Educational Resources for NPs and PAs
Next Steps in Derm and the Journal of Drugs in Dermatology, in partnership with the Dermatology Education Foundation (DEF) and Physicians Resources, interviewed
Joe Gorelick, MSN, FNP-C, founder of the DEF. Joe advocates for NPs and PAs to have the same educational resources as dermatologists in order to provide high-quality care. Watch as he recommends resources that are not only valuable for the clinician but also for the patient. Don’t forget about textbooks! Joe explains in what situations it is best to search a dermatology textbook for help.
Joe Gorelick, MSN, FNP-C, lectured on this and other topics at the recent DERM2022 NP/PA CME conference held July 28-31, 2022.
Further Reading
If you want to read more about patient education in dermatology, check out the following articles published in the Journal of Drugs in Dermatology:
DermTok: How TikTok Is Changing the Landscape of Dermatology Patient Education
ABSTRACT
Background: TikTok gives its users a platform to share and view short videos on a wide range of topics, including dermatology related topics. This project sought to analyze the sources of TikTok videos associated with the treatment of four dermatologic conditions and to report the percentage of videos posted by board-certified dermatologists.
Methods: On July 16th, 2021, an investigator input the following hashtags into the TikTok application’s search bar: #AcneTreatment, #EczemaTreatment, #PsoriasisTreatment, and #RosaceaTreatment. After the total of 400 videos was obtained, the videos were then classified into the following categories based on the user posting the video: dermatologist, dermatology resident, non-dermatologist physician, physician assistant, nurse practitioner, registered nurse, esthetician, patient, beauty blogger, and other. Videos that were not in English, paid advertisements or by a business page, and/or unrelated to treatment or education of a dermatologic condition were excluded.
Results: The top posters of all the videos analyzed were patients (40.8%) followed by dermatologists (16.8%). Of all the videos analyzed, 37.3% were posted by licensed professionals and the remaining 62.7% were posted by non-licensed posters. The licensed professionals mostly posted about acne (52.4%) out of the four conditions. Non-professional posters mostly posted about psoriasis (86.7%) and eczema (66.7%) out of the four conditions.
Conclusions: There is a need for more dermatologist-created, educational content on TikTok and other platforms to increase the likelihood that users will interact with dermatologic content posted by board-certified dermatologists.
Growing Patient Education in Dermatology: An Upside-Down Tree Analogy for Immunomodulatory Therapies
ABSTRACT
As patient autonomy gains momentum in the era of readily accessible health information, dermatologists bear a growing responsibility in patient education. With the rapid evolution and development of targeted therapies for dermatologic conditions, clinicians are faced with questions from patients regarding the mechanisms of action and side effects of novel therapeutic agents. We present an educational aid to be used in patient counseling to describe and compare the mechanisms of traditional immunosuppressive medications and targeted agents such as biologics and small molecule inhibitors. Using an upside-down tree as an analogy for the immune system, traditional immunosuppressives can be represented by an axe, chopping at large branches (ie, upstream immune pathways), while targeted immunomodulators can be represented by pruning shears, trimming select small branches and leaves (ie, specific downstream effectors). This approachable visual aid can guide practitioners in explaining the complexities of the immune system and immunomodulatory therapies with the goal of augmenting patient understanding and addressing patient concerns regarding new medications.
