Dr. Peterson Pierre, a board-certified dermatologist with the Pierre Skin Care Institute in California, notes that dermatology is “a very visual field” that demands an ability to accurately interpret the visible symptoms of an illness. “You have to be able to process information just by looking at it,” he says.

Pierre adds that dermatologists need both a compassionate disposition, so that they can provide comfort to patients in distress, and “an inquisitive mind” that helps them solve medical mysteries.

“A lot of times you have to try to figure out the puzzle,” he says. “The patient presents with certain symptoms. You have to figure out what’s going on there.”

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