Week 3: Continuing to Learn in the Clinic

This week, I returned to the clinic to continue shadowing and building on what I have been learning. Each time I go in, I gain a better understanding of how dermatology practices operate and how physicians and physician assistants work with patients in a real clinical setting.

One of the most helpful parts of this week was being able to work with several different providers in the office, including Dr. Lukaszewski, Dr. Tamjidi, Dr. Ahmadi, and Dr. Coyle. Each of them took time to talk with me about my project and offer their perspectives. I also got the opportunity to shadow them as they worked with patients. Hearing from multiple clinicians was valuable because they each have different experiences treating psoriasis and managing patient care. Their insights helped me think more critically about my research question and how treatments are actually used in practice.

Outside of the clinic, I spent time continuing my literature research. I read and analyzed several new scientific sources related to psoriasis, weight loss, and GLP-1 medications. Looking through these studies helped me start identifying patterns in the research, as well as some of the limitations and unanswered questions that still exist in this area.

Even though this week was more focused on observation and research, it was still an important step in the project. The conversations with clinicians and the time spent analyzing sources are helping me refine my understanding of the topic and shape the direction of my research moving forward.