Britney Kaufman, MPA, PA-C

I grew up in Chico, a small town in northern California, where my exposure to the outside world was slightly stunted. My father worked as an emergency room physician and my mother a neonatal RN. My parents separated when I was just a young girl, and I spent many years away from my father. Unfortunately, a potential evolution of a more mature relationship was brought to an abrupt halt when he was diagnosed with metastatic breast cancer. It was shortly after, at the age of seventeen, he passed away. I cannot say this was in any way an easy transition into adulthood, but it was one of the greatest inspirations into delving deeper into understanding human beings, from all walks of life. I ventured into the study of psychology at UC Santa Barbara, but my true career path was not yet solidified. After graduating from UCSB I set off on a back-packing journey that began in Buenos Aires Argentina and ended in Costa Rica. While on this solo adventure my future goals were realized, but a brief stay in northern Peru lead me in a direction I never saw coming. I met the man I would soon after marry. Although he was from Redlands CA, one could say I traveled the distance to find love.

After leaving Peru, we spent the remaining few months of our journey wondering through Ecuador, Colombia, sailing to Panama and finally ending in Costa Rica. Upon returning home we quickly moved to the Bay Area, where we spent several years living, but after being accepted into Loma Linda University we moved ourselves to Southern California where I earned my master’s in physician assistant sciences, graduating in 2011. I knew right away that it was the study of dermatology that stole my heart, and I was lucky enough to have been gifted a wonderful opportunity right out of school. Over the next few years our family was blessed with three incredible children, but I continued to feel a deep yearning to do something bigger with my life.

As I continued working in the medical field, I persistently felt that the quality of the care I was providing was degrading. In no way was this reasoning from a lack of internal passion, but from the greater powers at be. Reimbursement has decreased, costs have skyrocketed, and my own health has declined; running from patient to patient with no regard for how they feel, or how I feel. To me, this was heartbreaking. The industry I committed my life to, what I so loved to do, was falling fast and it was this that triggered the creation of The DermBar. With my partner, we wanted to create a place where people would feel taken care of, a place patients could leave feeling empowered to be the best they can be. And in turn, I could also feel the happiest and best I could be, symbiosis. Oddly enough, the greatest professional leap of my life was one of the easiest decisions I had ever made. I knew, to continue loving my career, I had to leap. And thank heavens, I had the support of my family and friends.

Welcome to The DermBar