Physician of Excellence Orange County 2015 | Nissan Pilest, M.D.

Physician of Excellence

When the letter came from the Orange County Medical Society letting me know that I’d been selected a Physician of Excellence, my first response was “Oh, wow!” I looked twice to make sure it was my name on the paper!

This honor does not come without the support of many people and some uniquely golden opportunities. The dermatology and other medical colleagues I am lucky to know and work alongside have been, and remain, an outstanding source of learning and innovation.

Dermatology is a medical field that truly does stay focused on the main goal. We realize that appearance is immeasurably significant to a person’s sense of well-being and that skin health is a vital component to overall health.

The opportunity of research and development in dermatology today is astounding. We have fantastic recipes to tame the ravages of acne or age or ailments of the skin. We really can turn back the clock. Skin cancer can more often than not be stopped in its tracks.

A small tube of gel can restore self-confidence and a funny yellow mask can manage melasma. A tiny needle with the smallest amount of a toxin that used to be feared is now an antidote to migraines and frown lines. Big and small miracles fill the drawers and rooms of medical practices across the globe. Who could not but love to be the deliverer of such remarkable inventions?

Opportunity has walked with me during my career. An association with Beckman Laser Institute placed me in close contact with some of the brightest and best technology innovators not only in the country, but in the world. It is an association that I still prize and am deeply grateful for.

Another golden opportunity – a teaching position at UCI – keeps me at the first touch points for all the technologies and techniques that have transformed the face of dermatology. Facing a roomful of inquisitive and demanding residents attending one of the country’s leading teaching institutions requires that I have answers, not speculation. Staying up to that challenge requires a significant investment of time and energy – which I admit I love.

Which brings me to a particularly close association I could not possibly leave out – my family. Their patience with a husband and father who often had (and still has) his nose buried in books or in front of a computer or in a lab or in a seminar on the other side of the country, has allowed me the luxury of time and focus to research and keep pace with an ever-evolving medical field. They are my real golden tickets in life.

That my peers and the medical society selection committee have selected me to join this esteemed group of physicians throughout the county is an honor I will treasure for years to come. I feel blessed and proud to live in a country that has open doors, open hearts and endless opportunities.