Original article
The importance of dedicated dermoscopy training during residency: A survey of US dermatology chief residents

Presented as an abstract at the Third World Congress of Dermoscopy, Brisbane, Australia, May 17-19, 2012.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaad.2012.11.032Get rights and content

Background

Studies have shown low satisfaction levels among dermatology residents with respect to dermoscopy training. Many desire additional instruction.

Objective

We surveyed graduating chief residents to assess current education practices among US dermatology training programs with respect to the role of dermoscopy as an aid in the management of pigmented lesions.

Methods

An online survey was sent to 139 chief residents of US dermatology training programs.

Results

A 59% response rate was achieved. Of responding chief residents, 94% use dermoscopy. Although 92% of chief residents received dermoscopy training, only 48% trained with a pigmented lesion specialist. Among those training without a specialist, less than half received classroom or bedside teaching compared with 77% of those who trained with a specialist. Of those who trained with a specialist, 77% were satisfied with their training compared with only 30% who trained without a specialist (P < .0001). Those who trained with a specialist were more likely to agree that dermoscopy can help differentiate melanoma from benign lesions (77% vs 47%; P = .0065).

Limitations

Response bias and limiting the survey to chief residents potentially limits our ability to generalize these results to all US dermatology trainees.

Conclusion

Although many residents use dermoscopy as a diagnostic tool, the lack of dedicated dermoscopy training remains a potential barrier to increasing residents’ diagnostic confidence in the management of pigmented lesions. Increasing the amount of dedicated instruction on this topic is one possible approach to enhance resident satisfaction, potentially increasing their competency in the management of atypical nevi.

Section snippets

Methods

Residency coordinators of accredited US dermatology programs (n = 113) were contacted via telephone or e-mail inviting all chief residents graduating in June 2011 to participate in the study. Two programs without chief residents were excluded. Among the 111 remaining residency programs, the contact information for chief residents was requested and obtained from 84 programs. Twelve programs could not provide contact information for their chief residents (n = 18) but offered to forward the study

Respondents

Of the 162 chief residents invited to participate, 23 were excluded as e-mails to their addresses were undeliverable. The remaining 139 chief residents represented 84 dermatology training programs, and 59% (82 of 139) responded. In all, 66% (54 of 82) of the respondents were female; 34% (28 of 82) were male. Training experience varied among chief residents, with 48% (39 of 82) reporting training with a pigmented lesion specialist and 38% (31 of 82) reporting having a pigmented lesion clinic in

Discussion

We surveyed chief residents graduating from US dermatology training programs to assess their use of dermoscopy in the management of pigmented skin lesions and the education they received during their training. We are particularly interested in graduating residents as they represent the “product” of current education practices among US dermatology training programs. Our 59% response rate represented 64 of 111 programs, for a program response rate of 58%, which is comparable with other

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    Dr Stein was supported by the Irwin I. Lubowe Fellowship in Dermatology. Dr Smith was supported by the Live4Life Melanoma Foundation.

    Conflicts of interest: None declared.

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    Copyright © 2012 American Academy of Dermatology, Inc. Published by Mosby, Inc. All rights reserved.