We caught up with the brilliant and insightful DiAnne Davis, MD, FAAD a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

DiAnne, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Let’s go back in time to when you were an intern or apprentice – what’s an interesting story you can share from that stage of your career?

As a young African-American woman, when I decided to pursue a career in medicine, I fell in love with dermatology because I am an extremely visual learner, so I can see what it is I’m diagnosing. The second part of that story is that I suffered with acne as a young adult, and I found very few dermatologists that looked like me in the field.

I saw this as an opportunity to go into a field of medicine where more black and brown dermatologists are so desperately needed. In addition, I saw how seeking out a dermatologist helped me get my acne under control and also improve my self-esteem and quality of life.

While in medical school, I wasn’t sure exactly where to begin my journey, so I applied for the Diversity Mentorship Program through the American Academy of Dermatology (AAD). Through this program I met Dr. Valerie Callender, who serves as my mentor and continues to mentor me over 10 years later.

It was during this mentorship program that I learned the true value of why mentorship is so important for anyone seeking out a career. She took me under her wing and not only taught me about how to diagnose different dermatology conditions, she also taught me what it takes to run a private practice, how to find balance as a physician, wife, and mother, and how it is so important to network and form relationships that can help guide and mold your career.

Dermatology is one of the hardest specialties to get into. Not only do you have to excel in your coursework during medical school, but you also have to take standardized exams, participate in volunteer programs, demonstrate scholastic curiosity, with research projects, and more. Coupled with the fact that there aren’t many black and brown at Dermatologist at this time, it could be very challenging for young black and brown students to feel confident that they can apply to this field.

By surrounding myself with mentors, who looked like me, I was not only able to match into the specialty of my choice, which was Dermatology, I have also try to do my best to pay it forward by serving as the chair of the mentorship program through the National Medical Association (NMA) Dermatology Section. Through this program we match medical students with a practicing a dermatologist who can further help guide them on the application process for applying to dermatology, publishing, research projects, navigating different challenges, in medical school, and beyond.

To date we have been successful in maxing close to 100 black and brown medical students into the field of dermatology, and the program continues to grow leaps and bounds.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

Probably one of the biggest stories that I can share that illustrates my resilience is my journey up line to medical school. Most students apply close to the end of their undergraduate curriculum by taking the standardized exam to enter into medical school, which is the MCAT.

I decided to wait until after graduate school at Tulane University in New Orleans to take the interest exam. For some this can be a very challenging exam and for me my test taking anxiety definitely got the best of me. I ended up having to take the exam five different times to achieve a score, the granting me entrance into medical school.

On average, most students may take the exam 2 to 3 times. And they were definitely so many times that I felt like giving up or I would ask myself if I needed to rethink my career choice. However, I never saw myself doing anything else but medicine so I continued to push forward to achieve my dreams..

At one point, I even took three months off from work and sort out the help from a therapist to help me work through my test, taking anxiety.

We developed a plan and slowly I started to perform better and better on my practice tests.

Every time I look back on this time in my life, I remember how there were so many nights where I felt like giving up. But fast forward to 2023 and here I am a board-certified dermatologist doing what I absolutely love to do. I couldn’t imagine doing anything else and I’m so happy that I decided to stick with my gut and continue to pursue medicine as a career.

I can’t say, I know many students who would continue to try to take this exam, let alone five times, but for anyone out there that feels like giving up. I hope this is a testimony, that hard work and determination definitely pay off.

Do you think you’d choose a different profession or specialty if you were starting now?

Yes, yes, yes!!!

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @drdiannedavis
• Facebook: @drdiannedavis
• Twitter: @drdiannedavis

Image Credits
Maryh Lashell – M. Lashell Photography Marrica Evans Calahan