Dr Greenberg is the founder of Las Vegas Dermatology and assistant professor of internal medicine (IM) at the University of Nevada Las Vegas School of Medicine. He is double board-certified in IM (expired) and dermatology (current). Dr Greenberg graduated from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor with honors in history and received his medical degree from Wayne State University School of Medicine in Detroit, MI. He completed an IM residency at Georgetown University in Washington, DC, a cutaneous oncology fellow dermatology research year and first year of dermatology residency at the University of Wisconsin Hospital in Madison, and his last 2 years of dermatology training at Baylor Scott & White/Texas A&M University Health System in Temple, TX, where he served as chief dermatology resident and was the first graduate of the residency program under Dr David Butler, to whom Dr Greenberg owes a great deal of respect and gratitude.
A patient advocate and early adopter of technology in medicine, Dr Greenberg enjoys social media in medicine and has made award-winning dermatology videos on the LVDerm YouTube channel, which has over 1 million views. During the pandemic, he and fellow Las Vegas Dermatology physician Dr David Cotter began a series of educational lectures titled The DermBros; they have eight rounds so far and are working on a reality television show titled Vegas DermBros.
Since before his IM certification lapsed, Dr Greenberg has been a champion of a “once-in-a-lifetime” board certification policy to be adopted by all medical organizations. According to Dr Greenberg, taking away a board certification based on time is a fundamentally flawed argument, as educational achievements cannot be taken away once successfully completed. His “once certified, always certified” platform is something Dr Greenberg has lobbied the American Academy of Dermatology and others to change without result, but he is determined to get on the multiple medical boards in order to affect change as his other efforts have failed. Currently, he serves as a board member for the Clark County Medical Society and is treasurer of the Nevada Society for Dermatology & Dermatologic Surgery.
Q. Which patient had the most effect on your work and why?
A. I had done so many skin cancer surgeries on Ron, a former cabana boy from Hawaii, that he asked me if he had paid for my surgical lights. I joked that he indeed had paid for the lights, and so Ron asked if I would name a light after him, and I did—it’s Ron’s Light. Just the other day, I named a second light after him (Ron’s Other Light). I like to have fun with my patients and interact with them on a human-to-human level rather than a doctor-knows-best level. Ron’s confidence and faith in me plus his positive attitude and good nature about his condition while allowing me the opportunity to treat him and improve his life, making me feel important and appreciated.
Q. What is the best piece of advice you have received and from whom?
A. “Life’s not a dress rehearsal.” Though said by many, it’s my mom to whom I attribute that nugget (she usually paired it with a “Go for your dreams, because life’s not a dress rehearsal.”). The chutzpah my mom has in terms of going for her goals has made me fear very little and encouraged me to open my mouth when I see injustice or something that needs to be confronted or addressed, such as the scams that are maintenance of certification, recertification, and continuous and never-ending certification.
Q. Are an understanding & appreciation of the humanities important in dermatology and why?
A. I graduated from the University of Michigan with a bachelor’s degree in history. Psychology, philosophy, religion, English, and other humanities courses rounded out the basic sciences required for medical school admission. Ultimately, as physicians, we are in the people business and as such, we must establish some rapport with our patients. If we cannot relate to people, our interactions will go nowhere. As someone who enjoys all types of experiences and areas of learning where I can expand my understanding of the world around me, I regularly listen to podcasts such as The Jordan Harbinger Show, Hardcore History with Dan Carlin, and The Way I Heard It by Mike Rowe (and I escape through sports talk, including The Herd With Colin Cowherd). Many people who come to visit the doctor are scared, and I like to have a whole host of topics with which to engage them and take their mind off of their fears while I evaluate and treat what brought them in. We must know and understand dermatology, but connecting on a human level may be equally important.
Q. What is your greatest regret?
A. I regret not asking better questions. The quality of the responses we receive are dictated by the questions we ask. Knowing which question to ask can make all the difference.
Q. What part of your work gives you the most pleasure?
A. I love doing things for people that they could not otherwise do for themselves. From performing a surgery to diagnosing a skin condition and prescribing a treatment remedy, as a physician and working as a board-certified dermatologist, I have the opportunity to affect positive changes for my patients. I enjoy advocating for my patients and helping them achieve a “healthier and more beautiful life.”
Q. Who was your hero/mentor and why?
A. As trite as it sounds, my father is my hero. As a cardiologist who started his own practice and was on call every night growing up, from him I learned the values of hard work, dedication to the patient, entrepreneurship, and the importance of not smoking cigarettes. My dad continues to tell me multiple nuggets that sustain and protect me as a physician and a human being: never lie to a patient because you won’t be able to remember what you said; when you have more time to spend with the patient, do so, because when you get busier, you won’t have the time; we chose to have children in order to spend time with them, family is a priority; you have to exercise for 30 minutes every other day. From a man who grew up with nothing and worked as a doctor in the military to starting a foundation for learning and tolerance, I am proud of my father and try to follow his example.
Q. What is the greatest political danger in the field of dermatology?
A. As someone who tells it like I see it, and who responds to every patient post good or bad, I hope to push medicine into accepting the truth that is “once certified, always certified.” The American Board of Medical Specialties (ABMS) and the American Medical Association (AMA) have overreached and hoodwinked the public and physicians with a false narrative about continuing education, maintenance of certification, and continuous and never-ending certification. As board-certified specialists, we have already completed our training.
The standardization of training that goes into becoming a board-certified physician should mandate that board certification is a once-in-a-lifetime achievement just like obtaining a high school, college, or medical degree. These same medical organizations stand idly by while corporations take over the practice of medicine and bring a false equivalence through the rise of mid-levels who are now being treated by medical payers as the equivalent of board-certified dermatologists. There is no substitute for the 10,000+ hours of training that go into the making of a board-certified dermatologist. My state dictates continuing medical education to maintain a Nevada medical license; maintaining a medical license is important and guarantees that I am meeting what the state has qualified as necessary to practice medicine. As for ABMS, AMA, and our leaders who do not represent the once-certified-always-certified camp, I would like to remind them that the training is what it is and that lawyers and Yelp! do a much better job of making sure that I practice within the confines of my expertise than their recertification scams. We need leaders in dermatology who will champion the board-certified dermatologist—speak to the powers that be at ABMS, AMA, and the American Board of Dermatology to let them know that we will not be cheated by them moving the goalposts of defined testing and medical education, all the while stealing from us with unproven, time-consuming, and dangerous programs that give false reassurance to the public and cost board-certified dermatologists’ time and other precious resources.
