Career Development - Dermatology

95% of the time is spent in clinic, with 5% in hospital consultations. Typically, dermatology requires 8-10 hours per day, 4-5 days per week.

At Tulane, there are multiple clinical training sites, including VA, University Medical Center, Tulane University downtown clinic, Tulane Lakeside clinic, Children’s Hospital and Ochsner.

Opportunities for research are available through a longitudinal research group for rising 4^th year students. Please contact the department for more information

Additionally, students may want to pursue non-Dermatology specific research opportunities through the DeBakey Scholars Program. This program offers medical students the opportunity to pursue and complete a longitudinal, structured, closely supervised research experience culminating in a capstone presentation prior to graduation. For more information, contact Dr. Derek Pociask. 

The Tulane Dermatology Interest Group, DIG, provides students with the opportunity to learn more about the field of dermatology and gives them the chance to apply their growing knowledge in a practical setting.  We sponsor lectures on the field of general dermatology and the sub-specialties within dermatology, and match panels with 4th year students and residents. We also sponsor a service learning project, SPOTS (Sun Protection Outreach Teaching to Students), in order to educate teens at local middle and high schools about the dangers of tanning, the warning signs of skin cancer, and methods for sun protection. The club provides a forum for medical students who would like to match in dermatology to meet other students, residents, and dermatologists.

Dr. Andrea Murina

Dr. Erin Boh

Dr. Carole Bitar

One of the most common questions we get asked is “How do I know if I’m competitive for this specialty?” There are a lot of metrics that are provided by sources like the NRMP’s Charting Outcomes report that can help you gauge whether you are a competitive applicant, and help guide your choices of activities. 

The table below shows the 25^th percentile, the median and the 75^th percentile for a number of the more regularly used metrics to gauge competitiveness. It’s important for you to understand what these numbers represent, and why they may be different from the averages you might see elsewhere.

• The 25^th percentile represents the lower range of “normal” for a successful applicant in this specialty.
• The median represents an average for successful applicants in this specialty.
• The 75^th percentile represents the higher range of “normal” for a successful applicant in this specialty.

Medical students are usually over-achievers, who have exceeded expectations throughout their educational years. However, it’s important to realize that overachievement is not always a good thing when it comes to match. Instead, you should aim for “fit.” This means that you should fall somewhere between the 25^th and 75^th percentile on these metrics. Below the 25^th percentile, and you have a relatively low chance of match (25% chance, to be specific). Above the 75^th percentile, and you also have a lower chance of matching (again, 25% chance), as program directors are typically looking for candidates who “fit” their profiles more so than those who exceed those profiles.

Between the 25^th and 75^th percentiles is the sweet spot. This range spans 50% of successful applicants, with only 25% of successful applicants falling above the 75^th percentile and 25% of successful applicants falling below the 25th percentile. The closer you fall to the median (i.e., the 50^th percentile), the better! This doesn’t mean you’re average, but rather that you are fitting the demands of this specialty!

A note about medians vs. means as a measure of “average”: We use medians to determine competitiveness rather than means for a simple reason. Medians are not as warped as means by outliers, or those successful candidates who fall very much outside the average on a particular measure. You may have heard that the “average” Step 2 score or number of publications for a specialty are incredibly high (or low), and you may wonder how it’s even possible to hit this “average.” These unrealistic “averages” are typically means that have been influenced by just a very small number of people who have incredibly high (or low) scores or numbers of publications, and often those high numbers of publications in particular, are the result of having earned a research Ph.D. or having spent years in a research career! This is NOT the expectation, but rather an exception!

Dermatology currently uses preference signaling.  Applicants in the 2025 cycle have 25 Silver signals and 3 Gold signals to give dermatology residency programs.  Contact a specialty advisor if there are questions about preference signaling.  

It is currently unknown if applicants will be successful in obtaining interviews at programs that they do not signal. 

AAMC Careers in Medicine

NRMP's Charting Outcomes in the Match 2026

NRMP's Program Director Survey 2024

Tulane's Dermatology Department

American Academy of Dermatology

Dr. Katrina D’Aquin can put you in touch with potential mentors.