Since 1974 the number of office visits to dermatologists nearly doubled (from 18 million to 36 million by 2000) and the majority of patients seen by dermatologists are white (92%)—whereas this number for non-dermatologists is 84%.

There are almost 500 dermatologists that enter the workforce postresidency each year with approximately 325 leaving, leading to a net CAGR of 1.76%. The US population is increasing annually at 0.8%, suggesting that this shortage may be slowly improving but will still be present for many years.

One major reason is that there simply aren’t enough dermatologists available. A cap on medical residency training, an increase in demand for new treatments, and awareness of skin diseases also cause a shortage in available dermatologists.

Stories like these are common for Dr. Scott, one of the few Black female dermatologists in a field dominated by white doctors. Recent data shows that only three percent of dermatologists are Black, which is especially low considering that African-American people make up about 13.4% of the American population.

Of 739 dermatology applicants for 2018/2019, 53 were black or African American (seven percent of applicants to dermatology) and 43 were Hispanic or Latino (5.8 percent of applicants); 50 were of multiple race/ethnicity.

Visiting the derm can be intimidating for many women, but for women of color, the thought can be especially anxiety-provoking. But despite that alarming statistic, you should still visit the dermatologist if you’re a person of color; you just need to do your research.

Slightly more than 41 percent of dermatologists are female; males represent 58.7 percent of all dermatologists, according to data from the Association of American Medical Colleges. A pronounced uptick in the percentage of female dermatology residents suggests that we may be nearing a tipping point.

Only about one in five surgeons practicing in U.S. is female. Unemployment is virtually nonexistent among surgeons, but many female surgeons, as well as professional women in other fields, experience underemployment — the underuse of skills — according to the Federal Reserve Bank.

Similarly, Kin discovered that 60 percent of female surgeons have children versus 92 percent of male surgeons. Furthermore, only 25 percent of women choose to have their first child during the rigors of surgical residency, which is half as many as their male colleagues.

By the time medical school and residency is complete, most of us are approaching 30; add on a few years if fellowship is considered. While 30 years old is likely not an age-related fertility concern for most, if you plan to have more than one child, it definitely could be. Around age 35, fertility starts to decline.

Physicians and surgeons marry post-secondary teachers, elementary school teachers and registered nurses the most. 2. Chief executives and legislators marry miscellaneous managers, elementary school teachers and secretaries and administrative assistants the most.

About a third to a half of physicians get in 2-4 weeks of vacation time a year. Like their fellow Americans, however, over a third (38.3%) of family physicians and almost as many emergency medicine physicians (35.3%), internists (33.9%), and general surgeons (32.5%) take off for 2 weeks a year at most.

The world needs many kinds of people and many different kinds of physicians. Maybe, on average, fewer women than men are interested in surgery. But it is possible and appropriate to be a surgeon, a woman, and a mother, if one’s personality and interests drive her there.

The New York Times posted an article which was about women in surgery entitled, “When the surgeon is a mom.” While it was well intentioned, it painted women as unfocused, sleep deprived, and lacking the support system any surgical resident would need to make it through five years of training.

Scrubs are the sanitary clothing worn by surgeons, nurses, physicians and other workers involved in patient care in hospitals.

In 2017, 40.1 percent of U.S. general surgery residents were women and 20.6 percent of general surgeons were women. Although the number of women both in U.S. surgical residencies and at the attending level has increased in recent years, the total number of women practicing surgery remains low.