My focus is going to be more towards strengthening human resources.

Dr Rashmi Sarkar recently took over as the President of The Indian Association of Dermatologist, Venereologist and Leprologist (IADVL), 2022. IADVL is a 14,000-plus-dermatologist member association and the second largest dermatologist association globally. A landmark Golden Jubilee year for the association, Dr Sarkar is the 50th president and the second women president over the years of the formation of the association. She elaborates on the benefits of being a member of the association and her vision this year in an exclusive interview with SHRIYAL SETHUMAHDVAN.

WHAT DOES THIS HONOUR MEAN TO YOU?

It is definitely a dream come true. As a youngster, one always dreams of a day when you can serve the association in some capacity. Back in time, I would have never thought of a day when I would be the President of IADVL. This achievement also gives me immense happiness because now I am in a position to give back to the association – the members and all the associates. This is exactly what this achievement means to me.

IN THIS NEW ROLE, WHAT IS YOUR VISION FOR THIS TENURE?

Over the last 50 years, the IADVL association has done a lot under different leaders, especially because this is primarily an academic association that focuses on advocacy, administration and public awareness. And we have been working towards these areas. This year, what I want to focus on in celebration of ‘50 years of IADVL’ would be building future leadership and international collaborations. This is something that every association has to work towards. Also, I am focusing on getting more people interested in working for the association with the feeling of ownership. We are also focusing on leadership and mentorship for the younger people as well as the mid-level dermatologist as they also tend to miss out.

My focus is going to be more towards strengthening human resources. We already have a number of programmes in place, be it the mentorship programme, leadership pipeline programme and the strategy development, which every association will need in some time, because we have to revisit the vision and mission.

Besides this, on my agenda is to project the role of the dermatologists as the skin and hair experts. Our fight against quackery continues and so does our social message to the people to go to the qualified dermatologists who have spent years in studying and focusing on their well-being. We are also building international collaborations and are trying to get experts to help out in the leadership and mentorship programme along with education.

We are focusing on teaching through podcasts, the safe use of biologicals in dermatology and offering hands-on training on injectables through workshops to all the young and mid-level dermatologist across India.

WHAT IS THE ONE CHANGE YOU WOULD LIKE TO BRING ABOUT WITHIN THE AESTHETIC COMMUNITY THIS YEAR IN TERMS OF PRACTICE MANAGEMENT?

There is a huge presidential programme, which we are hoping to get through. We are trying to work on IADVL’s collaboration with NABH for stand alone Dermatology clinics as 80 per cent of our members are practitioners. We have already been working on this for months together, and are trying to revisit and simplify it. So the clinics get that certification or accreditation, and they can carry the logo.

Private practitioners will now be working with proper practice SOPs (Standard Operating Procedures), as well as safety practices. And they will be on par with both national and international guidelines, which are followed for clinics all over the world.

So this gives an edge. So this has been a programme which we have really focused and worked hard over the last almost seven, eight months. Even before I took over. So we are going through the draft and this is what we’re trying to bring it to the practice.

IADVL IS THE WORLD’S SECOND LARGEST ASSOCIATION OF DERMATOLOGISTS BEHIND THE AMERICAN ACADEMY OF DERMATOLOGY. HOW CAN DERMATOLOGIST FROM ACROSS INDIA BENEFIT BY BEING MEMBERS OF THIS ASSOCIATION?

First and foremost, when you are a member of a 14,000 association, you have the recognition and a bonding, which is important. We have many, many dermatologists to fall back on – if we want to meet up or send our patients to each other. IADVL also has its insurance policy that is the DVL trust. It also has the benevolent fund, which does help our members certainly. Also, once you are a member, you can also log into our digital platform, which is an education platform. And, the doctors can benefit from a huge number of webinars, online material to study and hundreds of lectures, hundreds of resources – books, articles. They have access to two of IADVL’s journals – aphysical copy as well as an online copy. This is exclusively only for members. There are several other benefits that members hold such as winning scholarships, observer ships, mentorships and leadership programmes from IADVL. You’re able to e-vote for your representative because you are a voting member. So there are a huge number of benefits that members get from this organisation.

TELL US ABOUT IADVL’S INITIATIVES TO OFFER A KNOWLEDGE SHARING PLATFORM FOR THE DOCTORS.

We often constitute new special interest groups depending on the need of the hour, and then, we have recorded versions of these educational sessions – either in the form of learning modules or teaching lectures to ensure that the doctors are updated. We have the best of the best doctors – national and internationally – speaking on different procedures.

WHAT WOULD YOUR CONCLUDING MESSAGE BE TO ALL THE ASPIRING DERMATOLOGIST IN INDIA?

You must become an IADVL member because we often question what the association has done for us. But my question would be what we have done for the association! So each of us should look at ways in which we can give back to the association in an even more exciting and stimulating manner. There are several benefits to this too. You feel enriched and you become part of the global community. As for the youth, I would say – slow and steady wins the race. And there is definitely no substitute for two things – hard work and honesty.