. Residents and medical students could attend for free and had the opportunity to meet some of the great names in our field, such as Dr. Perry Robins, president of the Skin Cancer Foundation. It was an excellent networking opportunity. At the end of the evening, Skin Cancer Foundation members received complimentary copies of a patient education DVD for office use. The DVD included interviews with 2 young women who have battled melanoma after using tanning beds as teenagers and aimed to help physicians communicate the dangers of indoor tanning to patients.

I hope some of these suggestions help you navigate through next year’s program book, and I look forward to attending next year’s event in my hometown of Denver, Colorado. What were your favorite sessions at this year’s annual meeting?

We want to know your views! Tell us what you think.

One of the challenges of the American Academy of Dermatology (AAD) annual meeting is attending all the lectures that spark your interest while trying to attend lectures that offer a variety of topics. Many of the lectures that you want to attend are offered at the same time and there is just no way to attend every lecture that is appealing. The dermatology review 2-day course (C009) is the answer to this problem. This course was one of the highlights of my AAD experience this year. It brought together some of the top presenters and clinical investigators to highlight emerging discoveries in their respective areas of expertise. It was an honor to sit among these dermatologists and quite a compliment to the course design that they actually stayed the full 2 days to learn as well. Topics covered a wide range of dermatologic areas including advanced treatment of melanoma, actinic keratoses, photoprotection, contact dermatitis, flap design, and cosmeceuticals. I would highly recommend this course to second- or third-year dermatology residents who are preparing for the boards examination, as much of the presented material recently had been published in the literature and will likely end up on our boards. Not to mention the lectures were captivating.

Another must for residents was Dr. Christine Ko’s forum entitled “Dermatopathology Made Simple” (F131). Dr. Ko discussed basic pattern analysis that dermatology residents must know for the boards and the most important differential diagnoses to be included in each pattern. She made dermatopathology seem easy and she was an engaging speaker. As a forum-style lecture, personal computers were set up throughout the room for the audience to follow along. She covered 33 patterns and 174 entities in this 2-hour course. She also provided a session handout that is available on the official AAD 2013 CD-ROM. I would encourage all residents to attend this lecture next year.

One final suggestion is to attend the Skin Cancer Foundation annual meeting and reception. It is truly an amazing group of dermatologists who have given back so much to the community and are dedicated to raising awareness of and preventing skin cancer. Residents and medical students could attend for free and had the opportunity to meet some of the great names in our field, such as Dr. Perry Robins, president of the Skin Cancer Foundation. It was an excellent networking opportunity. At the end of the evening, Skin Cancer Foundation members received complimentary copies of a patient education DVD for office use. The DVD included interviews with 2 young women who have battled melanoma after using tanning beds as teenagers and aimed to help physicians communicate the dangers of indoor tanning to patients.

I hope some of these suggestions help you navigate through next year’s program book, and I look forward to attending next year’s event in my hometown of Denver, Colorado. What were your favorite sessions at this year’s annual meeting?

We want to know your views! Tell us what you think.