Dermoscopy use in the next generation: a survey of Australian dermatology trainees

Objectives: The use of dermoscopy is rapidly expanding. The dermatoscope is now used in everyday practice. We sought to investigate the use of dermoscopy by Australian dermatology trainees.\ud \ud Methods: An invitation to complete a web-based survey was sent via e-mail. The survey was composed of a combination of questions from a standardised survey of the International Dermoscopy Society, a previously published dermoscopy survey of Australian consultant dermatologists and questions posed by us. Two-sided Fisher's exact tests, χ(2) tests and exact χ(2) tests for trend were used to assess differences between Australian consultants (n = 99) and trainee dermatologists (n = 44).\ud \ud Results: The response rate was 55% (44/80 trainees). There were 32% (n = 14) male and 68% (n = 30) female respondents. The mean age was 33-years (SD = 5.41). All respondents used dermoscopy with most (55%, n = 24) having used a dermatoscope for 3-5 years. When asked whether a dermatoscope was an essential tool for a trainee dermatologist, 96% (n = 42) responded yes. There was a statistically significant difference in answers of consultants and trainees to questions on identifying melanomas early in the curable stage, the use of dermoscopy in non-pigmented tumours, helping to improve record-keeping, documentation for medical liability and anticipation for future use of dermoscopy (P < 0.05).\ud \ud Conclusions: This survey of trainee dermatologists compared the dermoscopy practices recorded in a previous publication involving consultant dermatologists, in addition to questions asked by us. We outline what the practices of dermoscopy use could be in the next generation of dermatologists in Australia