Choosing a Dermatologist
Is there a Doctor in your dermatologist’s office? Maybe not!!
The Florida Society of Dermatology and Dermatologic Surgery is concerned about the small number of doctors (often with many offices), who use non-physicians to see and treat patients without direct supervision. We believe that when you pay to see a specialist, you should be seen by no one less qualified.
Dermatologists complete 4 years of college, 4 years of medical school and at least 4 more years of postgraduate residency training in order to be qualified as a specialist. “Physician Extenders” such as ARNPs (nurse practitioners) and PAs (physician assistants) are not doctors, and do not complete a certified residency training program. They usually learn dermatology from the doctor they work for, but how much can one learn if the doctor isn’t present? PA programs are two years of general medicine and don’t require a 4 year college degree. Many physician extenders have only a few weeks of dermatology training, and there is no requirement that an ARNP or PA obtain specialty training prior to functioning as a specialist. The gap in knowledge between even the best trained PA or ARNP and a fully trained dermatologist is enormous.
Unfortunately, current law allows the “supervising physician” to let a physician extender diagnose, prescribe and perform surgery without the physician being present. The physician extender’s charges are usually the same as a board-certified specialist, but total costs may be higher if more visits are required to solve a problem.
What should you do?
Call your dermatologist and ask one question. Will the doctor be there? These five words could save your life. Also, ask your legislators to support legislation which requires the doctor to be in the office when you are being seen.
