Highlights From Illinois Society for Dermatology Physician Assistants Conference

At the recent Illinois Society for Dermatology Physician Assistants Midwestern Dermatology Conference in Chicago, held August 8-10, Renata Block, MMS, PA-C, interviewed fellow physician assistant colleagues. Block, a board-certified physician assistant at SKIN Dermatology in Munster, Indiana, and a Dermatology Times Editorial Advisory Board member, met with physician assistants attending the conference to discuss advice to give patients during Psoriasis Awareness Month, misconceptions about psoriasis, Hair Loss Awareness Month advocacy, misconceptions about hair loss, and more.

Block had the opportunity to speak with Andrew Mastro, MS, PA-C; Jordan Stemer-Miranda, PA-C; Leah Bressler, PA-C; Sonal Patel, MMS, PA-C; Michael Rubio, PA-C: and Ashley Worthington, PA-C.

Key Interview Highlights

Andrew Mastro, MS, PA-C: One message that I give patients is that psoriasis is a chronic disease state, and it's not just what they see on the skin, but it goes much, much deeper. I think that is the biggest issue when I have new patients in the clinic that I need to really connect with them on because if they don't connect that dot, then the treatment that I give them is not going to make sense. We're not going to adhere. But making that connection is the most important.

Jordan Stemer-Miranda, PA-C: We see a lot of hair loss. I think that the main takeaway, especially now that we have so many new, innovative treatment modalities and procedures, is that there's always something that we can do to at least get the patient to their treatment goals or specific outcomes that they're looking for. Hair loss has always, historically been one of our toughest things to treat, because there just wasn't anything great. But, the past couple of years have shown us that there's so much more on the horizon.

Leah Bressler, PA-C: People think that psoriasis is something that pops up once and then goes away. And I think a lot of people, unfortunately, maybe years ago, had been diagnosed and were told that they would go away with some topicals, and that's how they've been treating it for several years. I think that's something that I have to educate patients on quite a bit, that the only treatment is not steroids for years on end.

Sonal Patel, MMS, PA-C: I always make sure patients understand that psoriasis is a chronic condition. It's not something that's just going to go away, it's going to come back. Obviously sometimes it gets worse in the winter and it gets worse under stressful environments. I always tell them to focus on being happy and healthy, because there are always environmental factors along with the new factors. But, I also tell them that it's a good time to have psoriasis, because there are so many treatment options. We've come a long way. And you know, one treatment option, topicals don't work. There's light treatment, there are biologics; it's a "good" time to have psoriasis.

Michael Rubio, PA-C: One piece of advice I always give is that psoriasis treatment takes time. Not one thing is going to fix us. And I give options, so if something doesn't work, please tell me. And that's the best advice, and that's created the best relationships when dealing with patients because they can trust me, then we can get their rises under control. There are a lot of options we can use, so it takes time.

Ashley Worthington, PA-C: I have found, especially with the genetic type of hair loss—male pattern, female pattern, androgenetic alopecia—I always ask patients if they have a strong family history of it. A lot of times they say no, or they'll say, "Well, my dad is bald, but he is so old," but, that still counts. You certainly can be the first one in your family with that genetic type of hair loss. So it doesn't necessarily mean that it cannot happen to you, unfortunately.