Dr Adam Friedman is professor and interim chair of dermatology and serves as residency program director, director of translational research, and director of the supportive oncodermatology program in the department of dermatology at The George Washington University School of Medicine & Health Sciences in Washington, DC. Dr Friedman has published more than 170 papers/chapters and two textbooks on his research in nanotechnology as well as a variety of clinical areas in dermatology with an emphasis on emerging medical therapies. He hosts an online series titled “Ask an Expert” and the Journal of Drugs in Dermatology podcast “Ask the Investigator,” and Dr Friedman serves as president of the Derma Care Access Network, a subgroup of the Alliance for Patient Access. In line with his interests in medical education, Dr Friedman is the deputy chair of the AAD Poster Exhibits Task Force; the medical director of the ODAC Dermatology, Aesthetic & Surgical Conference; senior editor of the Derm In-Review online board review course; founder and director of Krazy Kodachromes; and director of the Oakstone Institute’s Dermatology Board Review.
Q. What is the best piece of advice you have received and from whom?
A. While I am not sure this is the best advice I have received, it is something that has always stuck with me. As a third-year medical student rotating in surgery, one of the chief residents made the comment to me that medicine is a contact, proactive sport. A clinician should scan the field, see what needs to be done, and do it before even being asked. This seems simple enough, but I really embraced this mentality both in my personal and professional life. It has served me well, not to mention I share this ideology with many of the students and residents who come through my program.
Q. What part of your work gives you the most pleasure?
A. I am very fortunate that my “career ADHD” is medicated well by academic dermatology through the various hats that I wear. That said, this is certainly a tough question, so I am going to cheat a little by saying overseeing the resident clinic because this entails both patient care and education. What could be better than running through the description, respective reaction pattern assignment, and differential diagnosis generation with residents and medical students alike, seeing and interacting with the patient, and then continuing said discussion/lesson? Possibly a positive KOH test from a patient with tinea incognito (I love a good KOH), but I would argue that it would be difficult to find a close second.
I will stretch education into a third part, which entails my own learning. While overseeing the high volume and complexity of cases in the resident clinic, I am expected to be on top of my own derm game, which forces me to stay up-to-date on the literature (I take public transportation for the sole purpose of being able to read the journals on my commute), and I always learn passively by just physically being there in the clinic with my trainees and patients. It’s a win-win-win.
Q. What is your greatest regret?
A. I wish I had spent a semester abroad in college. It would have either been Paris or Melbourne, which are polar opposites but just two solid locations for this sort of experience. I was persistently told that pre-meds just can’t do it. What I don’t regret is what this experience taught me, which is to ask “why the **** not?”
Q. Who was your hero/mentor and why?
A. I have been so unbelievably fortunate to have caring, thoughtful, and genuine mentors throughout my career, and I have no doubt that I would not be where I am if it were not for their investment in me (note to readers: get yourself a cohort of mentors). Dermatology giants such as Dr Steven Cohen, Dr Michael Fisher, Dr Brian Berman, Dr Ken Tomecki, Dr Neal Bhatia, Dr Gil Yosipovitch, and Dr Robert Modlin, to name a few, have uniquely impacted my career. That said, hands down my father, Dr Joel Friedman, has been the most influential mentor and has been my hero since as long as I can remember. Some very basic lessons imparted from him that have shaped who I am as a clinician and scientist are:
- Treat everyone, regardless of station or position, with respect and dignity.
- Publicly applause, privately provide feedback.
- It never takes away from your contribution to be inclusive–this can be on a presentation, a paper, or even a celebration.
- If a disease state or research area is your interest, always be the most knowledgeable person in the room on said subject. Own it, breathe it, bleed it.
- Always have fun presenting/teaching.
- There is always time for basketball.
Q. Which medical figure in history would you want to have a drink with and why?
A. I would really enjoy sipping some 18-year-old scotch with Dr Luther Terry, who was the ninth-appointed surgeon general. Have you ever noticed the lack of cigarette ads on television, the health warnings on cigarette packs, and the restriction on tobacco sale and distribution to minors? Yes, that was this guy. However, that was not the most incredible part. Dr Terry stood up against an imposing tsunami of political, medical, and corporate scrutiny while attempting to do all of this plus educate the public on the significant, scientific-based ills of smoking tobacco. His courage and tenacity during a time when smoking was as common as white bread is inspiring, and to even gain one-tenth of his gumption through relayed experience, anecdote, and regalia would be invaluable. We face so many opposing forces targeting our amazing specialty today—we need a Dr Terry.
