Sonja Hahtola became a dermatologist through her research, when she realised how many forms skin diseases can take. The fact that skin diseases are so common and affect people’s quality of life enables her to help a large number of patients, which makes her work highly meaningful.
“Skin diseases form an extensive and challenging field of medicine in which the right diagnosis is often reached through detective work: by listening to the patient, examining them thoroughly and taking further tests, if necessary.
“I listen to my patients carefully and seek to create an atmosphere of trust. The effect of skin diseases on various aspects of patients’ lives is usually greater than the visible rash, which is why I try to consider the patient holistically. I like to treat patients of all ages. As a mother of four, I am good with child patients.”
Sonja has a doctorate in medicine and surgery, and has focused on skin surgery procedures in recent years, but also treats skin diseases of all kinds. In addition to her clinical work, she does research and aims to continually improve her expertise. This is important to her due to advances in the field and changes in treatment practices as more and more research information becomes available.