My work experience journey started bright and early today at 7:45 in the morning. When I arrived, Dr. Mangelsdorf showed me around the Cary Dermatology office (which is huge) and introduced me to all the people that keep the practice running smoothly- it truly takes an army! After a brief introduction to the practice, it was time to jump into seeing patients. Out of respect for the patients- and some pretty strict HIPPA laws- I cannot go into detail about the patients I saw today while shadowing. However, I can relay my admiration for Dr. Mangelsdorf and her two assistants, Megan and Hailey. Patients were seen back to back all the way from 8am-5pm (which is a very long time!) and the kind of care that was given to each and every individual that came through the door was absolutely amazing. Dr. Mangelsdorf barely even got a lunch break because she prioritized her patients over her own down time! I really admire that.
Although most of the time all that was needed by the patients was a routine skin check, being able to watch the patients interact with Dr. Mangelsdorf was incredibly interesting. Everybody had their own personality, their own story, and own way of interacting with Dr. Mangelsdorf that proved each appointment to be extremely different although the same checkup was being done in each. Another thing I learned today was that liquid nitrogen is used quite often to treat skin abnormalities that are bothering the patient. By observing the patient’s faces while this was being done, I gathered that this is a rather painful procedure as the liquid nitrogen is freezing cold and feels like the skin is burning. The liquid nitrogen, as a result, will cause a scab to form in the next few days and eventually come off, along with the skin abnormality!
My favorite part of the day was when Hailey, Dr. Mangelsdorf’s assistant, set up a laser in one of the exam rooms and we used the laser to get rid of one of the red spots on Dr. Mangelsdorf’s arm! It was so interesting to see this procedure done up close and be able to see the effects that the laser had on the red spot (the red spot was actually grey afterwards!).
Overall, I had an amazing first day at Cary Dermatology with Dr. Mangelsdorf and am super excited to learn and see so much more in these next two weeks!
