Dermatology Education in New South Wales and Australian Capital Territory Medical Schools: A Cross‐Sectional Study

Dermatological conditions are among the most common reasons that patients seek medical attention in primary care settings. In Australia, skin-related presentations comprise 15.3% of all general practice consultations 1. Furthermore, Australia has the highest incidence of melanoma and non-melanoma skin cancer globally 2. Despite presentation frequency, dermatology teaching is often under-represented in medical schools 3. Previous studies of graduating medical students in Australia and abroad have reported low confidence in diagnosing and managing common skin diseases 4, 5. A recent survey found that Australian general practitioners rated skin cancer a top learning priority 6. There is no agreed standard across Australian universities that outlines the necessary dermatology competencies for medical graduates. Consequently, the integration of dermatology into medical curricula varies substantially between institutions 3. The study aim was to assess the quantity, structure and content of dermatology teaching across medical schools in New South Wales (NSW) and Australian Capital Territory (ACT) and identify gaps that may inform the development of a national curriculum. A cross-sectional study was conducted to assess dermatology teaching across the eight medical schools in NSW and ACT. From May to October 2025, the medical schools were invited to provide information about dermatology education within their curriculum, including topics taught, mode of content delivery, professional background of educators, total duration of dermatology teaching, phase of the medical course in which teaching occurred and whether the content was formally assessed. Given the prevalence of skin cancer in Australia, dermato-oncology teaching was examined in detail. Data were obtained by inspection of written curricula and correspondence with key university personnel. All eight institutions gave information about dermatology education, although information from one institution was limited (Data S1). Dermatology topics taught at medical schools (Figure 1) ranged from 3 to 17. Only one institution specifically addressed dermatological conditions affecting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. The median duration of total dermatology teaching was 13 h (range 9–62 h), including 3–29 didactic hours (range), with the remainder being self-directed. A median of 45% (range 0%–100%) of content was delivered by dermatologists or dermatology registrars. All respondent institutions used lectures and tutorials as the primary mode of content delivery. Most dermatology teaching occurred during the later clinical years. Table 1 summarises skin cancer education across institutions. The most common topics were clinical features (N = 6) and management (N = 6). Only one institution had a teaching session on dermoscopy. A median of 2.5 h (range 0.5–10.5 h) was dedicated to skin cancer. Five universities offered opportunities for elective outpatient clinic attendance. In three universities, dermatology clinic attendance (typically a single attendance) was a compulsory component of the programme. Although formal assessment of dermatology content was conducted in seven universities, there was no information about expected graduate competencies. The study highlights heterogeneity in dermatology education across NSW and ACT medical schools. Dermatology education differed greatly in scope, duration, range of topics taught and clinical exposure. Our findings are consistent with previous reports about the under-representation of dermatology teaching in medical schools 3, 7, and also suggest that clinical dermatology exposure is limited. There is evidence that structured dermatology clinics improve both diagnostic ability and student satisfaction 5. The study underscores the need for a uniform standard of dermatology competencies across Australian medical schools. For example, although the Australian Medical Council Standards for Assessment and Accreditation of Primary Medical Programs stipulates teaching of health issues that affect Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander and Māori patients in each medical discipline, including dermatology 8, this requirement was addressed by only one institution. Similarly, while it is reassuring that teaching about skin cancer occurred in all universities, consistent with a recent finding that medical schools worldwide regard such teaching as a key aspect of dermatology education 9, curriculum time was insufficient to achieve competency in skin cancer diagnosis and management, as would be expected by the Australian population 10. It is also noteworthy that only one medical school provided a dedicated teaching session on dermoscopy for all students, despite the Australian Cancer Council guidance recommending that clinicians assessing skin lesions to detect skin cancer are trained in and use dermoscopy 11. Establishing consistent standards of teaching through collaboration among Australian medical schools and involvement of key stakeholders, including dermatologists, would enhance graduate competence in the diagnosis and management of skin disease. Study limitations include the partial reliance on self-reported institutional data, which may not capture all dermatology teaching within integrated curricula, and lack of comprehensive data from one university. We also recognise that our findings cannot be generalised to dermatology teaching in other Australian medical schools. Future research should explore student, educator and community perspectives to help guide curriculum reform. S.W. and L.K.M. were supported by the Warwick L. Morrison Dermatology Department, University of New South Wales. The authors thank participating medical schools for providing information about curricula. The authors have nothing to report. Associate Professor Artiene Tatian is an Associate Editor of the Australasian Journal of Dermatology. The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request. Data S1: Dermatology education in medical schools in NSW and ACT in 2025 according to duration of dermatology exposure, teaching method and assessment. Please note: The publisher is not responsible for the content or functionality of any supporting information supplied by the authors. Any queries (other than missing content) should be directed to the corresponding author for the article.