【Introduction】
　　Department of Dermatology commenced the medical care service since 1982. Our major missions include providing medical care services, training activities and researches of dermatological diseases.

Medical Care
　　In the beginning, OPD hours were operated in the afternoon of Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. With the increasing number of patients, the OPD hours were then increased to the afternoon of Monday to Friday since April 1986. The average number of OPD patients was 800 per months in the beginning and increasing to 3800 currently, and in-patients were increased from 138 patients to 200 patients. There were 240 patients had skin biopsy in 1983 and increased to 1200 patients in 2003. A follow-up of the dermatological condition of those patients with polychlorinated biphenyl intoxication started from 1983. Photothereapy was utilized to treat psoriasis since 1984 (it could reduce the duration of hospitalization and medical costs) and there are approximately 2000 patients under this treatment yearly. At the same year (1984), we visit 200 patients working in the parquet industrials and provided safety protection information to the business owner. Iontoporosis was developed in 1987 to treat patients with hyperhidrosis palmaris and in accumulation there are more than 300 patients were treated using this technology. In cooperate with Department of Plastic Surgery in 1988, CO2 Laser therapy was introduced to remove tattoo for those veterans who wants to visit relatives in Mainland China.

Teaching Activity
　　 A joint clinical dermatological pathology conference is hold with Department of Pathology every Tuesday morning at 9am. Physicians from regional teaching hospital in central Taichung area also attend this routine meeting. Special topics were given by attending physicians every Tuesday morning at 10am. All these activities are recorded and kept in files for hospital accreditation. Journal club are hold in every Wednesday morning for interns, and focus on the presentation skill and English pronunciations. Slide reviews on “Treatment of common dermatological diseases” are hold in the morning of every Thursday and Friday morning. Bed-side teaching round leads by Chief and attending physicians to discuss the diagnosis of those complicated cases in the morning of Monday, Wednesday and Friday.

Research
　　 Every year, several research grants supported by our Hospital and the results are published in various journals, such as Dermatologica Sinica, International Journal of Dermatology, and Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology. An joint project with the Department of Applied Chemistry, Providence University was established in 1991 to study the effect of topical anthralin on the treatment of psoriasis. In 1992, a research grant from National Science Council to study the “Dermatologic symptoms of PCB intoxication - a 12 years follow-up”. A research team was formed together with National Taiwan University Hospital and National Cheng Kung University Hospital to work on this project.