How to Become a Dermatologist?

Updated On: 12-Feb-2023

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Dermatology is the branch of medicine dealing with the skin, nails, hair and its diseases. A professional in this area is called Dermatologist.

Their job includes treatment of skin, hair and nails. The dermatologists also offer treatment for diseases like psoriasis, eczema, warts, allergic rashes, acne, itching, and skin cancer. They just don't prescribe the medicine; they also plan a schedule or a diet for their patients and recommend the exercises.

These professionals also perform several types of minor surgical procedures, like redaction of moles and using techniques like Mohs surgery - a specialized procedure that removes skin cancer from sensitive regions

Specializations:

One can choose one of the following career paths in Dermatology:

Surgical dermatologist: Their primary job is to perform surgeries and operations on people with a wide range of conditions
Dermatopathologist: Also known as clinical dermatologist. Their primary job is to prescribe medication that will help cure the problem.

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Further the aspirants can choose to practice as Pediatric dermatology, adult dermatology or both.

Pediatric Dermatologist: They only cater to conditions being faced by newborn babies, infants, and young children.
Adult dermatologist: They engage with the treatment of adult patients only.

In order to become a dermatologist you should have an MBBS degree which takes five and half years to complete followed by three years of MD Dermatology course.

Pass the 12th grade with Physics, Chemistry and Biology as main subjects.
After appearing for 12th boards, you need to go through entrance exam to get admission in MBBS. There are various tests conducted by state governments or by independent bodies.
After MBBS, you need to go the M.D. course that took 2 years
After 2 years of M.D and the registration from the medical council, you will be a dermatologist and can start practicing in different hospitals.

The skills the aspirants needed:

Must have the ability to master difficult science classes, including chemistry, physics, biology
Good eyesight and manual dexterity to perform many hands-on procedures
Good clinical diagnostic skills.
Good communication skills
Strong problem solving skills

This career is suitable for those who are willing to put lots of hard work and has great patience as both are required to get the required certification and to practice dermatology. The aspirants must have a strong heart so they must not cringe if they see anything unusual in their patients since it is quite likely that they will encounter people with conditions that affect their appearance significantly.The working hours depend on the hospital or clinic timings they are working with. Private practitioner can decide the timings their own.Dermatologists enjoy a fairly good salary and are respected throughout the world. A beginner can easily draw a salary about 40,000 to 50,000. The earning may vary according to the institutions he/she joins. In private and well-renowned hospitals, the average salary would be 60,000 to 80,000 but in government hospitals they get other perks also.
A private practitioner can make huge money working in their own clinic.In today's busy and unhealthy lifestyle, the skin and hair problems are getting increase and so the demand of dermatologists. Due to the lack of dermatologist, there are ample of opportunities are available in this field.
One can get job in skin care centers, dispensaries, private and government hospitals. After attaining considerable experience one can set-up his or her own clinic. A dermatologist can also become a lecturer or a visiting faculty and teach students who aspire to become dermatologists.