Susan Boiko, MD, FAAD
Offering support and skills, from clinic to camp.
Donor Spotlight
By Dean Monti, Managing Editor, Special Publications, November 1, 2024
In this column, DermWorld highlights individual members who have gone above and beyond with their Academy contributions.
Dr. Boiko has been a pediatric dermatologist in San Diego with over 45 years of experience in the medical field. Now that she is retired, these days you’ll see “volunteer” appear frequently in her title. She is voluntary associate clinical professor of dermatology at UCSD School of Medicine, a volunteer physician with Vista Community Clinic (a federally qualified health clinic [FQHC]), and a volunteer consultant with MAVENProject.org which provides unlimited consultations for multiple specialties for a yearly fee to FQHCs and free clinics.
Adolescent fundraiser
In conversation with DermWorld, she recalled early experiences with philanthropy, including her first experiences with charity as far back as 1959. “When I was in second grade, our teacher told us to wash out our school milk cartons and glue a sign around them that said, ‘Trick or treat for UNICEF.’ I was so proud of the pennies I collected!” Yes, Dr. Boiko was that kind of kid, and she’s retained the youthful enthusiasm of a kid in her efforts as an adult.
During her residency some 30 years ago, she sought to contribute to a child-focused effort. “Along came AAD’s Camp Discovery,” she recalled. “I started to include a small contribution with my dues.” Around the same time, in the mid-1980s, she became aware of the AAD’s early efforts with skin cancer screenings, and it inspired her to conduct her own screening as a resident and dermatologist, something she has continued to date.
Skin cancer checks and Good Skin Knowledge
Inspiring others and herself
It’s that first-hand experience that Dr. Boiko said is most powerful. “If potential supporters experienced Camp Discovery directly — or saw images of campers at play, completely unselfconscious — they would turn their pockets inside out,” she said.
The experience was personally valuable, as well. “When I felt ground down by the unrelenting pace of a buzzing clinic practice, it was a relief to spend 15 minutes in conversation with a camper or camp staff member as we walked toward an activity,” Dr. Boiko added. “I could get to know them as a person who happened to have a skin issue instead of a patient. They became much more than a constellation of findings to be typed into a medical note on a computer.”
“When you undergo something like an ice bucket challenge at camp, it can ignite and awaken a newfound passion,” she said. “The collegial spirit of camp is something volunteers bring back to their dermatology practice.”
Are you interested in holding an event in your area?
Contact kfunk@aad.org to learn more about how you can get involved.
New Camp Discovery role and the future
Dr. Boiko is excited to begin her role as director of Camp Discovery next year and said she has “an awesome team” which includes AAD staff and camp staff including Harper Price, MD, FAAD, who is a pediatric dermatologist in Phoenix who will be medical director. “I am excited about the upcoming assistance from AAD to recruit campers directly, so we can broaden our outreach to underserved children year-round instead of those who come to a dermatologist’s office in the early spring,” she said.
Identifying potential supporters is perennially important to Dr. Boiko. As part of her new role as director of Camp Discovery, Dr. Boiko worked closely with Omnilux, who donated part of their September proceeds to camp, in addition to a $30,000 donation.
For Dr. Boiko, the future is likely to hold many new adventures, worthy philanthropic efforts, and, of course, happy campers. But one of the happiest campers DermWorld has encountered has been Dr. Boiko herself. Whether it’s getting doused with ice water, dressing as a Barbie or a bandaged banana, she’s a kid at heart, doing what she loves, and her compassion inspires others to do likewise.
