Irish Association of Dermatologists

AAD scholarships

AAD 2019 Scholarship report by Ronan Brennan

On arrival to Washington, I was initially struck by two things - the freezing temperatures and scale of the buildings along the Mall. The evening prior to the conference, I attended The International Scholarship Reception and Dinner. This was a really enjoyable evening and a great opportunity to meet other Dermatology trainees from all over the world and hear about their experiences.

Prior to the trip, I downloaded the AAD mobile app which allows you to look through all the talks, peruse the slides and create a favourites list. I must say, I often found it very difficult to narrow this selection down to one talk! The selection really was superb.

For me, one of the highlights of the meeting was a symposium on JAKSTAT pathway inhibitors- a very exciting potential therapeutic option for some tricky to treat conditions.

Seminars on autoimmune conditions and advanced medical dermatology provided many useful clinical pearls. Lectures on dermoscopy and the new to me trichoscopy offered great practical tips. Additionally, the discussion forum on ‘how would you reconstruct this defect’ was extremely engaging

The scholarship also offers the opportunity to attend a ticketed session. For this, I choose “Skin Cancer, Surgery and Cosmetics Updates”. I found this very informative and will be useful in my daily clinical practice.

Asides from the above, during a couple of the free afternoons available there was also the opportunity to experience Washington’s great tourist attractions such as Capitol Hill, Lincoln Memorial and The White House. I also took the chance to visit a number of the Smithsonian museums such as the National Museum of African American History and the Museum of American History which were very impressive.

I really enjoyed my experience and will definitely make plans to attend future AAD meeting.

AAD 2018 Scholarship report by Dr. Louise McDonald

I would like to begin by sincerely thanking the Irish Association of Dermatologists and the American Academy of Dermatology for awarding me a registration Scholarship to attend the AAD meeting in California 2018. The jetlag after a long-haul flight was soon washed away with the sight of San Diego Bay in spring sunshine.

My first experience of the scale of the AAD was attendance at the International Scholarship Reception and Dinner in the Mariott Marquis Marina ballroom. This was a really enjoyable evening and a great opportunity to meet other Dermatology trainees from all over the world and hear about their experiences.

After a 7am coffee and a short journey from my hotel on “The Trolley” I was plunged into the meeting itself. Having heard nothing but rapturous praise for the AAD meeting I had high expectations and it did not disappoint. It is hard to fully describe the infectious positivity and enthusiasm that permeates this conference. Having perused the jam-packed programme of speakers, workshops and interactive sessions on offer I felt like I wanted to clone myself so as not to miss anything. I’d highly recommend downloading the ‘AAD App’ to help keep track of events and plan your time there.

I definitely managed to fill a few notebooks with clinical pearls and wisdom and some particularly worthwhile sessions included hot topics in acute and inpatient dermatology, pregnancy dermatoses, acne management and the ‘short common, challenging and controversial short topics in patient management’ to name but a few. Myself and another Registrar did happen upon the ‘“Resident Jeopardy” session which provided a brief insight into the standard of the Board exam in the US (definitely one for after coffee-break!). The Scholarship also covered attendance at the “Updates in Hair Disorders” Course which covered many useful practical tips for diagnosis and management as well exciting research topics. It goes without saying that an AAD highlight was hearing Professor Alan Irvine present at the Plenary and receive the Marion B Sulzberger, MD, Memorial Award and Lectureship.

In addition to the talks the exhibit hall was a parallel experience in itself and not to be missed. San Diego is a beautiful place and a drive over the suspension bridge to Coronado before sunset, La Jolla beach and a few lovely eateries in Gastown and Little Italy will definitely remain in the memory bank also!

The AAD is an invigorating and unforgettable experience and I feel tremendous gratitude for having been afforded the opportunity to attend.