Mentee: Renee Haughton, MD
Mentor: Andrew Alexis, MD, MPH, FAAD
Weill Cornell Medicine
I had a wonderful learning experience working with Dr. Alexis in his clinic for two weeks. He is the only dermatologist at his clinic location which is about a 20-minute walk from the York St. site where the resident hub is. He has a close-knit team of medical assistants, administrative assistants, and scribes that keep the clinic functioning very smoothly. His schedule was always packed and the days were fast paced which I appreciated because I was able to get the most out of my short time there. Dr. Alexis has a great bedside manner and I learned so much about his thought process just from how clearly he communicated his clinical reasoning and management plans to his patients.
I rarely needed to ask questions because of this but when I did, he was a thoughtful teacher, often recommending books and chapters in his library to look at. He sees a mix of general dermatology and cosmetic dermatology. I saw a broad range of pathology in diverse skin tones with the most common being dyschromias such as lichen planus pigmentosus and alopecias. On the cosmetics side, I learned more about how lasers worked and how to perform lasers safely in skin of color. During clinic, I would often be tasked with doing quick literature searches to help with counseling and management. It was also very hands-on, as I had the opportunity to assist with cosmetic procedures as well as biopsies. One day a week, I joined Dr. Alexis when he oversaw the resident continuity clinic. This was where I had the opportunity to staff patients, show my clinical reasoning skills, and develop my own management plans.
Dr. Alexis also had a team of research fellows who I was able to interact with. I sat in on informal research meetings and learned about their on-going clinical trials and other clinical project ideas. There was ample opportunity to collaborate with their team. I was able to discuss two of my proposed research projects with Dr. Alexis which are underway. Overall, I highly recommend this experience and I am very thankful for the Skin of Color Society and Dr. Alexis for supporting me.