Team Dermatology and ‘Unsung Heroes’ Jasmine and Nina ‘put UHDB on the map’ as a leader in the speciality
UHDB’s role as a leader in the advancement of Dermatology has been highlighted on a global scale after an unprecedented number of Trust-led projects were presented at a prestigious conference.
More than 1,900 delegates from all over the world tuned in to this year’s British Association of Dermatologists (BAD) annual conference, which featured 11 talks on papers submitted by dermatology colleagues at UHDB.
Of our staff who had abstracts selected, Dr Jasmine Mann and Dr Nina Mann, Specialist Registrars in Dermatology, were also both named as ‘Unsung Heroes’ at the virtual event for their efforts during the pandemic.
Both doctors were redeployed to Royal Derby Hospital in the midst of the pandemic, but still had papers relating to their speciality accepted, with Dr Jasmine Mann giving separate presentations on her treatment of a child with zinc deficiency and around new guidelines on treating a form of skin cancer, known as SCC in situ.
Jasmine said: “It was a bit of a shock, as you never know whether these things are going to be accepted. But it’s really nice to still be able to get some recognition for the work in our speciality during the pandemic, as it could’ve been quite easy for all of the stuff we’ve achieved to be forgotten about because of all of the stresses in managing Covid-19.
“The senior members of the dermatology team are so nice and supportive and are always pushing us to get involved in projects. They really recognise the hard work that we do, so it’s fantastic to see the whole team doing so well, even throughout the challenge of Covid. I’ve never experienced this level of support anywhere else that I’ve worked and I think that is part of the reason why we all want to do well and do so much, so that we can make them proud.”
Likewise, Dr Nina Mann also delivered two presentations that focused on how dermatology undergraduate training has been delivered at UHDB during the pandemic, and how a new skin surveillance protocol for immunocompromised organ transplant patients has been implemented.
Nina said: “We’re always being encouraged to submit as many abstracts as possible, so I’m delighted to have had both of my applications accepted! It’s very good news and I’m really proud to be part of the dermatology team at Florence Nightingale Community Hospital.
“There’s so much interesting stuff going on in dermatology that we don’t always get to hear about, so it’s really good to see so many of my colleagues put pen to paper and share the great work they’re doing with the rest of the world and help put UHDB on the map for dermatology.”
Nina made the switch from being a Teaching Fellow to a Registrar on the Medical Assessment Unit and short-stay wards at RDH at the start of the pandemic – caring for some of our most poorly patients – with her efforts seeing her recognised as an ‘Unsung Hero’.
She said: “It was a bit daunting working with Covid-19 patients, and I hadn’t inserted a canula or taken bloods for a while, so it was certainly interesting going back to all of that! I wasn’t working in a training post at the start of the pandemic, but I just felt like I needed to get involved, as I was working with the registrars on a day-to-day basis anyway. You don’t really think you’re doing much out of the ordinary, just your job, but it was a very pleasant surprise to find out about the Unsung Hero award.”
Jasmine was also singled out as an Unsung Hero for the way she selflessly helped new registrars who had joined the team, despite she herself also being redeployed to RDH and having to care for patients away from her speciality.
She said: “It was hard at the time because there wasn’t a book to explain what to do in the pandemic as nobody really knew what was going on with Covid-19. It was like going back to being an F1 junior doctor again at first, but the senior registrars have always supported me so well that I really wanted to be supportive of those who were new to the post and to make them feel part of the team. It can be hard when you don’t know a team and are just thrown in at the deep end, so I’m glad to have been able to help and it’s really nice to have received this recognition.”
Dr Tanya Bleiker, Consultant Dermatologist at UHDB and President of the British Association of Dermatologists, added: “The challenges of the pandemic have required us all to change the way that we work, in order to keep people safe, but despite all of this, I am delighted to see that so much innovation has still taken place within Dermatology at UHDB. Our team have had a bumper year, with an unprecedented number of papers being accepted for this year’s British Association of Dermatologists annual conference. This fills me with a huge amount of pride, and I’d like to commend all my colleagues who were selected, especially our Specialist Registrars who were named as Unsung Heroes of the pandemic.”
