Gloria

I rarely cover the passing of colleagues, even mentors, in this column. Dr Gloria Graham is the rare exception. Gloria even wrote a Chief Medical Editor’s Message about a decade ago, sharing some of her thoughts on the experiences of women in dermatology.¹

Gloria was one of the pioneers. She practiced for more than 60 years, starting when there were few women in medicine (much less in dermatology), taught many dermatologists how to do cryosurgery (heaven forbid she would hear me call it cryotherapy), and was named North Carolina’s Doctor of the Year in 2015. While devoted to her family, from my perspective, she lived for dermatology.

Gloria was loved by everyone, patients, staff, and countless dermatologists alike. A giant of our specialty, she was always exceptionally kind and humble. She loved supporting others. I remember how distraught she was that she had to wait a year to nominate me for membership in the American Dermatological Association because she could only nominate one person at a time (and had to nominate my chair first). Gloria was on our faculty at Wake Forest at that time. She volunteered to serve on our residency application review committee but had to stop doing that, as it was too painful for her to turn anyone away from interviewing. The world would be a better place with more of her gentleness, her caring spirit, and her love for and devotion to helping others.

In honor of Gloria, this issue looks at the way dermatologists can be compassionate and help our patients achieve better outcomes. Dr Erin Foster shares how she focuses on her relationships with her patients and a shared decision-making model to work toward improved patient outcomes and satisfaction with care (page 40).

Reference
1. Graham GF, Shelley DE. Women--then and now. The Dermatologist. 2005;13(1):8,10.