Even when I first chose dermatology, it was already a fast-growing field. It felt like many more changes were on the way, and working in the middle of that change looked exciting.

What I find most compelling now is being able to see, firsthand, the process of change that treatment brings. Problems that were once hard to solve gradually become possible through new approaches, and I can watch concerns a patient has carried for a long time actually change.

Being able to witness that change up close is what has kept dermatology so engaging for me all this time.

Patients often tell me that I am thorough or attentive.

But rather than being especially meticulous, I think I am closer to someone who tries to understand a person as quickly as possible. I try to remember what they care about most, what treatments they have had before, and what felt good or uncomfortable along the way.

Whenever I can, I also try to make enough time to talk with the patient. In the end, I believe what matters as much as technical skill is building the trust that makes a patient feel truly known.

Rather than feeling like just one patient among many, I hope that, at least during their visit, they leave feeling fully respected and given my full attention.

More than which treatment they received, I want it to be care where they understand why this direction suits them, and where they can head home without unnecessary anxiety.

In the end, I hope what remains is the reassurance and trust of having received the care that was right for them.

Going forward, I want to understand each person's different skin more systematically, and to keep building the criteria that let me judge those differences more precisely.

I believe that the more refined my criteria for reading skin become, the clearer my treatment choices become as well.

And five years from now, rather than grand titles, I would like to be remembered as a good doctor — the kind people want to introduce to those around them.