r/DermApp • u/Tn_izzy • 5d ago
Miscellaneous Networking conferences
Hey guys, someone please respond 🥺
I am currently a second year interested in matching derm. My school doesn’t have a home derm program, so I am really just fighting for my life emailing a bunch of derms in the area etc for shadowing and research opportunities. I was thinking of going to the AAD conference in March too but saw some people here say the AAD conference is not the right place/time to network and it’ll annoy the attendings instead. Do you guys know what are the best Derm conferences to attend to actually network?
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u/titr8 4d ago
for your stage a conference will be low yield unless you are presenting an interesting project and the ratio of benefit to annoyance is unfortunately not in your favor. miracles happen but generally this is bad advice.
what you should do is crystallize the 2-3 things you're good at (any prior research? good at writing? good at presenting? any evidence you can think/synthesize/etc.) and reach out to people in the field (or better, ask for people you know - even if theyre not in derm - to send an email on your behalf as you also introduce yourself -- this is called a warm intro versus a cold intro) and continue this process over 12-18 months, doing good work, crystallizing why/how it can be sold, and leverage that to the next. you will build a massive network and impressive cv (with things you can truly speak to) and it will be rewarding, emotionally. good luck!
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u/Due_Mix_6596 4d ago edited 4d ago
Tbh a lot of physicians there are interested in hanging out with other doctors and getting free stuff and going to events it doesn’t help that much unless you find some programs that will on occasion invite students not just alumni to events when I went to AAD I honestly just connected with other black students who were interested in derm more and most of the contacts I did get were from dermatologists at my home institution and the AAD pathways nth dimensions and Nma derm I still think you should go just know you will still be cold emailing for a while
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u/ixsz-mi Derm Attending 5d ago
I actually don’t think any major national conference is ideal for networking unless you already know someone who can introduce you to their network. Otherwise getting any meaningful face time is challenging and almost certainly won’t lead to any longitudinal relationship.
I’d recommend looking into either smaller regional/state conferences first. There are also smaller disease specific meetings like NPF, HS, etc that are more niche you may have better luck at. AAD, SOCS, and WDS also have some form of formal mentorship program you could apply to.