SAN FRANCISCO (KCBS RADIO) – A recent survey of dermatologists and dermatology residents found that nearly half felt they were inadequately trained to treat patients of color.
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A specialized clinic at San Francisco's UCSF is working to change that.
When medical students are learning to be dermatologists, their textbooks overwhelmingly show images of light skin. That means conditions from ingrown hairs to melanoma can often be overlooked in people with darker skin.
For example, some people who get COVID-19 will experience a skin rash. Even though the pandemic disproportionately affected people of color, a review of academic journals found the images of those COVID-19 rashes were overwhelmingly of light skin.
Dr. Jenna Lester, UCSF Assistant Professor of Dermatology, told KCBS Radio's "As Prescribed" she gives this advice to patients of color who are experiencing unresolved skin issues:
"If you feel like something's still going on and you're not satisfied by the answer or the explanation that you're given, you should find someone — even if they're telling you the same thing — who explains it in a way where you feel comfortable and you feel reassured," she said.
Lester founded the UCSF Skin of Color Program to provide care to diverse groups, though she hopes one day it will no longer be needed.
"Central to our mission being education — teaching residents and medical students how to examine the skin and how to notice disease manifestations that may be more subtle because of a different skin tone — I hope that this education will help them carry this anywhere and they can practice these skills in any medical setting," she explained.
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