What to expect at your first appointment

What to expect at your first appointment with one of our dermatologic oncologists:

1. Please register in the front lobby.
2. A Registered Nurse will take your vital signs, and escort you to the examination room. You will be asked to put on a gown, so the doctor can examine your entire skin surface.
3. The first doctor you will see will be a resident or a fellow. These are physicians in-training who have completed their medical education and are learning a specialty practice.
4. After the resident or fellow completes an exam and reviews your records, he or she will meet with the attending physician. 
5. The attending physician will meet with you and again review your records, as well as examine you. 
6. Your doctor may use digital photography to document some or all of your moles, and will also use a dermatoscope (a hand-held device) to examine your moles more closely. 
7. Depending on what your physician finds at the exam, he or she will discuss a treatment plan with you.  The treatment plan may include:
   • Wait and see approach, to see if the mole grows or changes
   • Skin biopsy, to examine part or all of the mole under a microscope
   • Surgery to remove the mole
   • If you are here with a new melanoma diagnosis, the visit will include a comprehensive review of your melanoma, preliminary stage as well as treatment recommendations, care-coordination and follow-up regimen
8. Your follow-up appointment will be determined at the conclusion of your visit and the Melanoma Nurse Care Coordinator will contact you in the weeks to arrange your next visit as advised by your physician.