1. To provide comprehensive surgical dermatologic and laser treatment for resource-limited patients in emerging/ developing countries and at home
2. To educate and train physicians in emerging/developing countries to proficiently provide comprehensive surgical dermatologic care.
Core Goals and Values:
1.To provide comprehensive surgical dermatologic care including Mohs surgery and facial reconstruction for resource-limited skin cancer patients
2.To perform laser surgery to correct disfiguring congenital birthmarks and scars related to medical conditions.
3. To provide sustainable educational resources, including coordinating and organizing Continuing Medical Education courses to host dermatologists in resource limited areas.
4. To establish sustainable centers for treatment and education in emerging and developing countries to serve as a long-lasting mode of delivery of treatment and dermatologic surgery training.
5. To establish a sustainable means for teams of dermatologic surgeons, nurses, histotechnicians, and other staff (including related physician specialists such as oculoplastic or facial plastic surgeons) to volunteer their services in emerging and developing countries.
6. To raise awareness of the global burden of skin cancer and other surgical dermatologic diseases and the need for treatment.
7. To foster interdisciplinary cooperation in patient care and training both in emerging/developing countries and at home.
8. To create an international postgraduate dermatologic surgery fellowship.
9. To establish an annual Blade and Light Society retreat to provide a meeting and forum that integrates dermatologic surgery with social and political science, humanities, and the arts.
10. To establish domestic Blade and Light Society multi-disciplinary clinics to provide pro bono treatment for local resource-poor patients and for complex patients from abroad.