Global disparities in dermatology residency training: A scoping review

Dermatology residency programs are designed to equip residents with the necessary diagnostic and procedural skills for clinical practice. However, significant variability exists in the quality of training provided across different regions, particularly between high-resource and low-resource settings. Disparities in access to educational resources, procedural skills development, and resident satisfaction are key issues affecting dermatology residency programs worldwide. This scoping review aims to map and characterize the available evidence on disparities in dermatology residency training globally, with a focus on educational resource availability, procedural skills training, and resident satisfaction as a downstream outcome of structural training inequities. This scoping review was conducted following the six-stage framework described by Arksey and O’Malley (2005), with reporting guided by the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses Extension for Scoping Reviews. PubMed, Embase, and the Cochrane Library were searched for studies published between 2000 and 2026. Search terms included “dermatology residents,” “education,” “procedural skills,” “training,” and “resources.” Studies were restricted to English-language publications. Two independent reviewers screened records and charted data from eligible studies using a standardized extraction form. In addition, all background references cited in the manuscript were systematically reassessed against inclusion criteria, identifying eight additional eligible studies published between 2019 and 2026. Eighteen studies from eight countries (United States, Canada, France, Spain, Pakistan, Sudan, India, Germany) and four continents, published between 2005 and 2026, were included in the study. Six thematic areas were identified: (1) educational technologies concentrated in high-income settings; (2) curriculum gaps and procedural disparities across all income contexts; (3) research integration present primarily in high-income programs; (4) resident satisfaction as a downstream outcome of structural training adequacy; and (5) faculty and supervision deficits in resource-limited settings. A sixth theme – esthetic and cosmetic training – emerged from the expanded evidence base. This scoping review maps persistent disparities in dermatology residency training across eight countries, identifying consistent thematic patterns despite a geographically concentrated evidence base. Standardized curricula, equitable resource distribution, structured procedural training, and faculty development are needed – particularly in resource-limited settings. The near-absence of primary data from Africa (except Sudan), the Middle East, Latin America, East Asia, and South Asia underscores the need for targeted primary research in these regions.