Dermatology is a medical specialty that deals with diseases and conditions of the skin, hair, nails and adjacent mucous membranes. Dermatologists attend four years of medical school that gives them a full education in the basics of anatomy, physiology and medical practice. They then complete a medical residency that focuses on dermatology practice. Additional residency requirements may be completed in sub-specialties of dermatology. Dermatologists perform a number of duties in their daily practice.

Diagnosis

Dermatologists must diagnose a number of diseases and conditions of the skin, such as skin cancers, moles, melanomas and rashes. This often involves removing tissue to send to laboratories for testing. They must recognize various kinds of rashes and investigate the causes. Taking a medical history and doing a general examination of the patient is part of the diagnosis process.

Management of Disease Conditions

After initial diagnosis, dermatologists must determine a plan for managing various skin conditions. This may entail further referral to other specialists for allergy consultations. Dermatologist must decide what kinds of medications, lifestyle changes, or dietary restrictions are necessary to reduce symptoms on a daily basis and must educate the patient on what is necessary to achieve a successful outcome.

Recognizing General Health Conditions

Part of a dermatologist’s job is to recognize skin conditions that might be indicative of more generalized diseases, such as auto-immune diseases, infectious diseases or systemic problems such as diabetes. Dermatologists use their training and experience to determine the general health of patients through the condition of the skin.

Dermapathology

Dermatologist also manage skin changes and issues of skin aging. They may employ cosmetic procedures to improve the appearance of the skin or to manage hair loss, scars and other skin changes. Topical chemotherapy is a procedure that is done by dermatologists that uses chemotherapy chemicals to destroy cancerous growths on the surface of the skin. Cosmetic procedures like dermabrasion, in which the skin is frozen with a spray medication and then with a high-speed abrasive wheel is also done by dermatologists. Many other procedures are available to dermatologists to improve the health and appearance of the skin.

Surgical Procedures

The dermatologist is trained to perform various surgical procedures on the skin to remove tissue or improve health and appearance of the skin. A biopsy is the removal of skin tissue for further testing and is often done. Curettage, scraping the skin to remove diseased tissue, is another procedure done by dermatologists. Surgical excision-the cutting into the skin to remove tissue, and closing the wound with stitches-is a common procedure done by dermatologists. Cryosurgery is the application of liquid nitrogen to freeze and destroy tissue also can be done by dermatologists. With laser surgery, powerful light rays are used to destroy growths and broken blood vessels on the surface of the skin.