Service to patients and the community is an intrinsic part of a physician's role. It fosters personal and professional growth through service to the underserved. Dermatology, traditionally strongly tied to patient service, reaffirms this emphasis through a service requirement for all trainees.

All our residents participate annually in administrative and community-focused service activities.

Selective administrative activities include:

• Chief resident
• Graduate education committee representative
• American Academy of Dermatology committee membership
• Zumbro Valley Medical Society committee membership

Additional service activities include:

• Skin of Color Journal Club
• Camp Discovery
• Mentorship
• Educational talks (community groups, nursing, interdepartmental)
• School education
• Mayo International Health Program
• Wrestling meet skin checks

Dermatology Community Engagement Interest Group

Residents may participate in service activities through our resident-led Community Engagement Interest group, which seeks to serve our local community by actively coordinating volunteer opportunities for dermatology residents, faculty, and medical students. Recent experiences include the AAD Good Skin Knowledge educational grant program to educate young people in our community about common skin, hair, and nail health topics.

The group has also partnered with local free clinics in Rochester to provide teledermatology services, run by residents and Mayo Clinic faculty, via the AAD Teledermatology Program. Residents have also sponsored skin health education events at local women’s shelters with support from the Women’s Dermatologic Society. These experiences complement the resident and faculty-led free skin cancer screening examinations offered at the annual “Stay Out of the Sun Run” in Rochester, amongst numerous other community outreach opportunities.

Mayo International Health Program

Residents may apply for the Mayo International Health Program to serve the needs of patients around the world. Many dermatology residents have received this scholarship and benefit from the perspective of an international clinical experience. Participation in local dermatology and medical clinics in countries such as Brazil, Kenya, and Tanzania provides participants with the opportunity to see unique skin diseases.