Baltimore Dermatologist Helps Bring Relief Through Personal Experience
Dr. Janet Lin, a dermatologist at Mercy Medical Center, grew knowing she wanted to become a doctor. Suffering with chronic problems with eczema most of her young life gave her exposure to dermatologists early on. Through her frustrations and struggles with eczema combined with an interests in biology and medicine inspired her to want to help others with their skin conditions and improve their quality of life.
Dr. Lin earned a Bachelor of Science in biology from the University of Maryland, Baltimore and a Doctor of Medicine degree from the University of Virginia School of Medicine. She also completed an internship at Mercy Medical Center and her residency at the University of Rochester, Strong Memorial Hospital in Rochester.
What are the responsibilities of your current role?
"In my current role, I evaluate and treat patients at two different office sites, five days a week. The majority of my practice is spent doing medical dermatology, which involves doing full body skin examinations, identifying and treating skin cancers, treating common skin conditions such as acne, eczema and psoriasis and performing skin surgeries. I treat a wide variety of patients, both young (from newborn age) to old. I am also involved with medical education, giving teaching lectures and working with the hospital interns."
What is your favorite part about your daily duties?
"My favorite part is interacting with my patients! It really is a joy to get to know my patients and their families better and to be able to help them improve their skin disease and/or detect and treat any skin cancers. It really makes my day when my patients come in feeling and looking better!"
How has your education/training prepared you for your current role?
"My high school and undergraduate education provided the basic foundation of knowledge in biology, chemistry and basic science research. My medical school education gave me exposure to all of the basic areas of medicine. My internship gave me practical experience in treating hospitalized patients, and my dermatology residency was the core that prepared me to be able to practice dermatology independently on a day-to-day basis."
What do you do to continue your education/training?
"In order to continue my medical education and keep up with the changes in medicine, I attend dermatology meetings at the local level (Maryland Dermatologic Society, Atlantic Dermatology) and national level (American Academy of Dermatology). I also keep up to date with monthly journals and online courses."
Do you have any advice for others looking to enter this field?
"Dermatology is one of the most difficult specialties to get into. But I do feel that this is the best field to be in, and I am blessed to be doing what I love every day! You need to have interests in biology and medicine, enjoy providing long term care for your patients and developing those relationships, like doing a combination of office visits and procedures, feel comfortable treating babies, children and adults and have a drive to work hard!"
Laura Catherine Hermoza has a lifelong love for writing. In addition to serving as a contributor to various media publications, she is also a published novelist of several books and works as a proofreader/editor. LC resides in Baltimore County.