Hello & Welcome! 

I am going to switch things up a little on the blog this week. Instead of talking about a condition and treatment options, I’m going to tell you how I happened into dermatology..

Undergraduate Degree

I obtained my BSN (Bachelors in Nursing) through the University of Alabama (Roll Tide:)) which is a 4 year undergraduate degree. There are a lot of different ways you can obtain your Registered Nurse (RN) license but I was fortunate to be able to knock it out all at once in 4 years of undergrad. I know this is not the case for a lot of people with families and have to work at the same time. You can take online courses at your own pace to become an RN or if you are already an LPN you can attend a bridge program to obtain your RN. All in all, this is your first step to becoming a Nurse Practitioner, you must obtain your RN. 

Working as a Registered Nurse

Initially as an RN I worked in the NICU (Neonatal) and I loved it. I didn’t love the night shift but I enjoyed the patient population I served and my day to day work tasks. I worked in NICU less than a year before I realized I needed to get off night shift or I would die . Okay, not literally, but you night shifters know this can take such a toll on your mental, emotional, and physical well being! I also was making a move from Alabama to Tennessee to be with my, now, husband. Looking back, I have no idea what I was thinking at the moment! It was instilled in me to never follow a man by my parents. But hey, It all worked out and I now have a beautiful family and wonderful husband! So my instinct did serve me well :).

I applied to many RN positions in Tennessee including NICU, well baby, and dermatology. I bet you can guess which one I took.. 

Keep in mind, Dermatology offices will hire for the RN position, although you need to know you will take a pay cut unless you are injecting Botox, Dermal Fillers, or performing cosmetic procedures. Positions for cosmetic dermatology almost always require previous experience with injecting, therefore you need to get into dermatology first and then learn the cosmetic side.  I initially worked under a provider assisting them in clinic which entailed me rooming patients, assisting with biopsies, surgeries, and triaging patient phone calls. I was fortunate enough to have a physician that I worked for willing to foster my learning and teach me Botox and Filler on the side of my other duties. 

Masters Degree 

That takes us to obtaining my Masters in Nursing to become a Nurse Practitioner. While I was obtaining my Masters I was cosmetically injecting as an RN and filled the role of Director of Clinical Operations at my current practice, Skin Solutions Dermatology in Middle Tennessee. If you’re thinking “how in the world did you do all that?”, I honestly look back and think that myself too. Oh, and I had a baby somewhere in the middle as well. It took me 24 months to complete the masters curriculum. I was also so fortunate the physician I work for, Julie Pena, MD, made sure I had a position to serve as an extended provider for her upon graduation. 

When anyone asks me how I became a Dermatology Nurse Practitioner, my initial reply and thought is always, “I was just blessed.” I can only thank God for it. Yes, I worked hard, but to have ended up at the practice I am and work under the best supervising physician I could ask for, God is the only logical answer. 

Ultimately I recommend you get into the specialty of where you want to establish your career at an early stage. I knew I wanted to be a nurse practitioner and in order to do that I started from the bottom as a medical assistant (with an RN license). You have much better odds of becoming a provider in a specialty when they know you, your work ethic, and worth rather than walking in from the street handing them a resume. 

What My Day Looks Like As A Dermatology Nurse Practitioner

Currently I see anywhere from 20-30 patients a day (my location is newer and this could get up to 40 a day) and the patients are 95% medical. I make a point to say this because a lot of people assume Dermatology is only cosmetics such as Botox and Filler. Day to day I see acne, rashes (dermatitis, psoriasis, lichenoid processes, lupus, etc), warts, hair loss, nail disorders, skin cancer exams, and perform surgeries. Some dermatology providers are strictly cosmetic and some choose to be only medical. I do like both because I love healing patients from a medical standpoint, but also helping patients to feel great in their own skin cosmetically. There are a lot of anatomy and medical decisions that go into cosmetics and I believe that also benefits me to perform both sides every day. 

Physician Assistant

There is another route you can take to become a provider in dermatology. You can be a nurse practitioner or physician assistant (PA) to work under a supervising physician. At our practice we have nurse practitioners and physician assistants and we all do the same exact thing! The route to get your PA license is a little different and you do not have to be specifically an RN as a prerequisite to enter a physician assistant program, but you do have prerequisites to meet. So, anyone reading this that has a bachelor degree but it is not in nursing, you can still become a PA!

I hope this helps you on your journey to establishing a career specialized in dermatology or any other specialty!

All of Skin Solutions Dermatology’s Nurse Practitioners and Physician Assistants with Dr. Pena at one of our fellow PA’s wedding! (Excluding the Bride)

All few of us with the Bride, Hannah South PA-C, and her nurses!