Announcing Dr. Leera Briceno’s Retirement
After 17 wonderful years at SSDP, Dr. Briceno is retiring. She was one of the partners who co-founded SSDP in 2008, and it has been a pleasure to serve our patients and community together. In this special interview, she shares stories, reflections, and wisdom from her incredible three-decade-long career.
You can also read Dr. Briceno’s letter to her patients.
What first inspired you to become a dermatologist?
”I’ve always been aware of having a strong visual sense, which is an absolute requirement in dermatology, needless to say. But I went to medical school with a very open mind. I didn’t want to box myself into anything. Some specialties lend themselves to a strong visual sense, such as dermatology and radiology. Even though I went in with an open mind, I had the good fortune of what I like to think of as an epiphany in my second year of medical school.
We had a wonderful lecture by two dermatopathologists who were also dermatologists, and I remember very clearly having a two-hour lecture on gross and microscopic dermatology. I remember sitting in the back of the amphitheater by myself, listening to these two excellent professors talk about skin diseases as they are grossly and as they appear microscopically. I truly had what I can only describe as an awakening, because it all made perfect sense to me, even though I’d had no prior exposure to dermatology. It all felt very familiar to me for reasons I still can’t explain.
By the end of that lecture, I walked out of the amphitheater saying, ‘I am going to be a dermatologist.’ It was like my mind was made up, and I was prepared mentally to do whatever it took, academically, emotionally, wherever in the country I had to go. I put myself on a path and never had a second thought about it.”
How has dermatology changed since you first started practicing?
“Even before I started practicing dermatology, I remember my dermatology training at Howard University Hospital in Washington, DC. I had the privilege of being trained by one of the giants in dermatology, Dr. John Kenney.
Anyone who has read the premier teaching textbooks in dermatology would recognize his name. Dr. Kenney is truly one of the fathers of skin of color as an important and necessary part of the study of dermatology, and for too long, this was a completely ignored component of our specialty. He made many important contributions to our literature and field. Dr. Kenney could teach you about all the old school medications, the compounds, the Goeckerman therapy regimen that was used so frequently for treating things like psoriasis. And if he were alive today to experience how psoriasis treatment has changed, and now come full circle to using biologic drugs that are ever-expanding, he would be inspired.
I feel very honored to have been his student and to see how treatment of a single disease or condition, and now so many others, like eczema and hidradenitis suppurativa, for which there have been no effective treatments in the past, has evolved. We’ve come to a point now where there are medications exploding in the field of immunology for treating these difficult conditions. I think this has been the most remarkable change that I have experienced in my time as a dermatologist.”
What is a piece of advice you would give to aspiring dermatologists?
“I would say be prepared to go more than skin deep with your patients. I think it is very important to go into each visit with every patient, every day, with an open mind. Patients come to us with serious skin conditions, but they also come to us with all of their other issues. To connect with your patients, to learn to listen, to learn to be patient with them, to hear them, and to show them that you care, above and beyond the rash, the spot, the skin cancer, whatever it might be—to connect with your patients on a real, human level is very important, in addition to the skin issues.”
What have you valued most about working at SSDP, and what will you miss most?
“One of the things that I’ve valued the most is the camaraderie with my peers. I feel so lucky for the privilege to work with wonderful people during my career. The last half of my career has been just truly phenomenal. I feel this is the best place I’ve ever worked, and I will miss my colleagues.
I will miss my patients. I feel like I’ve gotten to know so many of them on a very human level, knowing whole families, meeting grandchildren and grandparents and everybody in between, and just sharing their lives. You really get to know them on a deeper level than just the doctor-patient relationship over time. That will stay with me forever. I truly feel like I’m walking away with a rich career that has been fulfilling all along the way, but especially in the past 15-20 years.”
What’s the biggest lesson you’ve learned from your patients?
“If I were to pick one thing that I’ve learned from my patients, it’s to listen well. To give them the time of day. To not just come in with my agenda because I know what their chronic illness is. To find a way to show that you care—each and every time—leads to a fulfilling experience. Your patient walks away feeling like they’ve been heard and cared for, and for that, they’ll keep coming back.”
What accomplishment are you most proud of?
“I would say being able to make a difference in the lives of patients who have had potentially life-threatening or serious skin conditions. For people who live with chronic skin disease, like severe psoriasis and severe eczema; people who are riddled with skin cancers; people who are troubled with severe acne, including teenagers who don’t want to go to school or socialize because of incapacitating, embarrassing acne—to have made a difference and to have had an impact, to have saved some lives by catching early melanomas and things like that. Those experiences for me are the foundation of what are the most fulfilling things for me. For each of those times, I feel like I made a difference in the life of a human being.”
What are you most looking forward to in your retirement?
“There are several things! One of my life goals has always been to become fluent in Spanish. I have a strong Spanish ancestral history, and unfortunately, Spanish got lost somewhere from generation to generation, not carrying the torch. So I’m committed to learning it, and I’ve already started my Spanish training on Duolingo, so trabajo con mi tutor de español, and I’m going to do it one way or the other.
I’m also looking forward to the chance to dive into my hobbies that I’ve had no time for, including artistic pursuits, like designing and creating things. I’d like to do more photography, take art classes, continue traveling the world, and also visit more sites in our own country. But most of all, I’m looking forward to being available to spend time with my beautiful grandchildren someday soon.”
Please join us in celebrating Dr. Briceno and wishing her the best in this next chapter!
Interviewed by Catarina Barros, Gap-Year Team Member
Please contact SSDP to schedule an appointment with any of our physicians. We are here to continue your care.
