Letter from AOCD President Marc Epstein, DO, to nominees for AAD officers

As the current president of the American Osteopathic College of Dermatology (AOCD) and representing the members of the AOCD who are also members of the AAD, I need to ask you to please comment on your position on the role of osteopathic dermatologists in the AAD. I realize this is short notice but I believe your response will be mutually beneficial.

These are very troubling times, both economically and professionally. Non-dermatologists and non-physicians are now able to call themselves dermatology providers by obtaining bogus certification certificates. They are preying on and dispensing inappropriate and substandard skin care to unsuspecting patients. This is the time for both MD and DO board certified dermatologist to come together within the AAD to protect and defend our specialty and our patients.

Osteopathic dermatologists have strived and achieved comparable training and certification. The FAQ on Proposed Amendment section of the AAD 2010 Academy Election web page has information and web links regarding the training and certification. I believe you will agree that the Osteopathic members of the AAD have shown their willingness and dedication within the AAD to provide educational and committee support. Unfortunately, unless the AAD bylaws change and the Osteopathic fellow category is established, we cannot enhance this support for the AAD with leadership roles, such as, serving in an elected office.

So I want to ask you, as a potential leader in the AAD, what roles, if any, do you feel your fellow AAD Osteopathic dermatologists should be able to fill within the Academy?

I want to thank you in advance for taking time out of you busy schedule for a timely email response. I will relay your response to the rest of the AAD Osteopathic dermatology membership by posting it on the AOCD website.

Sincerely,

Marc I Epstein, DO
President, AOCD, 2009-2010
Affiliate member, AAD

Responses from AAD Nominees:

Office of President-Elect

I have reviewed both your well written note and the Proposed AAD bylaws change creating the Osteopathic Fellow category which is supported by the AAD Board.  I also support this change.  Past issues of training appear to have been addressed.  Certainly in my Fellowship Program at Scripps Clinic I have trained osteopathic dermatologists in the past and have just preselected one for July 2012 (this individual is in the Military thus needing advance selection).  I agree that Dermatology does need unity and that each of us has much to contribute at all levels.  Thank you.

Hugh Greenway, MD, FAAD

As a sitting member of the AAD Board of Directors, I must remind the reader of my fiduciary obligation to support Board motions including the proposed Bylaw change that creates the new membership category of Osteopathic Fellows who "...shall have all the rights of Fellows."

Speaking for myself and not as a Board member, I support this Bylaw change. As one who has many friends and colleagues in the Osteopathic Dermatology community, this has been a longstanding personal belief. We are all dermatologists and must speak with one voice. There is power in unity.

Daniel Mark Siegel MD, FAAD

Office of the Vice President Elect

Thank you for your email. As you know, I am a friend to many AAD Osteopathic Dermatology members. I agree that the Osteopathic members have made considerable contributions to the AAD and continue to be an extremely important part of the organization. I think we should all unite as fellow dermatologists and become an inclusive group dedicated to the care of the skin, hair, and nails.

Zoe Diana Draelos, MD, FAAD

Board of Directors

The Academy need to be an organization of inclusion rather than exclusion. I believe that all physician members of the academy ( MD., DO, international physician members ) should be given the privilege to hold academy leadership positions and vote in any election. The Academy needs to be proactive in helping all members take excellent care of patients, and we need the help of all Academy members to unite in that mission, whether they are DO, MD or live in a different county. Thanks.

Phoebe Rich, MD, FAAD

If they have completed an approved training program and are members of the AAD, I personally feel they should participate in AAD activities, including membership on committees and hold office if appointed or elected.

Erin Boh MD, PhD, FAAD

I would like you and the rest of the AOCD membership know that I favor opening leadership roles to AAD Osteopathic Dermatologists.  I was not even aware that the present bylaws prohibited m this.

I have been a friend of the AOCD for quite some time. I have been honored to speak at your annual winter meeting and have been fortunate enough to have had an AOCD member as one of my surgical fellows. I will continue to fight for inclusivity within the AAD and thank you for your support.

Tom Rohrer, MD, FAAD

As the son of a former president of the American Osteopathic College of Dermatology, I am well aware of the frustrations you face with respect to leadership roles in the AAD.  As I state in the optional letter to the AAD membership, “As a small specialty, it is essential that we remain unified to advocate for the things that will allow our patients to receive the care that they need and that they justly deserve.”  Osteopathic dermatologists with comparable dermatology training and certification as allopathic dermatologists already serve on many committees and task forces within the AAD. I personally do not understand the rationale for permitting osteopathic dermatologists to serve on committees, but not allow them to hold elected office. I would therefore be sympathetic to a request for a bylaws change.

Craig Elmets, MD, FAAD