Dermatology is one of the most requested specialties I hear about, so I brought in two people who actually do it.

Brooke and Lauren are dermatology PAs who work in the same practice. You might know them as the Skin Sisters. They walked me through how they each landed in derm, what the job really looks like day to day, and what they'd tell a pre-PA student who already has their heart set on it.

What we talk about:

• How Brooke and Lauren each found their way into dermatology
• Why exposure and derm rotations matter so much
• Shadowing a derm provider before you commit to the specialty
• What it's like working in the same practice and sharing patients
• The training and background that got them here
• Their advice for pre-PA students eyeing dermatology

Resources:

Free application timeline: https://www.thepaplatform.com/services/free-application-timeline

PA Program Map: https://www.thepaplatform.com/pa-platform-map

One-on-one pre-PA counseling: https://www.thepaplatform.com/services/pre-pa-counseling

Welcome to the Pre PA Club podcast.

If you want to learn how to become a physician assistant, you're in the right place.

I'm your host, Savannah Perry.

Let's get to it.

Alright, episode 11.

I am excited to have another interview for you guys.

Today I spent some time speaking with the skin sisters, who are both dermatology pas.

So Brooke and Lauren, who you'll meet in just a minute, have been working in dermatology a lot longer than I have and I reach out to them on Instagram.

They do a great job of sharing reviews of products and different cosmetic procedures and sharing some dermatology advice on Instagram.

And they have a website as well, theskinsisters.com and I said, hey, you want to come on the podcast?

I'm a derm pa. You guys are derm Pas?

We already are friends, basically, so they were awesome to speak with.

Had some great advice about just their PA journeys, which are very different, and also about getting into dermatology, which is a question that I get asked a lot because a lot of people do have interest in the field.

So we'll jump into the interview and you guys can find the skin sisters on Instagram or on their website.

And here we go.

So, hey, guys, I am here with Brooke and Lauren.

You may know them from Instagram and from their website, the skin sisters.

And they are fellow derm pas just like me.

And so I'm really excited to talk to them about their journey.

I know derm is a very desirable field and so to have two sisters both working in derm in the the same practice, I want to know how they did that.

So we're gonna learn about them and get some advice and some answers and then you can go follow them if you want to.

So, guys, why don't y' all introduce yourselves and just give us a little background.

I'm Lauren.

And I'm Brooke.

Thanks for having us.

Yes.

Thank you, Savannah.

This is such an honor.

So we are both dermatology PAs.

We grew up in Minneapolis and we both moved all around the country, but we' back in Minneapolis now working and practicing dermatology together.

That is awesome.

And at the same practice?

Yeah, at the same practice.

Yep.

Cool.

Okay.

What is that?

Like, my sister, she works in business and I can't even talk to her about blood, so that would never work out.

But, I mean, is it weird?

Is it cool?

It's really fun.

We actually kind of eclipse each other.

Mostly.

The days that Lauren is in clinic, I'm off, and the days that I'm in clinic, Lauren is usually off.

There are obviously lots of trainings and different things outside of clinic that we do together, dermatology based.

And we share a lot of patients.

So one of the funnier things that happens throughout the day is especially maybe like an elderly patient.

You can see they have this kind of puzzled look.

And sometimes they'll just be like, well, but which one are you?

They'll get offended.

Like, sometimes they'll say, I'll introduce myself.

And they'll say, no, Lauren, we've met before.

I just saw you say, that is awesome.

So did y' all go to the same PA school?

No, we went to undergrad together.

We both went to the University of Wisconsin.

And then I moved out to New York City and I went to PA school at Toro College in the city.

And then I took.

So we were always just a year, you know, ahead or behind one another in school.

And I was in a completely different field for almost five years before I went back to grad school.

Interesting.

Yeah.

And then I moved to D.C. and I went to George Washington University.

Okay, so did you decide to be a PA because you saw how much Lauren loved her job or.

That was part of it, yeah.

How'd that happen?

Yeah, it's definitely part of it.

So I worked in, like, PR and corporate communications, and I was out in San Francisco and then New York, where Lauren and I lived together in a spacious 500 square foot studio apartment.

Yeah, and it was kind of during that time that I was sort of like, feeling unsatisfied with my job.

And then actually, looking back, kind of fortuitously was laid off from that job when a lot of people were having the same experience.

And so I took that time and really, like, shadowed a bunch of people and thought, oh, maybe I'll go into teaching or maybe I'll go into something sciencey.

So that kind of started my path.

I took almost a full year off.

I actually moved home to Minneapolis for, I don't know, just under a year.

Worked as an MA and got my patient hours.

Started really learning about medicine.

Started being interested in both public health, kind of community level, population level health.

So I actually pursued a master's in public health before PA school.

That's what I went into after that kind of year of soul searching and PA prerequisite doing, and then went along to PA school after that.

That's so interesting.

Have you both always worked in Durham?

Yeah, I actually took my job.

I was doing my last rotation in Durham and ended up just never leaving like I did my last Rotation, took my boards, and then just started working in that practice.

Gotcha.

I've only been in derm, too, so have either of you had to take your boards again yet?

I have, yeah.

She was taking her.

Her pantry as I was taking pants, like, amazing together.

Was that difficult?

That's one of my fears, being a derm PA and for people who don't know, as a PA as of right now, you have to retake boards every 10 years, and they're general, and so DERM is 4% of those.

That terrifies me.

It's a good question.

I was really worried about it.

So one thing that did change during the time, like, since I took the original certifying exam, was you could kind of specialize.

So, like, I chose the primary care exam, which I think was helpful, but honestly, the only thing I did fine.

I did great on the exam, you know, Then medical knowledge comes back to you in a second.

I studied quite a bit, though, and that was kind of frustrating to me.

Like, I felt like I could be studying so much in derm and really improving, like, my skills in derm, but instead, I was just studying for the test.

But it was.

I mean, it was fine.

I didn't.

I.

You know, I passed.

Gotcha.

Oh, yeah.

I've got, let's see, about five more years.

Okay.

Four months.

So we'll see if it's still around then with all these.

That's what I was gonna say.

Yeah.

I don't even know.

Okay, what.

For each of you, what do you like and dislike most about your job?

You want to go first.

So I love being a PA.

I think, especially in dermatology, there are so many different things you see in different parts of your brain you have to use.

You're seeing from the eldest of the elderly to the teeniest of the teeny.

And in our practice, we do medical, cosmetic, and surgical dermatology.

So I assist in Mohs surgery a couple days a week, which is great to keep up my surgical skills and wound care and suturing and things like that.

So I love the variety every day.

Dislike.

I mean, it's actually a tough question.

Every office has politics, and so, like any job, you know, there's that.

I think to really, like, be a super comfortable, confident pa, you really have to know how pas fit into the health care team.

And I think, you know, Lauren and I, obviously, and you, Savannah, have a solid grasp on that, but I think other people who you might work with might not.

And so it can kind of be a challenge to advocate for what you can do.

That's a really good way to put that.

What do you think?

For me, I agree with Brooke.

I love the variety of dermatology.

And actually one of the things that I like is also what I dislike.

So I love for derm that our patients are aware.

It's not like we're cardiovascular surgeons and our patients might not be familiar with the field or whatever.

Like, everyone's interested in their skin.

They can see it, they can read about it, they can read Allure magazine, they can, you know, whatever.

So it's fun because they generally have an interest in what we're talking about during their visits.

However, there's a lot of really bad information out there, and a lot of patients are coming in with information not from reputable sources and, you know, from blogs and things.

So there's a lot of doubt in terms of sometimes the information we give them.

And just a lot of things I see where they'll, you know, say, well, I've been treating, you know, this condition at home for six months with this treatment.

I read on some blog, and I'm like, oh, my gosh.

Yeah.

Or, you know, something they heard from a relative or something.

And so that's one of the things I dislike, I think, is that there's a lot of bad information out there that patients, you know, tend to find when they're online late at night.

Gotcha.

Yeah, no, I. I see that a lot.

I didn't know that you could do so many things with toothpaste and vinegar and apple cider oil.

Yeah, yeah.

Some things I've never even heard of.

Witch hazel does miracles, apparently.

Yeah.

Every day.

So, huh.

It'll cure your psoriasis?

Oh, yeah, definitely.

What advice would you give to somebody who is interested in getting into derm after PA school?

I would say just to get as much experience as you can.

A derm rotation is invaluable and helps to make connections also.

But there are other fields where you can get derm experience.

Even like internal medicine, pediatrics, primary care, emergency medicine.

These are great rotations for getting derm experience.

And you can tell them, like, if you're on your emergency medicine rotation but you're interested in derm, maybe you're doing whatever track it is fast tracker, whatever is sewing up lacerations or wound care and getting that derm experience.

Another thing that's really helpful, I think, is to seek out derm providers in your area and try to do some shadowing, really see if.

If you do indeed, you know, like practicing dermatology.

Yeah, you Gotta make sure you like it first.

Yeah.

What about, do you feel like PA school prepared you well to work in dermatology or do you feel like you had to learn a lot on the job?

So I approached PA school and especially rotations, believing that I wanted to be an emergency medicine pa.

So I did not see, I didn't have any dermatology rotations.

So from that perspective, no.

But from the perspective of choosing to do a wound care elective and like the primary care peds ed rotations that we have to do, you definitely see a lot of derm that I didn't at that time recognize as, like, oh, this is obviously, you know, helpful.

Helpful in my future career.

But I think what PA school does so well for, you know, PAs that go into any specialty is there's always that basis of like, primary medicine.

Like, if you don't understand hypertension, you might not understand, like your patient's dependent edema or, you know, resulting cellulitis, something like that.

So from that perspective, absolutely a very strong building block.

If you were going to give someone advice on looking for a job, what do you feel like are the most, like the one or two most important things to, to look for in a job?

I think when I talk about this on my website, I mean, I talk about location and supervising physician and specialty and salary, and sometimes you can't find all of those things.

So to you guys, what would you say are your top most important things in a job?

That's a big question.

I mean, the thing that immediately pops into my mind is, especially as a new grad going into dermatology or really any job, I think it's really important that you have a very, very good working relationship with your supervising doc and any other doctors or PAs in your group.

Because PA school is short.

And while we're really prepared in a lot of ways, there's just so much that you don't know.

And two years later you still are asking questions and 10 years later you're still asking questions.

So I think it's really important to know going into a job that you're going to have the support that you need.

And maybe that's, you know, making sure when you do your schedule that you're never the only one in the office or, you know, things like that.

What else?

I agree.

I mean, gosh, I. I think especially in Durham, you know, things like salary come.

I wouldn't.

I think it's more like my first job was an incredible learning experience.

It was almost like a fault of the job that I worked so closely with the physician at the time, I was like so frustrated.

Looking back, it was like the most incredible learning experience and really shaped my whole career.

But it wasn't the most high paying job.

But like I was so happy and it's really led to this great career that I don't know if I would have had otherwise.

So yeah, that's really, I mean, that's good advice.

And that's something that I tell people getting into Durham because sometimes they'll kind of balk at the initial salary.

But like you said, salary comes with experience and being able to kind of prove your worth I think is very important in Durham and having that experience is the only way to do that.

So it's nice to hear somebody else say that too.

Definitely.

Because like Lauren said, it just, it's a slow build and you know, things like high volume patient load will come and with that will come reimbursement to you, but it takes time.

So I think sort of a nitty gritty detail would be to make sure your practice is guaranteeing you a certain amount of money.

Yeah, I agree with that.

And I kind of made it built into my contract that I can kind of revisit that occasionally.

And I think, I think it's up to you to impress them and to show them what you can do.

And so for me that was kind of my goal.

And even after my first year they were able to say, you did better than we thought you were going to do as far as the amount of patients you're seeing and what you're doing.

And then I really had some negotiating power from that point forward that I wouldn't have had if I hadn't worked as hard or put in the effort to really learn and make myself valuable to them.

So yeah, I'm.

What setting are you in?

So I'm in practice.

It's all dermatology.

We have two full time dermatologists and one part time dermatologist.

Then one other PA that's been there for a year now and I'm in my third year.

When I first started it was actually just me and another physician or my main physician.

And then within six months one of the other Practices in town closed down, and so the main dermatologist there retired, and so we kind of inherited the other two dermatologists.

And then.

I mean, ever since then, we just have grown, and, I mean, we're the biggest practice in Augusta now, but.

Yeah, I mean, are y' all in a big practice setting?

Not.

We have two MDs and four PAs.

Okay, interesting.

Two offices split between two offices.

Yeah.

Okay, cool.

Yeah, my supervising physician said they're never hiring more PAs because they don't want to sign more notes.

Oh, my gosh.

I can.

I just can't.

It's so much work.

Yeah.

Yeah.

And I. I love my supervising position.

We're, like, friends, but.

Yeah.

Like, she's been on vacation for five days, and when she gets back, like, yeah, she's gonna freak out.

Okay, let's talk about PA School just a little bit.

What do you feel like when you were applying to PA school and trying to get in?

Did both of you get in the first time?

Yeah.

Yeah.

What do you think made you stand out as an applicant?

So I. I'll go first.

So I went.

This is Lauren.

I went straight from, like, undergrad to PA school.

I took a really traditional path, but frankly, it was a long time ago.

I mean, I went to PA school like, you know.

Yeah.

Yeah, 12 years ago.

So that's a. I mean, things were really different.

It wasn't as competitive, but I think a lot.

A few things helped.

You know, I had excellent grades and that sort of thing.

I did a ton of shadowing.

Not just, like, patient care hours, but just shadowing, like, PAs, nurse practitioners, nurses, physicians, you know, anyone who would have me, I would go.

And then I did a really neat program.

It was something called Dialysis Clinics Incorporated.

And I went to Nashville.

They have, like, maybe 10 sites around the country.

And I worked on their.

On a transplant floor at St. Thomas Hospital in Nashville and had this, like, really unique experience that was hard to get as an undergraduate student, you know, where I was almost kind of doing, like, what a PA student would do or a medical student would do, but as an undergraduate student, and that was for a whole summer.

I also worked at a camp through that program for children who were on dialysis.

So I think that gave me kind of some unique patient care experience as opposed to maybe what other applicants had at the time.

That's cool.

And I had a very non traditional path, having worked in a completely different field and then kind of turning things around.

So for me, I think what probably set my application apart was that I did have Professional experience and that I had this other master's degree and having the public health experience that sort of allows you to look at healthcare delivery in a different way.

Those are probably the two things that stood out from my application.

And I think it is different, probably school to school.

I ended up going to a program that, you know, has a joint MPH Penn program track, and they really place a lot of value on, you know, community health and things like that.

So I think you can also tailor your strengths to certain programs.

Yeah.

Is there anything you wish you had done differently before going to PA school or while in PA school?

I mean, part of me thinks, oh, I should have just gone to PA school right away, but then I wouldn't have had the perspective to know that I wanted to.

So I don't.

Yeah, I don't think I would have done it any differently.

I don't think so either.

I mean, PA school is such a wonderful part of my life, and I went to PA school in New York City, which was like, a really fun, enriching experience for me.

I don't think I would change anything.

What one piece of advice would you give to someone who is pre PA and thinking they want to go to PA school?

Just one.

I would say the biggest thing is, well, maybe two things.

There's two, like, legs to this.

One is make sure you want to be a pa. Like, do that homework, do shadow, make sure you don't want to go to medical school or nursing school and that this is the track you.

You want.

Because I think a lot of people, you know, aren't sure.

There's all similarities to these different tracks and, you know, in terms of what you're doing in undergrad to prepare.

So I would just say do your homework, really get out their shadow.

Most PAs are very willing to have someone come into the office for a few hours and spend time with them.

And then I kind of lost my training.

You lost your second arm?

Second arm, I lost.

I think.

I mean, I totally agree.

Do you?

That's okay.

Go.

I totally agree with what Lauren said about making sure, like, PA is the track.

Like, you have to make sure you want to be the boss, right?

You want to make sure that that's okay with you.

You want to make sure that you are okay working as a team, that, you know X, Y and Z.

So I think that's really, really important.

I think it's also really important to look at, like, where your priorities lie in terms of, like, family life.

What is your goal in maintaining a work life balance where do you see yourself fitting in in that way?

And then, I mean, this isn't a fun one, but I think you need to make sure you understand the finances if you're going to be taking out loans and things like that and understanding how all of that works against average PA salaries for the first five years.

Yeah, that's the bad one.

Yeah.

But important, still important.

And something people want to know about so that they need to know about it.

Let's talk about the skin sisters a little bit.

What inspired you guys to create an Instagram account and a website kind of around your careers?

So we have another sister named Carly, and she's always saying how she's like the luckiest person because she gets to try, like, all these amazing samples.

And we're always testing treatments and stuff or talking about things.

Come try this new thing.

Like, she kind of knows all the secrets.

And so we felt like we could kind of be like everyone's sister.

Yeah.

Like, not only we are sisters, but we are like your sister providing the information to you.

Except for you actually know what you're talking about.

Well, that's the thing.

It's a good thing.

That's the thing.

We try to provide information that has a medical background and really scientific background, and it's factual.

It's like fun evidence based medicine for dermatology.

Things you actually want to know about.

What you want to know, but the real information.

Okay, cool.

How long has all that been going on?

I'd say it's been simmering for, like, it means three years even.

Almost.

We've been talking about it quite a bit.

Yeah.

And then one day this summer, we were just like, okay, let's do it.

And we just set up the Instagram and did it.

That's awesome.

All right, let's.

Huh.

We had no clue what we were doing.

I mean, that's okay.

Let's talk derm stuff for a little bit.

Let's do favorite face wash. Ooh.

I mean, I'm totally into basics.

Cetaphil gentle cleanser is, like, the best.

Face wash ever in my world.

I'm really into this, like, brand.

It's called French Girl Organics, and they have a Neroli charcoal cleanser that I really like.

It smells good and it's, like, easy to use.

I feel like I just change, like, every month.

Yeah.

I like the La Roche Posay foaming cleanser right now.

Oh, yeah.

It's very, like, refreshing.

Yeah.

I really like that.

The gel one.

Yeah.

And the bottle is huge too.

Yeah.

I feel like it Lasts forever.

But I also like one.

It's Sunday Riley.

I've heard of that brand.

It's like blue.

I think it's called Blue Moon and it's just a balm.

And you apply it to your dry skin and it's so like I have kind of dry, sensitive skin and it feels so good and it smells so good.

Hmm.

What about moisturizer?

Go to moisturizer.

Kiehl's.

Yeah, like Kiehl's.

I. I really like La Roche Posay too though.

La Roche Posay is like, I feel like they make such wonderful products at just an excellent price point.

Like far above your average drugstore stuff.

But it's like pretty decent and compares to like high end products.

I like everything from their line, honestly.

I like Neocutis and Skinceuticals if you're talking a little higher end.

Have really excellent moisturizers.

It's so dry here in Minnesota, so especially like this time of year, we need like a thick, creamy moisturizer.

And then CeraVe PM from the drugstore is great.

It has niacinamide in it, which kind of tempers redness and, you know, calms things down a bit.

I like that one a good bit.

I use their body cream on my face like in the dead of winter.

Their moisturizing cream.

Me too.

I love it.

If I'm dry.

That's what I use.

And then I've been Neutrogena Hydro boost is.

I like that in the summer.

Yeah.

Yeah.

I like those water based ones.

They like are so refreshing.

That's my favorite.

And they look amazing on your counter.

Yeah, yeah.

It's beautiful.

What about sunscreen?

La Roche Posay Anthelios.

Yes.

Yeah.

100.

Hey, I like kula.

I'm a Kula fan.

The mango scented is just perfect.

It's the mango cream.

Yeah.

I don't know if they have a scented spray, but the mango cream, like, it's awesome.

It just smells really good.

But I was.

I'm so impressed by the coolest spray.

It's like the most even, you know, sprays are kind of dangerous because you don't always like, get a good spray.

You really have to rub it in.

But the coolest sprays are excellent.

Yeah.

I like all of their products actually.

As far as sunless tanner, which I don't use a ton, but if I do, I use their spray on oil.

Sunless tanner.

Oh, really?

It's really good.

Yeah.

That's a good tip.

Yeah.

So fun stuff.

Well, where can people find you if they Want to get more skin tips and just follow along with you guys?

We try and post something every single day.

Whether it's a post or a story, it's just Heskin Sisters on Instagram.

And then we also have a blog, which is the Skin Sisters, where we post more like Q and A with product founders or longer reviews of items or more medical stuff as well.

Awesome.

Well, thanks for joining me.

It's been nice to talk to you guys.

Thank you.

This is so fun.

Yeah, there you have it.

So if you want more from the Skin Sisters, make sure to follow them on Instagram and check out their website.

We got into a little product talk there, which tends to happen in the derm world because there's so many things out there, so many good products that it's kind of fun to see what everyone else likes to use.

But that's it for this week.

Next week I'm gonna have another interview for you, kind of on a different end of the spectrum with an orthoped pa.

So if derm is not your thing, but you might be into joints and broken bones, which is not my thing.

Stay tuned for next week.

And as always, you can find me on Instagram at the PA platform and on my website.

There are tons of resources if you are still trying to decide what you want to do.

And that's just the PA platform dot com.

My email's on there.

There's a contact form.

You can definitely reach out if you have any questions.

And I did a YouTube webinar a while back about what it's like to be a dermatology pa.

So if you want more about what my daily life looks like and my thoughts on my profession, you can definitely look that up on YouTube.

It's on my channel and I'm here for you.

So if there's anything you need, please let me know.

If you enjoyed this episode, I would love a review.

Give me a quick rating just so more people can continue to find the podcast and we can keep it going.

So until next week, I hope everyone has a great weekend and a great next week, and we'll see you next Friday.