With a good work-life balance – predictable hours, relatively few emergencies and good compensation – dermatology is considered a desirable field for aspiring doctors. But that also makes it a particularly competitive speciality.
It’s a challenge welcomed by Leah Ansell, M.D., who moved to Westchester County with her family three years ago, giving up her practice on the Upper East Side to focus entirely on her practice in Rye, where she is one of the associates with Treiber Dermatology Associates (TDA).
Key to her practice is her ability and willingness to bridge medical and cosmetic dermatology, which is not something all dermatologists want to do.
“…I find it hard to separate them,” said Ansell, whose expertise includes pediatric dermatology. “Often, someone comes to me for cosmetic consultation of acne scarring, but they still have active acne. How can I manage their scarring if their acne is not very well controlled?”
In another scenario, someone who desires laser treatments may have active rosacea, for which there are some great medical treatment options, she said.
“The interplay, overlap and expertise in these areas are something I really enjoy doing.”
For cosmetic care, she prides herself on saying “no” when she does not think patients need or would significantly benefit from a service. Her practice doesn’t carry devices or lasers that are merely trendy or that she doesn’t believe in. Another element that makes it stand out, Ansell said, is that she performs laser and injectable treatments herself.
“Nowadays, anyone can take a weekend online course and claim themselves as an expert. It can be hard for patients to know what they are getting.”
Ansell joked that it is easier to pass a law than to get a product carried in her office. She said the doctors cherry-pick the best products from great skincare lines – reviewing the data and evidence – and then try them for months before agreeing to carry a product. She is also proud to have her own product line.
“Amazing,” “incredible,” “brilliant,” and wonderful” are adjectives that keep recurring in Ansell’s online reviews. “People say I’m friendly and bubbly,” she added, something she attributed to her Midwestern roots: She was born and raised in the Chicago area.
Ansell attended Dartmouth College and completed her internship at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC), followed by a dermatology residency and chief residency at Columbia University in Manhattan. A board-certified dermatologist, she is also an assistant clinical professor of dermatology at NewYork-Presbyterian/Columbia University Irving Medical Center with a string of awards and accolades to her name.
While dermatology, like all medical practices, is a business, Ansell remains focused on core values, namely providing “the best comprehensive and ethical dermatological care for entire families.”
Her patients are “neighbors, community members, kids, their parents and their grandparents. We truly treat the whole family….
“Our business is growing,” she added, “and we are bursting at the seams.”
