Vision: Delivering dermatologic education & care to communities with limited access in order to improve the quality of life and reduce long-term complications from common skin conditions through early detection, attention, and management. The vision of Learn2Derm is to ensure that all individuals regardless of socioeconomic status, race, or location have an equal opportunity for dermatologic educ
ation so they can recognize when to seek treatment, how to best care for their skin, and how to integrate practices for the primary prevention of skin cancer into their daily lives. There are many skin diseases that negatively impact quality of life and there are just as many misconceptions regarding treatments and etiologies for such conditions. It is our duty as healthcare providers to combat such misconceptions, especially to communities that already are socioeconomically and geographically limited to quality healthcare access. The Learn2Derm: Skin Cancer Prevention Fair used interactive and engaging teaching styles adequate for all ages to educate regarding skin protective strategies and skin cancer presentation and risk factors. Dermatologists from GW SMHS also provided free skin cancer screenings to the Ward 8 community of Washington DC. It occurred on July 10th at Martha’s Outfitters in Ward 8, which is an underserved population that is approximately 92% black. This event aims to close the well-established disparity in skin cancer presentation and mortality amongst individuals with skin of color through educational interventions focused on skin cancer presentation, prevention and early detection.
