The war to control cosmetic medicine that's been raging between plastic surgeons and dermatologists has a new additon, aesthetic physicians. And here's one derm that doesn't like it.

LS posted this comment on: Botox certification for family Practitioners

"When I graduated from med school, only me and another guy got into a derm residency - and he had a PhD in Immunology before getting into med school. The OB's and FP's were at the bottom of the class. Now they want to get into cosmetic dermatology for the money - but they are NOT TRAINED to do anything with skin. Derm is a 3 year residency - these people know so little they don't have a clue how little they know. Studies have shown that when primary care physicians get minimal (like 4-6 weeks) of Derm training, they begin to see that it's an incredibly complex field of which they know not, and the number of referrals to derms INCREASES - the more training they receive, the more they refer.

The Cosmetic companies and laser companies are all in it for the money so they don't care WHO they sell to. This is all going to change - the policy makers are already working on it so these FP's etc who are going into it better have their own practice of sore throats and earaches to fall back on since the balloon is about to bust."

LS has a point. Dermatology is a specialty.

It's also the study of 'diseases of the skin', not Botox and laser hair removal. Although some medical schools are geting into this, Dermatologists generally get training in cosmetic procedures the same as other doctors... see one, do one, teach one.

Dermatologists are physicians (medical doctors) specializing in the diagnosis and treatment of diseases and tumors of the skin and its appendages...

Pediatric dermatologists specialize in the diagnoses and treatment of skin disease in children. Immunodermatologists specialize in the diagnosis and management of skin diseases driven by an altered immune system including blistering (bullous) diseases like pemphigus. In addition, there are a wide range of congenital syndromes managed by dermatologists.

 LS is right that Florida has passed legislation, but it's going to be harder to enforce than keeping Paris Hilton at home.

There's also something of a conflict in that dermatologists are trained to treat medical problems like skin cancer. With skin cancer the fastest growing cancer in the US, there's a train or thought that says dermatologists should focus on where they can do the most good, not where they can make the most money. Of course that's not the real world either.

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