From left to right: Dr. Gary B. Slaughter, Dr. Daniel M. Lewis, Dr. Hazem El-Gamal, Dr. Coleman E. Altman, and Mary M. Cummins, PA-C

Dermatologists are physicians (medical doctors) specializing in the diagnosis and treatment of diseases and tumors of the skin and its appendages (hair, nails, sweat glands, for instance).

A minimum of 11 years of college and post graduate training is required to become a dermatologist in the United States and Canada. This includes graduation from a 4-year college, and then 4 years in medical school followed by a year of post-graduate training in medicine, surgery or pediatrics. After this, a physician may apply for admission to graduate dermatology residency training. Dermatology residencies are among the most competitive in terms of admission.

Following the successful completion of formal residency training in dermatology (3 years) the physician is qualified to take certifying board examinations (written) by the American Board of Dermatology or the American Osteopathic College of Dermatology. Once board certified, dermatologists become Diplomates of the American Board of Dermatology or the American Osteopathic College of Dermatology AOCD. They are then eligible to apply for fellowship status in the American Academy of Dermatology.

Some dermatologists undertake advanced subspecialty training in programs known as fellowships after completion of their residency training. These fellowships are either one or two years in duration. Fellowships in dermatology include pediatric dermatology, surgical dermatology including Mohs micrographic surgery, dermatopathology (pathology of skin diseases) and dermatological immunology.