Board-Certified & Fellowship-Trained Mohs Surgeon Joins Optima Dermatology


Dr. Deborah Paul Brings Mohs Surgery Expertise to Optima’s Macedonia, OH Practice
Optima Dermatology is excited to welcome Dr. Deborah Paul, MD, FAAD, to our Macedonia, OH, practice, where she will deliver expert skin cancer care and treatment. Dr. Paul is a board-certified Mohs surgeon whose expertise includes Mohs for skin cancers and cutaneous oncology.
After receiving her Doctor of Medicine from the University of Rochester School of Medicine in New York, Dr. Paul completed an internship in internal medicine at St. Vincent Hospital in Worcester, MA. She then went on to complete her residency in dermatology at the University of Rochester and her Fellowship in Mohs Micrographic Surgery and Cutaneous Oncology at the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota.
Dr. Paul has been recognized throughout her career, receiving multiple awards and honors and authoring more than 15 medical publications. Additionally, Dr. Paul is a member of the American College of Mohs Surgery, the American Academy of Dermatology, and the American Society for Dermatologic Surgery.
Her approach to care is aligned with Optima Dermatology’s patient-centered mission, in which we treat every patient the way we treat our family and friends. Dr. Paul is passionate about treating skin cancer and helping patients through difficult diagnoses with individualized and compassionate care.
We recently had the opportunity to learn more about Dr. Paul, her approach, and the path that led her to become a board-certified nurse practitioner.
What made you decide to pursue a career in dermatology? What did the path to get there look like for you?
Dermatology represents everything that I love about medicine. We are diagnosticians, pathologists, and surgeons. We follow a patient through all the steps of care – examining a possible skin cancer, biopsying it, removing it, and repairing it!
To get here, I followed a fairly linear path to medicine. I always wanted to be a physician because it represents the unique intersection of art, service, and science. After college at UMASS Lowell in Lowell, Massachusetts, I attended medical school and completed my residency in Dermatology at the University of Rochester in Rochester, NY. I then completed a Mohs Micrographic Surgery and Cutaneous Oncology Fellowship at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota.
What is your favorite aspect of being a dermatologist?
Mohs surgery patients are often in the office for a couple of hours at a time, during which I learn so much about their lives and build connections with them. The experience with each patient reminds me of the humanity in what we are privileged to do in medicine.
What is your approach to treating your patients?
I strongly believe that each patient’s experience is unique. I try to model the biopsychosocial model to treat patients holistically. I especially want patients to leave feeling cared for and heard.
What is your number one tip when it comes to taking care of your skin?
Sun protection! It is never too late to start. It remains our best defense against skin cancer and skin aging.
What is one thing you want your patients to know about you?
I understand and empathize deeply with the skin conditions our patients face. Skin conditions can be the most devastating because they are visible to the world and often out of our control.
What do you like to do when you are not in the office treating patients?
I am a professional sports enthusiast; I love basketball, football, track and field, and gymnastics. When I am not following my favorite New England teams, I enjoy traveling internationally.
What to Expect From Mohs Surgery and Skin Cancer Care Delivered by Dr. Paul and Her Team
Dr. Paul and her team at Optima Dermatology offer exceptional services and have the advanced training and experience to ensure the highest quality of care.