I came to see Dr. Sherwin on the recommendation of two colleagues, who both saw him and felt he was…read morean excellent dermatologist. However, my experience with him was extraordinarily disappointing and I would not recommend him to anyone, particularly anyone who has large numbers of moles. I have seen 5 dermatologists over the past 10 years, bringing my total body photography (print and digital images of all my moles) with me, and most doctors spend a good 20 - 30 minutes looking over each image and checking it against the moles on my body. These days they mostly look at the digital images, enlarging them on a computer screen and comparing them to particular moles.
During my appointment with Dr. Sherwin, he spent a maybe 5 minutes looking over my moles (I have hundreds of moles all over my body) and dismissed the use of magnifying lenses or other examination tools. When I asked why he had not competed the moles to the images and used a magnifying glass or the magnifying lenses he was wearing, he stated that his 44 years of experience were better than any of those tools. He was extremely dismissive of my questions and worry, and spent most of our appointment attempting to impress me with stories about his Ph.D. research at Penn in the mid 1970's on cancer and HIV, how his mentor should have won the Nobel prize. This might have been true but I did not see how it applied to my moles or worry that he was not taking my cancer risk seriously and notably, his discussion of HIV was incorrect, I know this because I happen to be a professor who does HIV research. Further, this was my first appointment, yet unlike any other dermatologist I have seen, he did not ask about my use of sunscreen, hats or other lifestyle choices that affect cancer risk, only asking if I was careful about the sun, to which I said yes, and then he cut off my follow up comment with more stories about his research.
Overall, I have a lot of anxiety about my cancer risk, because it is high, and nothing was said or done to discuss ways to mitigate it. Overall, I left the appointment feeling rather small, with no sense that I had been properly examined or thought about. I suspect Dr. Sherwin is a good practitioner, has he been in practice for a long time, has an excellent pedigree and I know people who speak well of him. But my experience was almost wholly negative, and I will not be going back.
In addition to his dermatological examination I was frustrated that he removed his mask several times while speaking 2 - 3 feet away from me, was not wearing it properly when it was on (not over the nose). I understand that masks can be uncomfortable, but they are an important protection against COVID-19 these days and I was really surprised to see a medical professional who interacts with many people in small rooms each day being so cavalier about my health and potential exposure.