Chronic Hand Eczema Education & Management
A CME Program for Residents and Advanced Practice Providers
Elevating Care in Chronic Hand Eczema
Welcome to the Dermatology Education Collaborative, a CME-accredited initiative designed to advance clinical excellence in the diagnosis and management of chronic hand eczema (CHE). This program was developed to address persistent gaps in dermatology education and to support trainees and advanced practice providers in delivering high-quality, evidence-based care to patients affected by this common and often debilitating condition.
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You’ll move through four structured modules that progressively build your understanding and skills in chronic hand eczema care.
Module 1
Epidemiology & Disease Burden
​Participants will understand the prevalence, occupational risk factors, quality-of-life impact, psychosocial burden, and economic consequences of chronic hand eczema.
Module 2
Genetics, Pathophysiology, Pathogenesis
Participants will understand how genetic susceptibility, epidermal barrier dysfunction, immune dysregulation, microbiome changes, and stress-related pathways contribute to chronic hand eczema.
Module 3
Diagnosis
Participants will learn how to diagnose, classify, and assess chronic hand eczema using clinical morphology, exposure history, patch testing, severity tools, and differential diagnosis.
Module 4
Management
​Participants will learn how to manage chronic hand eczema through barrier repair, trigger avoidance, topical and systemic therapies, occupational accommodations, monitoring, and long-term follow-up.
Our Instructors:
Dr. Sonal Choudhary is a double-board certified dermatologist and dermatopathologist at UPMC and has completed a fellowship in integrative dermatology. She has extensive experience in reading biopsies and conducting clinical research studies. Dr. Choudhary works closely with residents, medical students, and APPs, and is thoroughly involved in their clinical education and development. She has developed courses for the DCIE program through LearnSkin, which was specifically designed for APPs, primary care practitioners, and other healthcare professionals seeking to enhance their dermatologic knowledge. Her role in the project includes overseeing educational module production, recording the educational modules, leading roundtable discussion sessions, and responding to participant questions. Her expertise is in atopic dermatitis and integrative dermatology.
Sonal Choudhary, MD
Principal Investigator
Dermatologist
Dermatopathologist
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Anusha Kambala, MD
Instructor
Dermatology Resident
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Anusha Kambala, MD is a PGY-3 resident in the Department of Dermatology at UPMC. She earned her BS from the University of Maryland, College Park, and her MD from the George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences. Prior to residency, she completed a one-year Itch Fellowship with Dr. Shawn Kwatra at Johns Hopkins, where she gained experience in translational, basic science, and clinical trials research. Her interests include atopic dermatitis, skin of color, and integrative medicine.
