We recently connected with Sarah Jensen and have shared our conversation below.
Sarah , appreciate you joining us today. If you had a defining moment that you feel really changed the trajectory of your career, we’d love to hear the story and details.
I found, post pandemic, that I was in a bit of a rut of doing the same routine daily with little change or growth or development in my practice. I knew my dermatology: medical, surgical and cosmetic–but I was not as motivated by the work. I found that many patients were seeking the same type of medical care I sought out–more integrative or holistic care. I often seek out more natural products or practices in my own healthcare and in that for my family. So, I sought training in integrative dermatology with Learnskin. I was able to join a larger community of practioners who thought outside the box and had a wider variety of tools to work with, in treating patients. I find patients come to me because of that additional training and that more accepting and curious approach to medical care. It’s benefited my practice and I am learning new avenues of therapy with every course I continue to take.
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?
My background in arts helps me to see patients through a different aesthetic. I am grateful I took a non traditional path to the medical field. While my background is in visual arts, I entered science and medicine because of my desire to help others and have a reliable career as an independent female. I witnessed my mother raise three children, nearly on her own, and wanted to ensure a dependable income. Throughout my youth, I had witnessed my older sibling suffer with addiction and, deep down I believe, I sought out medicine thinking I may help heal him someday. He unfortunately died before I became a physician. I realize healing comes from within and I likely wouldn’t have had a greater effect on his life as a physician, but I always wanted to be that access to care for him. I witnessed how my sibling was disregarded in the medical system due to misconceptions about his disease; this experience instilled in me the desire to be particularly empathic toward patients from all socioeconomic backgrounds and to be less judgmental and more accepting of others’ unique situations.
Can you open up about how you managed the initial funding?
I was fortunate to meet a rather entrepreneurial CEO at a semi rural hospital; his community lacked adequate dermatology care. He felt they needed a dermatologist and, even if I didn’t bring the hospital the monetary business of other types of specialists, he saw my value to his community and the hospital funded the start up at my first office. We had an agreement that I would remain in the area for at least two years after the funding ended. I was stable within two months and didn’t need the extra hospital income. And those two years have led to another thirteen years in business at my first office. I am grateful that this path seemed to open up for me after I left my academic practice. It seemed fateful to decide to head into private practice, as the doors simply oped after I took that initial leap on my own.
What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?
We have great integrity, true empathy, and we try to treat each patient as if a relative or a friend. I think about the patient being a brother, son, or parent, and imagine about how I’d want my family treated in a clinical setting and then work from there. We rely more on patients’ word of mouth to share our hard work and dedication to their care, and rely less on social media or ad campaigns. I think this type of marketing is the best in medicine–a patient’s referral of us to friend or colleague is the best reference. And we see entire families from great grandparent to the infants in their families–and accepting that trust in us is a true blessing.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.regional dermatology.com
- Instagram: regional_dermatology
- Facebook: Regional_dermatology
- Linkedin: Regional Dermatology