A native of Toronto, Ontario, Dr. Lynne Margesson also grew up there. While skiing at age 14 she met Dr. William Bigelow, the head of cardiovascular surgery at the Toronto General Hospital. He invited her to watch open heart surgery on a child with Tetrology of Fallot. That was all it took to get her hooked on a career in medicine.
Later when she was in medical school and doing a dermatology rotation, she was reconnected with a great teacher, Dr. Ricky Schachter, who instilled in her a passion for dermatology. In her training program, she met her husband, Dr. William Danby. According to Dr. Margesson, “Bill says he “taught me everything he knew and then had to marry me to keep it in the family.” They married the day after she finished her residency on Jun. 26, 1975, and moved to Kingston, Ontario, to help his father, Dr. Charles Danby in his dermatology practice.
Dr. Margesson also taught at Queen’s University, became heavily involved in wound care and diabetic teaching and set up the first vulvar clinic in Canada. She joined her husband in New Hampshire in January 1998. She is both very busy and very happy with a mix of private practice and teaching, including vulvar teaching clinics with Dr. Debra Birenbaum at Dartmouth and Dr. Elizabeth Stewart in Boston.
Q. What part of your work gives you most pleasure?
A. I very much enjoy teaching my patients about their problems and hope that I can provide them with enough information to empower them to be more effective in their care so they can make good, informed choices. I always enjoy working with students at all levels and particularly enjoy my teaching clinics where I have medical students and residents. They always stimulate me to think and keep me on my toes. I like giving lectures to teach caregivers at all levels about vulvar disease and hope that one day there will be more healthcare providers helping women with these problems.
Q. Do you recall a memorable patient encounter and what you learned from it?
A.Years ago at Queens University, one of my patients taught me that even when you do absolutely everything wrong the situation can still work out right!
Case in point: A 61-year-old lady arrived at the vulvar clinic. She was in a big hurry, which was evident by the sound of her high heels clicking quickly down the hall. One look revealed a mature woman with a beehive hairdo who had many gold chains around her neck and bangles on her wrists.
She announced her arrival at the nursing station by slamming her large purse on the counter and loudly asking in a thick Cockney accent, “Is this the vulvo clinic?” She then trained on my colleague, the gynecologic oncologist with whom I shared the clinic, as he walked across the hall. She stepped back, looked him slowly up and down twice and then announced to no one in particular with a great large grin “Do I get undressed for him? I hope so!”
She then whirled around and then looked at the rest of us and said, “Oh I do hope that man at the front desk parks my Cadillac! I was so late that I drove up to the front door, and when he came forward I handed him my keys and $25 and rushed into the elevator.” She was unknowingly referring to the local security guard who had come out the front door to tell her to move her car — but she hadn’t heard him.
Even though this patient had appeared abrasive at first, from the moment she’d entered the clinic everything she had done had been with a huge grin. She ended up being a delightful patient to look after, and very funny. When she left at the end of that morning, we had all thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. She taught me that people might appear one way initially and turn out to be completely different. While at first she appeared to offend almost everyone, her huge grin, which was a constant companion, and her frequent laughter had us all loving her by the end of the day. There was not a malicious bone in her body, and I have never forgotten her. What a true character!
Q. What is the best piece of advice you received and from whom?
A. The best piece of advice I have ever received about dermatology was from Dr. Dick Odom when he said, “Whenever you look at a skin problem and you are not sure what it is, think about that rash somewhere else on the body, and then look at it again.”
Q. How do you envision the future of dermatology?
A. Dermatology is a great specialty. There will always be a big need for our services. Provided that we can continue with excellent medical dermatology, we will always have credibility.
Q. Outside of work what are you most passionate about in life?
A. The most important thing in my life is my family, followed by riding my pony through the forests of New Hampshire and skiing with family and friends.
A native of Toronto, Ontario, Dr. Lynne Margesson also grew up there. While skiing at age 14 she met Dr. William Bigelow, the head of cardiovascular surgery at the Toronto General Hospital. He invited her to watch open heart surgery on a child with Tetrology of Fallot. That was all it took to get her hooked on a career in medicine.
Later when she was in medical school and doing a dermatology rotation, she was reconnected with a great teacher, Dr. Ricky Schachter, who instilled in her a passion for dermatology. In her training program, she met her husband, Dr. William Danby. According to Dr. Margesson, “Bill says he “taught me everything he knew and then had to marry me to keep it in the family.” They married the day after she finished her residency on Jun. 26, 1975, and moved to Kingston, Ontario, to help his father, Dr. Charles Danby in his dermatology practice.
Dr. Margesson also taught at Queen’s University, became heavily involved in wound care and diabetic teaching and set up the first vulvar clinic in Canada. She joined her husband in New Hampshire in January 1998. She is both very busy and very happy with a mix of private practice and teaching, including vulvar teaching clinics with Dr. Debra Birenbaum at Dartmouth and Dr. Elizabeth Stewart in Boston.
Q. What part of your work gives you most pleasure?
A. I very much enjoy teaching my patients about their problems and hope that I can provide them with enough information to empower them to be more effective in their care so they can make good, informed choices. I always enjoy working with students at all levels and particularly enjoy my teaching clinics where I have medical students and residents. They always stimulate me to think and keep me on my toes. I like giving lectures to teach caregivers at all levels about vulvar disease and hope that one day there will be more healthcare providers helping women with these problems.
Q. Do you recall a memorable patient encounter and what you learned from it?
A.Years ago at Queens University, one of my patients taught me that even when you do absolutely everything wrong the situation can still work out right!
Case in point: A 61-year-old lady arrived at the vulvar clinic. She was in a big hurry, which was evident by the sound of her high heels clicking quickly down the hall. One look revealed a mature woman with a beehive hairdo who had many gold chains around her neck and bangles on her wrists.
She announced her arrival at the nursing station by slamming her large purse on the counter and loudly asking in a thick Cockney accent, “Is this the vulvo clinic?” She then trained on my colleague, the gynecologic oncologist with whom I shared the clinic, as he walked across the hall. She stepped back, looked him slowly up and down twice and then announced to no one in particular with a great large grin “Do I get undressed for him? I hope so!”
She then whirled around and then looked at the rest of us and said, “Oh I do hope that man at the front desk parks my Cadillac! I was so late that I drove up to the front door, and when he came forward I handed him my keys and $25 and rushed into the elevator.” She was unknowingly referring to the local security guard who had come out the front door to tell her to move her car — but she hadn’t heard him.
Even though this patient had appeared abrasive at first, from the moment she’d entered the clinic everything she had done had been with a huge grin. She ended up being a delightful patient to look after, and very funny. When she left at the end of that morning, we had all thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. She taught me that people might appear one way initially and turn out to be completely different. While at first she appeared to offend almost everyone, her huge grin, which was a constant companion, and her frequent laughter had us all loving her by the end of the day. There was not a malicious bone in her body, and I have never forgotten her. What a true character!
Q. What is the best piece of advice you received and from whom?
A. The best piece of advice I have ever received about dermatology was from Dr. Dick Odom when he said, “Whenever you look at a skin problem and you are not sure what it is, think about that rash somewhere else on the body, and then look at it again.”
Q. How do you envision the future of dermatology?
A. Dermatology is a great specialty. There will always be a big need for our services. Provided that we can continue with excellent medical dermatology, we will always have credibility.
Q. Outside of work what are you most passionate about in life?
A. The most important thing in my life is my family, followed by riding my pony through the forests of New Hampshire and skiing with family and friends.
A native of Toronto, Ontario, Dr. Lynne Margesson also grew up there. While skiing at age 14 she met Dr. William Bigelow, the head of cardiovascular surgery at the Toronto General Hospital. He invited her to watch open heart surgery on a child with Tetrology of Fallot. That was all it took to get her hooked on a career in medicine.
Later when she was in medical school and doing a dermatology rotation, she was reconnected with a great teacher, Dr. Ricky Schachter, who instilled in her a passion for dermatology. In her training program, she met her husband, Dr. William Danby. According to Dr. Margesson, “Bill says he “taught me everything he knew and then had to marry me to keep it in the family.” They married the day after she finished her residency on Jun. 26, 1975, and moved to Kingston, Ontario, to help his father, Dr. Charles Danby in his dermatology practice.
Dr. Margesson also taught at Queen’s University, became heavily involved in wound care and diabetic teaching and set up the first vulvar clinic in Canada. She joined her husband in New Hampshire in January 1998. She is both very busy and very happy with a mix of private practice and teaching, including vulvar teaching clinics with Dr. Debra Birenbaum at Dartmouth and Dr. Elizabeth Stewart in Boston.
Q. What part of your work gives you most pleasure?
A. I very much enjoy teaching my patients about their problems and hope that I can provide them with enough information to empower them to be more effective in their care so they can make good, informed choices. I always enjoy working with students at all levels and particularly enjoy my teaching clinics where I have medical students and residents. They always stimulate me to think and keep me on my toes. I like giving lectures to teach caregivers at all levels about vulvar disease and hope that one day there will be more healthcare providers helping women with these problems.
Q. Do you recall a memorable patient encounter and what you learned from it?
A.Years ago at Queens University, one of my patients taught me that even when you do absolutely everything wrong the situation can still work out right!
Case in point: A 61-year-old lady arrived at the vulvar clinic. She was in a big hurry, which was evident by the sound of her high heels clicking quickly down the hall. One look revealed a mature woman with a beehive hairdo who had many gold chains around her neck and bangles on her wrists.
She announced her arrival at the nursing station by slamming her large purse on the counter and loudly asking in a thick Cockney accent, “Is this the vulvo clinic?” She then trained on my colleague, the gynecologic oncologist with whom I shared the clinic, as he walked across the hall. She stepped back, looked him slowly up and down twice and then announced to no one in particular with a great large grin “Do I get undressed for him? I hope so!”
She then whirled around and then looked at the rest of us and said, “Oh I do hope that man at the front desk parks my Cadillac! I was so late that I drove up to the front door, and when he came forward I handed him my keys and $25 and rushed into the elevator.” She was unknowingly referring to the local security guard who had come out the front door to tell her to move her car — but she hadn’t heard him.
Even though this patient had appeared abrasive at first, from the moment she’d entered the clinic everything she had done had been with a huge grin. She ended up being a delightful patient to look after, and very funny. When she left at the end of that morning, we had all thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. She taught me that people might appear one way initially and turn out to be completely different. While at first she appeared to offend almost everyone, her huge grin, which was a constant companion, and her frequent laughter had us all loving her by the end of the day. There was not a malicious bone in her body, and I have never forgotten her. What a true character!
Q. What is the best piece of advice you received and from whom?
A. The best piece of advice I have ever received about dermatology was from Dr. Dick Odom when he said, “Whenever you look at a skin problem and you are not sure what it is, think about that rash somewhere else on the body, and then look at it again.”
Q. How do you envision the future of dermatology?
A. Dermatology is a great specialty. There will always be a big need for our services. Provided that we can continue with excellent medical dermatology, we will always have credibility.
Q. Outside of work what are you most passionate about in life?
A. The most important thing in my life is my family, followed by riding my pony through the forests of New Hampshire and skiing with family and friends.
