While these system changes had a major impact on waiting lists, the rate of referrals coming in to Dermatology is increasing significantly year on year due to increases in skin cancer prevalence and population growth. With this projected increase in volume of referrals, there is a clear need to move away from an over reliance on hospital specialists and rethink how skin conditions are managed across the system.

One key learning from the Dermatology VSA was that General Practitioners (GPs) receive very little training in skin conditions. A key challenge is the fact that dermatology is a highly visual and tactile field. There is a limit to what learners can gain from textbooks and lectures, even with high quality photos. Teaching therefore traditionally relies on the learner seeing real patients. However it is not practical for large volumes of trainees to attend clinics for extended periods in order to gain the exposure they need.

To address this, we connected Mater Dermatologists with the Medical Device Design group at NCAD and together they have developed a novel, high-fidelity suite of teaching aids. No other teaching tools currently available on the market offer this level of fidelity in terms of visual and tactile features. We anticipate that they will increase confidence and competence in the management of common skin conditions among practicing GPs as well as undergraduate and postgraduate trainees.