THE STATE OF PHOTOTHERAPY EDUCATION IN
U.S. DERMATOLOGY PROGRAMS |
|
Poster presented at American Academy of Dermatology
56th annual convention, Feb 2-6, 2007
Christopher B. Yelverton, MD, MBA1;
Vishal C. Khanna, MFA1;
Steven R. Feldman, MD, PhD1-3
Departments of Dermatology1,
Pathology2,
and Public Health Sciences3,
Wake Forest University Health Sciences, Winston Salem, NC
<read full poster> |
BACKGROUND:
A number of dermatologic conditions, including
psoriasis,
 are responsive to phototherapy with ultraviolet light (UVA or UVB). The
Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) and the American
Board of Dermatology (ABD) guidelines for residency training suggest that
resident training in Dermatology should include “...competence in...procedures
in…photobiology...”
OBJECTIVES:
1) To assess the state of training in the use of ultraviolet phototherapy for
the treatment of photo-responsive dermatoses within Dermatology residency
training programs in the United States.
2) To develop a training course in the usage of phototherapy that would be
beneficial to Dermatology residents.
METHODS:
We
designed a
brief survey that was distributed to residency program directors at accredited
Dermatology training programs in the US.
KEY
FINDINGS:
All responding programs offer some form of phototherapy and train resident in
the use and prescription of phototherapy.
-
PUVA and Narrow-Band UVB are most commonly available.
-
The mean number of educational hours devoted to phototherapy over the 3 years of
residency is about 8 (mean, 8; median, 4-8).
-
Residents infrequently prescribe home phototherapy
-
All responding program directors reported that additional resident training in
phototherapy would be beneficial.
DISCUSSION: Findings suggest that, although phototherapy is offered at
most academic dermatology centers, resident exposure to phototherapy may be
limited. A successful phototherapy training program should include the [full
range of options for] phototherapy delivery; a thorough understanding of the
potential benefits and drawbacks of each device type, including discussion of
light spectra, radiation dose, coverage area, adverse events, and cost of
ownership/use; the value of an experienced phototherapist; and special concerns
regarding home phototherapy.
<read
full poster>
Want to know more?
Learn about the phototherapy units used in
this study
Learn more about adding
phototherapy to your practice |
