Mentee: Harry Liu, MD
Mentor: Michi Shinohara, MD, FAAD
University of Washington
I had the privilege of being selected for the Skin of Color Society (SOCS) Observership Grant and spending two weeks at the Division of Dermatology of the University of Washington in Seattle under the mentorship of Dr. Michi Shinohara. She is triple-board-certified in internal medicine, dermatology, and dermatopathology, and runs the cutaneous lymphoma clinic at the Fred Hutchison Cancer Center in Seattle. My mentorship experience was centered around skin of color (SOC) and quality of life regarding cutaneous lymphoma.
Dr. Shinohara built a diverse, meaningful, and educational schedule tailored to my academic interests. Before meeting her, she shared articles on SOC and quality of life in cutaneous lymphoma with me and I developed a stronger background understanding of the health disparities regarding the diagnosis and treatment of cutaneous lymphoma. At her lymphoma clinic, the learning was phenomenal, and I saw various kinds of common and rare cutaneous T-cell and B-cell lymphomas. I was truly amazed by her exceptional bedside manners and communications skills as she was able to explain the complex diagnoses of cutaneous lymphomas to patients from all backgrounds and provided individualized treatment plan with her patients via shared decision-making. She is an amazing teacher who is kind and truly cares about her learners. Besides the discussion we had after each patient encounter, she sat down with me to share her experiences, clinical pearls, and consideration of treating SOC patients with cutaneous lymphoma and improving their quality of life.
Besides Dr. Shinohara’s lymphoma clinic, I had the great pleasure of getting more exposure to SOC at other different clinics run by her colleagues, including the HIV clinic, the hidradenitis suppurativa clinic, and the melanoma clinic at several hospitals. In addition, I absolutely enjoyed learning at the Merkel cell carcinoma clinic, dermatopathology sign-out sessions, and inpatient rounding to appreciate the full spectrum of dermatology care. I felt very welcomed at every clinic I went to and all the attendings and residents I met were extremely friendly.
This observership program is certainly a highlight of my whole dermatology residency. Besides the educational aspect of the two weeks, I appreciated Dr. Shinohara spent time providing mentorship to support my career development. I would also like to thank SCOS for this memorable experience. I am confident I will be able to provide better and culturally competent care for SOC patients when I start practicing next year.