FIRST INTERVIEW (11/1/2021)

Since the Independent Study and Mentorship program course has progressed, I have been granted the opportunity to research the various components of Dermatology. With the help of conducting secondary research, I am now better informed of procedures and skin diseases. However, gaining experience with medical professionals is also a crucial component in gaining an advanced viewpoint on Dermatology’s day-to-day commonalities. With this being said, I scheduled an interview with Dr. Robert Terrill to ask him questions and insight on ideas for the Original Work/Final Project. For context, Dr. Terrill is a board-certified dermatologist at Sonoma Skin Works located in Frisco, Texas. He has been practicing dermatology for over 30 years and is a current member of Texas Medical Association, Texas Dermatological Society, and American Academy of Dermatology. In terms of his education, he attended Southern Methodist University and earned his medical degree at University of Texas Southwestern Medical School in Dallas. He went on to serve his internship at Baylor Hospital in Dallas and his residency in dermatology at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia. In regard to his subspecialties of Dermatology, Dr. Terrill is highly trained in acne/rosacea, cosmetic dermatology, and dermatological surgery. When interviewing Dr. Terrill I was gratified to learn his motivations, favorite procedures, and challenges experienced. I was able to ask Dr. Terrill for some of his input on ideas for the Original Work/Final Project. I described to him the idea of writing a research paper and then designing a smartphone application based on the research I gather. Prior to the interview, I was not knowledgeable of what skin disease I wanted to target. With the assistance of Dr. Terrill, I have some new suggestions such as moles. Taking a picture of the suspicious moles and having algorithms look at its characteristics (would pick out indicators of melanoma) would be a good starting point to achieve.