A dermatologist is a doctor who specializes in the treatment, diagnosis and prevention of diseases of the skin, hair, mucosa, hair and nails. The path that a student takes to graduate in dermatology is long. Initially, he needs to study medicine and, after six years of full-time study, the newly graduated doctor still has to take a specialization course or medical residency in dermatology in order to receive the title of dermatologist. Therefore, to become a dermatologist it is necessary to devote many hours to study, be motivated and have a deep interest in all skin-related problems!
Steps
Part 1 of 4: Preparing for medical school
Step 1. Focus on your grades during high school
The medical course is always the most popular discipline in all universities. If you learn from an early age to be disciplined and dedicated to studies, you will not face many problems with the intense workload of a medical course.
Remember that Enem is used as a selection process for admission to public colleges and universities across the country. Therefore, having a good performance on the Enem exams facilitates your access to the best colleges and universities
Step 2. Choose a medical school and prepare to take the entrance exam
The medical course is the foundation of all medical specialties. Before specializing in an area, you need to get a degree in medicine.
- Be well prepared to face the entrance exams and Enem. The test is usually very difficult, with a very high cutoff note.
- Learn to study correctly and maximize your study time. If you think it's necessary, take a pre-university course for better results.
Step 3. The medical course is very difficult and one of the most popular
Therefore, it is important to choose a good pre-university course, because with it your chances of approval increase.
Dedicate yourself to studies, only then will you be able to achieve your goal of becoming a dermatologist. Try to focus on specific subjects such as chemistry, math and biology
Step 4. Organize your study time
Research indicates that to perform well in the entrance exam it is not enough to study a lot, it is necessary to study correctly. Always have a study routine and never miss homework. Pay close attention in class and review the material given in the classroom at home. Once you've entered medical school, you'll find that all the hard work and dedication paid off.
Keeping up-to-date on political, social and environmental issues is essential for performing well on the essay exam. Be well informed so that you can develop good critical arguments and defend your points of view on the college entrance exams
Part 2 of 4: Attending medical school
Step 1. The course is divided into three stages, with full-time classes (morning and afternoon)
In the first two years, you will learn basic subjects such as biochemistry, physiology and anatomy and learn to train clinical reasoning. The third and fourth years comprise the Clinical cycle, in which you get in contact with patients and apply what you learned in the first years. The last two years of the course correspond to the “internship” of the medical student. At this stage, you will take practical classes in patient care. It is at this time that you will undergo training in hospitals, making shifts and shifts in wards.
The study routine in the last two years of medicine is very intense. You will have to reconcile studies in college with patient care, following the evolution of each clinical condition and making night shifts
Step 2. Organize your schedules
The medical course is extensive and well-trained. Without organization, you will not be able to fully dedicate yourself to classes, seminars and research.
Medicine is a profession that needs a lot of study, improvement and dedication. The course lasts for six years and has an extensive curriculum
Step 3. In the first two years, you will learn the theoretical foundations of the career, with subjects that include anatomy, physiology, biochemistry, among others
During this period, you begin to form your clinical thinking, which will give you the basis for practicing the profession in practice.
In this initial stage of the course, you study the human body through the manipulation of cadavers in laboratory anatomy classes. In addition to the laboratory classes, you also carry out chemical and biological experiments with a microscope as part of learning biochemistry classes
Step 4. The next two years are part of the pre-clinical stage of the medical course
During this period, you learn about diseases and how they manifest in the human body. Learn how to perform tests on patients, how to interpret laboratory tests, imaging tests and electrocardiograms.
Classes are normally given in outpatient clinics and teaching hospitals, to prepare the student for the daily routine of hospital practice
Step 5. The last two years are known as the clinical stage of the medical course, where you put into practice everything you learned in the first two years
In this step, you will have to divide the time dedicated to classes at the college with the supervised medical shifts. During your shifts, you will see patients, make diagnoses, learn to make emergency care and surgical procedures. It is at this stage that you learn all the skills that the profession requires, as you already work as a doctor.
At the end of the sixth year, after passing all assessments, you will be able to apply to register with the Regional Council of Medicine (CRM). After that, he will be able to practice as a doctor, but only as a general practitioner. To be a dermatologist, you will need to study at least another four years to specialize in dermatology. Specialization (or residency) is divided into two stages. The first two years consist of basic training, to gain experience in the area, and the last two are dedicated to the chosen specialization, in this case, dermatology
Part 3 of 4: Medical residency in dermatology
Step 1. After completing six years of medicine, you leave with the title of general practitioner
This area is the only one that does not require specialization. Only the diploma and registration with the CRM are enough for the professional to act as a doctor.
General practice, also known as internal medicine, is the medical field that does not need a specialty. The general practitioner sees adult patients, diagnosing and treating their health problems. Depending on the type of disease, the general practitioner refers the patient to a doctor who specializes in the health problem in question
Step 2. Enroll in a specialization course in dermatology
You can start your specialization course right after completing your medical course. To become a dermatology specialist, you can opt for a specialization course or a medical residency in dermatology. To be valid, the specialization course must be offered by an educational institution recognized and approved by the MEC or by the Brazilian Society of Dermatology (SBD). For medical residency, you will need to take a public examination at an authorized Hospital. The residency is offered in the form of a paid scholarship, lasts for three to four years and is done full-time.
- The course for the medical residency in dermatology is very popular, and the test is even more difficult than the exam for the entrance exam for medicine. In Brazil, for every six students graduated in medicine, only one passes the exam for residency. This is because the number of places available for the specialization course is not enough to meet the large number of recent graduates enrolled.
- The internship at accredited hospitals is also another modality of specialization. Generally, the newly graduated doctor only needs to pass the entrance exam, but the internship is unpaid.
Step 3. As in all specialization courses, it is essential that the dermatology course be taken at an institution recognized by the MEC
You can only take the exam applied by the SBD, in partnership with the Associação Médica Brasileira (AMB) and receive the title of specialist in dermatology, if your residency or specialization course is accredited by the MEC.
Dermatology is the area of medicine that treats all diseases that affect the skin. These diseases range from a simple skin infection, autoimmune and inflammatory reactions, such as cases that frame sexually transmitted diseases and skin cancer. Therefore, the specialization course offers multidisciplinary themes, to provide the dermatologist with fundamentals of other medical disciplines, such as gynecology and oncology
Step 4. One of the prerequisites for a medical residency in Dermatology is the completion of a residency in General Practice
After the candidate is approved in the exam for medical residency in dermatology, he must fulfill a full-time workload of at least two years to learn the fundamentals of the specialization.
At this stage of your learning, you will learn all types of diseases that affect the skin and its appendages. You will learn about clinical, cosmiatric, laser, oncologic and surgical treatments that involve the skin and will be trained to practice general dermatology practice and to provide care
Step 5. Obtain your title of specialist in dermatology
After completing the specialization program, you will be able to take the SBD specialist title exam to receive the title of dermatologist.
The title of specialist can be obtained in two ways: after completing a medical residency in dermatology at a hospital recognized and certified by the SBD and the National Commission for Medical Residency (CNRM), or after completing a specialization course in dermatology at a institution approved and recognized by the SBD and the MEC
Step 6. Once you are approved and after completing your medical residency, you will need to register your certificates with the appropriate agency
You can only act as a dermatologist after registering the certificate of specialization with the Board of Medicine in your state and after obtaining the Specialist Qualification Registration (RQE).
After completing this extensive study schedule, you will be able to be called a dermatologist and will be able to treat and diagnose the various diseases that affect the skin and its extensions
Part 4 of 4: Learn about dermatology subspecialties
Step 1. Take the first step to start your career as a dermatologist
The dermatologist can work in the clinical or hospital area, public or private, in laboratories, in the research area and in the academic area. The job market is wide and very favorable, so, in addition to a diploma, you need to choose the area of dermatology in which you want to work.
Step 2. In addition to normal practice, you will be able to work in the following subspecialties within dermatology:
- Cosmiatry – which is the area that studies and treats human beauty in all its aspects and conceptions;
- Hanseology – which is the area that studies and treats leprosy (also known as leprosy) and all its complications. This disease usually affects the skin, eyes and nerves;
- Dermatological surgery;
- Clinical dermatology.
Step 3. Take a course to delve into your chosen subspecialty
The courses and extension programs aim to improve the dermatologist's knowledge in the area of dermatology chosen by him.
These extension courses normally have a workload of twenty hours per week and require, as a prerequisite, the completion of a medical residency in dermatology. After completing the extension course, you will be able to study, diagnose and treat the diseases covered by the chosen dermatological subspecialty
Step 4. Of all the subspecialties, clinical dermatology is the most comprehensive
The physician who makes this option is capable of diagnosing, indicating a treatment or procedure, and monitoring all skin, hair, mucosa and nail diseases in isolation or associated with other changes in the human body.
- Regardless of the chosen subspecialty, the dermatology market is promising. Brazil still does not have a number of professionals that is sufficient to meet the demand of the public health system and private clinics.
- There are also good opportunities in the area of research on skin diseases, especially skin cancer, whose incidence has increased a lot in recent decades.