By Melanie Stawicki Azam
Fourth-year UF College of Medicine student Candace Glenn knew she wanted to be a doctor before visiting northern Uganda and southern Sudan in 2007.
But her experiences in Africa over the past four years opened her eyes to the specialty she wanted to pursue — dermatology.
The amount of need in Africa is so overwhelming, it can be hard to really change lives, Glenn said. Skin problems are rampant and although the conditions may seem minor to some, they cause a lot of misery for the people. Fortunately, many cases can be relieved fairly easily and inexpensively.
“I saw dermatology as a way I can make a really practical difference over there,” she said. “It increases the quality of their lives and restores pride in one of the only things they own—their bodies and skin.”
As graduation approaches, Glenn is hoping to match to a dermatology residency in the eastern U.S.
“It encompasses everything I like,” she said of the specialty. “I like the preventative aspects, the procedures, and the diversity of the patients and pathology.” Read more.