Rarely a Dull Moment

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Any views and opinions expressed are those of the author(s) and/or participants and do not necessarily reflect the views, policy, or position of the Dermatology Learning Network or HMP Global, their employees, and affiliates. 

One of the joys of dermatology is that there is rarely a dull moment. We care for a diverse array of conditions, and there are so many rare skin conditions that it is not rare for us to see one. Even the common skin conditions we treat present in varying ways, and patients’ responses to treatments for these conditions can be all over the map.

In his book, True Diversity: Going Beyond the Pie Graph, author Jesús Leal describes the importance of diversity in business. He makes a strong argument that businesses should not think of achieving diversity as simply checking a quota box. The multidimensional diversity of human experience cannot be captured so easily. Instead, he suggests that businesses are more successful when their workforce more fully represents the rich diversity of their customers. Such diversity, Leal suggests, helps companies better understand and meet their customer’s needs.

We strive to meet the needs of our patients. A dermatology office may seek to have a diverse staff , but many dermatology offices will not have enough physicians and extenders to represent the diversity of the population for whom they care. Yet, we have opportunities to learn about the diverse, specific needs of our patients. In this issue of The Dermatologist, our lead article describes how women’s needs change over the course of their lives and how we can address those needs. We also cover information that will help us care for patients asking for natural or organic treatments and look at better understanding and managing alopecia areata in people of color.

Discussions of diversity are often needlessly fraught with rancor but, like I said, dermatology is rarely a dull moment—as dermatologists we serve a diverse population of patients of all ages, genders, and backgrounds.