I am grateful to have been awarded a British Society of Medical Dermatology Fellowship and have utilised the opportunity to further explore my interest in Cutaneous Infections through the following activities-

· HIV clinic with Dr Harriet Wallace, Leeds: I attended a local HIV clinic where I learned about optimising each appointment to manage HIV patients holistically, the types of transmission that are the most common in Leeds, recent advancements in anti-retroviral therapy and the terminology used to discuss patients.

· Mycology Laboratory visit with Dr Richard Barton, Leeds: I learnt how hair, nail and skin samples are processed for the process of dermatophyte identification via direct microscopy, culture and how drug levels of some oral antifungal therapies are conducted.

· Leprosy and Returning Traveller clinic with Dr Steve Walker at the Hospital for Tropical Diseases, London: I learnt about the variations of clinical presentation of leprosy, how examinations of leprosy patients should be conducted and the process of taking a split skin smear. I gained a better understanding of how patients on active leprosy treatment and those experiencing complications, eg. erythema nodosum leprosum, are managed and followed up.

· HIV and Male Genital Dermatology Clinic with Dr David Chandler, Brighton: I learnt the similarities and differences in the management with conditions like lichen sclerosis depending on gender. I also learnt how direct microscopy for fungal specimens can be performed in house so that patients can get immediate results

· Teledermatology cases with Dr Sidra Khan from Cox Bazaar refugee camp, Bangladesh: I was fortunate to spend time discussing teledermatology cases of common cutaneous conditions that are managed at a refugee camp. I learnt that GPs provide on the ground care and try to optimise each patient contact as follow up is often not possible. The main dermatological issues identified include scabies and fungal infections. Availability of treatment can be sporadic and is distributed through mass drug administration.

· Gentofte Dermatology Department with Professor Ditte Saunte, Denmark: I was grateful to have the opportunity to spend a week at Gentofte Dermatology team observing STI, Mycology and General Dermatology clinics. I was particularly interested to learn about how to identify and manage complex dermatophyte infections.

· Tropical Dermatology Masterclass, Prague: I enjoyed learning about the clinical presentation, investigation and management of various cutaneous bacterial and viral infections, and common cutaneous infections associated with returning travellers.

I thoroughly enjoyed my experience of the BSMD Fellowship to increase my exposure to an area of interest, meet like-minded clinicians and the chance to foster collaboration. I am looking forward to using the knowledge I’ve gained from these opportunities to improve patient care.