Hi! My name is Dr. Patricia Marcela Delgado, but you can call me Patricia. I am a doctorate-prepared, board-certified adult-gerontology primary care nurse practitioner also certified in dermatology. I have worked as an advanced practice dermatology healthcare provider for over 5 years at the time of writing this, and I am excited for more years to come (and ways to mix things up!).

I absolutely love my job. I love being a nurse and specifically a nurse practitioner, and I love dermatology. It seems everyone, and I mean everyone, has some type of concern with their skin. My passion is in helping people feel good about themselves, and I feel like dermatology is a field of medicine where you can help the most people in the least amount of time. I can be at the bank opening a bank account for my dermatology business, and the staff member helping me set up my account will ask me if I treat skin tags. “Why, as a matter of fact, I do sir! Here is my business card; may I have my ID back now?” Some people may find this annoying, which is why I also like to talk about why dermatology may or may not be for you.

The cherry on top for me is the amazing hours. As an advanced practice provider, and at least in the last two practices I have worked with, I have never had to step foot in a hospital. I never work nights, and never work weekends. And to top it off, the pay is great with a robust bonus system.

So if dermatology is so amazing, it must be very popular, right? The answer is a resounding YES! It is extremely competitive to work in derm, but that is why I created my blog and coaching brand.

Most places require at least 2 years of dermatology experience for anyone to begin working in the practice, but how do you get dermatology experience if you are new to dermatology? I can tell you right now it is possible to get a job in dermatology without ever having been employed in a dermatology clinic. Over these last 5 years, I have never stopped being approached either in person or over email with questions about how I got my first job in dermatology. “You had no dermatology experience!” they say.

Even if you discover that dermatology is not for you, the same concepts can be applied to other specialties.

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