medical assistant

practice manager

dermatologist

histology technician

medical receptionist

Golden State Dermatology

As someone who has worked at this dermatology practice through its transition from a small, independently owned office to being part of the GSD network, I’ve had the unique opportunity to experience both sides of the coin.

When we were a small practice, there was a strong sense of familiarity and personal connection among the staff and with our patients. Decisions were made quickly, communication was straightforward, and the day-to-day workflow felt intimate and flexible. That close-knit environment is something I’ll always appreciate.

Since the acquisition by a larger corporate group, there have certainly been growing pains. Adjusting to new systems, protocols, and administrative layers took time and patience. It’s not always easy to merge the personalized touch of a small practice with the structure of a corporate model. There were moments of frustration, especially during the early stages of the transition, as we adapted to changes in scheduling, billing, and electronic records.

However, with time, many of these challenges have settled. We've gained access to better resources, improved technology, and more comprehensive support for both clinical and administrative functions. The larger network has allowed for more standardized procedures and opportunities for professional development that weren't always available before.

Overall, while the transition wasn’t seamless, the experience has been okay—and in many ways, it’s helped us grow. We’ve managed to retain much of what made our practice special while integrating the strengths of a larger organization. It’s not perfect, but it’s working—and we continue to put patient care at the center of everything we do.

I look forward to seeing what the future looks like for our practice now being part of the GSD network. 

Really loved how engaged / hands on you’ll have to be most of the time. This job will make you move around a lot, which I liked. A good average pay for most MA jobs and also good hours even though you’ll never know if somedays you’re part time and then all of a sudden full time again. I’ve had some ladies who helped me throughout the job and gave me the experience that I needed which I am very thankful for. Though sometimes they would throw another employee under the bus for their own mistakes. They don’t properly train or help you fix your mistakes but will instead just again, throw you under the bus and make you seem/feel stupid. 

Providers were very unclear about instructions and what they wanted. Sometimes they don’t even want to do their job, make patients wait even longer, and just put their own stress onto us. Providers would assume one thing or another, which ruins the day completely. Hardly any compliments or positive feedbacks to make us feel seen or feel like we’ve worked hard enough for the day. Not only this, if a provider doesn’t want to work with you, you’ll just have to deal with the other provider who also most likely do not want to work with you too. Or if an employee doesn’t want to help any providers at all when we’re backed up, you’ll eventually just have to be forced to help with both providers at the end. Overall, no respect given from any parties most of the time. 

Too many patients all in one day which will just have the outcome of patients being impatient and rude. Not only this, just being backed up which causes providers getting upset over that too. It’ll just add onto the stress for us and make patients think we don’t have respect for their time either. 

The company has many wonderful providers and hard working staff members. I have learned a lot within Dermatology and I met great people.  There is a really high turnover rate with employees and managers. I’ve been through 5 managers within 2 years of working with the company. It is really difficult to get a pay raise even if you exceed performance expectations. Management has favoritism and lack professionalism as they tend to disclose company details with certain staff member and speak to staff with hostility. Hard work goes unnoticed and you are expected to room/scribe for over 20 patients just in the morning every 10 minutes. Breaks are almost impossible to take due to how busy the office is and providers are not mindful to their staff. Management tends to focus on addressing office drama rather than prioritizing insufficient supplies every month and broken equipment and patient needs. How is squeezing as much patients as you can in a day patient care?? I’ve seen many people cry at work due to burnout and dealing with upset patients when management is not present. Patients are seen as numbers and not people, and the company prioritizes making physicians happy and treats staff as if they’re replaceable. 

A typical work day is after clocking in we start checking in and out patients, review if they need updates, review insurance and making sure each patient is eligible, and answering phone calls on our downtime or when I'm not working with a patient in-person. Also, scheduling appointments when needed. I've learned a lot about insurances and the systems we work with here and also scheduling, I'm still learning something new everyday. Management is very approachable and helpful when needed. Work place culture is diverse and very respectful. The hardest part about the job so far is remembering all the different products and facials we do and what they are used for. The most enjoyable part of working here is how friendly, positive, and helpful the staff is and how comfortable they have made me. Makes me not hard going to work and I actually look forward to it. 

I thought that the office was very nice, polite, and the work culture is very supportive. Being a part of the medical assistant team provided me a great opportunity being a Pre-Medical Student after graduating college. The onboarding process was very direct in that I was met with HR and the office manager. Afterwards, I even had the opportunity to meet one of the founders and speak to him about my goals for this position as well as gain career advice from him. 

During work, I have the opportunity to work with experienced medical assistants and nurses to provide many learning opportunities that will prepare me well for graduate studies. I would recommend this position for any graduated students that are looking for a serious healthcare assistant position in preparation for future schooling. The company also has positions as PAs, MDs, and nurses if you choose to come back to work at GSD! 


How was your onboarding experience?
Any highlights or areas for improvement you'd like to share?

I spent the entire time completely in the dark about what was happening with anything coming from above, including direction changes, budget decisions and the reasoning behind major calls. Every time I asked for clarification, the answers were vague, or I was told it  was not my concern,  which left me feeling totally disconnected from how the operation actually worked. People in charge seemed to believe that keeping everyone on a need to know basis improved efficiency, but in reality it made it nearly impossible to do my work with any understanding or purpose. I was not asking for full access to everything, only basic context for decisions that directly affected my role, and even that was never provided. Eventually I stopped asking because it felt completely pointless. This was not about protecting sensitive information; it was a complete lack of transparency in how anything functioned

It's an ok place to work. Just keep in mind they allow some billers to create a hostile and negative environment and upper management does nothing about it. There is a serious lack of training and then you are on your own. No raises. You feel more like a receptionist then a biller due to the high volume of calls and some of the billers are excused from answering the phones due to favoritism. Vulgar language is used daily with some of the billers. Some of the billers talk bad about GSD staff and nothing is done about it. Your phone calls are tracked and they watch over you, which doesn't make any sense if they allow the unprofessional behavior. A very childish and caddy environment. HR isn't there for you. She just ignores you. It's very sad that company's no longer appreciate and support good quality people. I guess if you are trashy and have horrible customer service skills, then this is the place for you.

What is the best part of working at the company?
(Almost) everyone was nice and food was often provided from the pharm reps. Good exposure to the medical field with the opportunity to participate in surgeries and be present during patient appointments while scribing.

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
Improper training, confusing and inconsistent workflow, strong and unfair favoritism from management. As an uncertified MA, I did not receive the 10 hours of training to draw up medications like the board requires. A lot of gossiping and office politics, especially from one of the providers. MAs had a lot of responsibilities (scribing, drawing up meds, back office work) and felt understaffed due to corporate limitations.

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
Most employees were friendly but overall environment was very gossipy, hateful, and high school-like from the lead MA

Golden State Dermatology has been one of the most miserable places I have ever worked. Those in charge are controlling, abusive, and completely unreasonable. Employees are forced to meet impossible expectations and pushed far beyond their limits with no concern for their well-being.  Minor mistakes trigger public outbursts and yelling, making everyone feel humiliated and unsafe. Fear and intimidation replace any sense of guidance, creating a suffocating atmosphere where morale is crushed daily. I was constantly exhausted and mentally depleted. Long hours, crushing workloads, and impossible deadlines left no room for life outside of work. Support was nonexistent, leaving me to solve every problem alone. Years of effort went unnoticed, with no raises or promotions, and no acknowledgment of hard work. If you want to be treated like a disposable tool and face constant abuse, this is the place for you. Otherwise, avoid it at all costs.

This is a fast growing company that is rapidly expanding in California. Work activities change from day to day but there is a focus on providing great patient care and improving clinic processes and efficiencies. The model is a good mix of a larger group/corporation and the traditional private practice model, so it doesn't feel super corporate but we have good support from our HR, finance, marketing teams etc. which is helpful in growing our clinics' business. I really like the team and the leadership that I work with. The person who will thrive here is someone who is adaptable, nimble, and able to work in a fast-paced changing atmosphere. There is opportunity for advancement (I've been promoted once in the year since being here). 

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Medical assistant 1 salary reported	$24.00 per hour
Practice manager 5 salaries reported	$76,000 per year
Dermatologist 2 salaries reported	$137,707 per year
Histology technician 3 salaries reported	$39.50 per hour
Medical receptionist 2 salaries reported	$21.25 per hour

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