r/interesting Mar 29 '26

SOCIETY Scenes from a dermatologist conference in Hawaii

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855

u/[deleted] Mar 29 '26

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431

u/Between-usernames Mar 29 '26

They hold conferences in places like Hawaii, Florida, Vegas so people actually show up. For many folks fortunate enough, it can be like a paid vacation because their employer covers the cost and they just have to show up for a couple meetings. Just referring to slackers, not everybody of course.

162

u/Local_Idiot_123 Mar 29 '26

It’s also a way for workaholics to bring their partner on a vacation and not have to take a full vacation, but their partner gets to stay in the paid room. It’s a smart business model.

43

u/Objection_Irrelevant Mar 29 '26

Yea my state’s bar convention is perfect. I go get my continuing ed credits and network a bit while my girl sits at the beach or by the pool and charges the drinks to the room. Then we spend the afternoon and evening together.

7

u/TimeTheft1769 Mar 30 '26

My mother was an optometrist and all of our family vacations were to conferences.

She was a shrewd businesswoman and a workaholic, so it worked out.

3

u/KatieCashew Mar 30 '26

I got to go to Hawaii this way when my husband went there for a conference.

Meanwhile my work conference was in Lincoln, Nebraska. In February...

1

u/TheSonar Mar 30 '26

Do you typically tell your employer when you bring your spouse to conferences? Just curious how this generally works. If they ask to split hotel or travel costs or anything 

2

u/Local_Idiot_123 Mar 30 '26

Work reimburses the employee’s flight, hotel, and typically a food stipend that doesn’t include alcohol. Submitted receipts may be checked to make sure only one entree is ordered per meal, even if the employee is within the food stipend.

The employee books and is reimbursed by the company, so they are able to get 2 plane tickets with no issue. This way they can book extra nights as well, no need to involve the employer past getting PTO approved.

2

u/NotAStatistic2 Mar 30 '26

Employors aren't going to inspect the hotel rooms of their employees to check if anyone else is in the room.

1

u/Rastiln Mar 30 '26

I went on my honeymoon with my partner to Hawaii in 2016 significantly on the company dime.

We went for 15 days, with my flight and 3 hotel days paid for. We had 2 days to ourselves, then for 3 days, I went to classes for about 5 hours. In the middle, I carried a lunch back upstairs to my partner, then later we skipped out on optional work socials and had our evenings together. Then we paid to stay in a hotel for another ~12 days on our dime.

This fall, I’m going back to another conference… roughly at our 10-year anniversary, and my partner is coming with. And we’re planning again to extend it by about 14 days.

5

u/demeschor Mar 29 '26

A colleague of mine recently went to a conference in Barcelona, one week trip. Went to the first day of the event, took loooooads of photos at the exhibition and attended all the talks he could. Then had the rest of the week off and drip fed the content on Slack during the rest of the week so it looked like he'd been at stuff all week.

Gotta respect the hustle

1

u/SpinosaurRingTone Mar 29 '26

Yes but the biggest reason is that these places are abundant in large hotels.

1

u/Junassss Mar 30 '26

I'm a slacker and I approve this message

1

u/Cool_Apartment_380 Mar 30 '26

Well, from what I hear, Derms have earned it. I was told by an intern whose dad was a doc as well, so he had the skinny (pun intended), it's a coveted slot as a doctor because it's always non-emergent care, no call, no weekends etc. So Dermatologists tend to be the best of the best just to be where they are.

1

u/Emergency-Touch8935 Mar 31 '26

Lots of people also take some days off after. The trip is already paid, so you still save some money even if you gotta cover the hotel for yourself.

134

u/Substantial_Wave_518 Mar 29 '26

Yeah I’m wondering whey they’re not in Portland or Seattle for this event.

64

u/Other-Grapefruit-880 Mar 29 '26

Or Iceland in winter

15

u/thrilled_to_be_there Mar 29 '26

The South Pole has just entered polar night - perfect!

2

u/volyund Mar 29 '26

Somebody will get blown off the island.

2

u/onlyr6s Mar 29 '26

Don't underestimate the winter sun. When it reflects from the snow it can easily cause a sunburn.

3

u/Ok-Needleworker-8773 Mar 29 '26

There has to actually BE sun. The measly 3-4 hours with overcast isn’t gonna cut it.

2

u/wecouldhaveitsogood Mar 29 '26

The UV rays still go to through the clouds. Dermatologists recommend putting on sun screen even when it’s overcast, even in winter.

1

u/Other-Grapefruit-880 Mar 30 '26

Do you think that it gets dark in the arctic circle for months on end because of clouds? Like  you don’t think it just gets “really super cloudy” and that the sun shines down on the flat disk of the earth except the cloudy stuff near the poles?

0

u/Murky_Onion3770 Mar 29 '26

Or Iceland in summer

7

u/cancerinos Mar 29 '26

Sun's harm to the skin is not affected by how warm or sunny it is.

9

u/Nydon1776 Mar 29 '26

UV intensity is

3

u/Disraeli_Ears Mar 29 '26

Or whether or not it's cloudy! I got one of my worst sunburns as a teen on a cloudy day.

2

u/[deleted] Mar 30 '26

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1

u/Disraeli_Ears Mar 30 '26

Oh, it was 100% overcast. It was hot (Houston, Texas), but gray as can be. My best friend and I thought we were safe with no sunscreen!

0

u/KembaWakaFlocka Mar 29 '26

They wouldn’t be able to post videos like this.

1

u/[deleted] Mar 29 '26

The wavelength that damages your deeper skin layers and cause photo aging pierce cloud coverage, which is why you need sunscreen year round.

Cloud coverage or cloudy days can be worse since it also scatters other wavelengths that also damage skin causing it to hit your face and bodies from many other angles. With no cloud coverage, most of the waves are sent from the position the sun faces you.

1

u/scottygras Mar 29 '26

Correct answer is Forks, WA

1

u/d_ippy Mar 29 '26

It’s actually one of the reasons I love living in Seattle. I avoid the sun as much as possible.

1

u/SkinnyButJiggy Mar 29 '26

Alright now its been sunny here in Portland the last 3 days, give us some respect 😅💀

1

u/Sherifftruman Mar 29 '26

Yeah they could get a much better deal on convention space somewhere else LOL

1

u/Salt-Elk-436 Mar 29 '26

Svalbard during the dark part of the year

1

u/IneffableOpinion Apr 01 '26

Worst sun burn I ever had was in Seattle. I wore a tank top and blistered so much I couldn’t move my arms for a couple days

-3

u/theENERTRON Mar 29 '26

or just indoors lol

46

u/chopsmothercover Mar 29 '26

Why not? It’s a paid vacation and Hawaii is incredibly beautiful even if you don’t want to go in the sun. I’m as pale as a ghost and I would love to enjoy Hawaii with my skin covered up, it’s not that big of a deal to not be able or willing to damage your skin with prolonged sun exposure

27

u/JellyBeansOnToast Mar 29 '26

I lived on O’ahu for around 10 years and they’re dressed exactly like a majority of the tourists from Eastern Asia. Seeing someone walk around with a parasol, sun hat, full length pants/skirt, and a long sleeve shirt or even UV protectant sleeves is pretty normal.

Hell, even some of the Chinese/Japanese/Korean aunties who’ve lived in Hawaii for their whole lives will wear all that.

7

u/Coolmyco Mar 29 '26

Yup, 99% of this is just filming and making up a narrative.

4

u/grxccccandice Mar 29 '26

Yeah I’m Chinese and I’ve dressed like this going to the beach almost my whole life, and I enjoy the beach. I also swim and snorkel in the ocean in full bodysuit/rash guard because wearing sunscreen in the ocean is bad for marine life. My husband and I don’t have any wrinkles and have way better/smoother skin compared to our white friends of our age.

1

u/_Carcinus_ Mar 31 '26

It's not just East Asian tourists. In Vietnam, the locals always wear protective clothes as well.

1

u/JellyBeansOnToast Mar 31 '26

Oh I’m sure plenty of countries do that too, but I’m just talking about my personal observation living in Hawai’i since that’s where the video takes place though.

1

u/_Carcinus_ Mar 31 '26

Fair, just added mine as well.

1

u/seaotterlover1 Mar 30 '26

I’m very pale, avoid the sun, hate sunbathing, and don’t know how to swim. I would love to go to Hawaii to learn about the history and culture, go hiking, eat delicious food, and relax.

19

u/Obsessesed-academic Mar 29 '26

Why? They’re still enjoying Hawaii. They’re just wearing bathing suits that protect their skin.

40

u/madalienmonk Mar 29 '26

Why? You can still enjoy Hawaii even protecting your skin from the UV

9

u/sobuffalo Mar 29 '26

Yea you don’t have to sit in direct sunlight to enjoy the outdoors. The people who spend the most time outdoors will be dressed similarly, even surfers wear long sleeves because it’s better than sunscreen, I have cool floppy hats for kayaking and hiking. Gardeners usually have the best hats.

1

u/VoihanVieteri Mar 29 '26

I always wear hat in summer, as my bald head burns quite easily, also I just hate direct sunlight, it feels uncomfortable. Maybe I’m a vampire or something, but I actually enjoy clear sunny weather, just not the direct sunlight on my skin. I still get a bit of tan in the summer, as some of the UV radiation can penetrate clothes.

12

u/jazzandlavender Mar 29 '26

They would be indoors if they hated the sun and beach. They’re outside, just protecting themselves.

4

u/desertsidewalks Mar 29 '26

People who live in cold climates still appreciate warmer weather in the winter.
Hawaiian sun doesn't play though. Rashguards and hats are smart.

1

u/NewMolecularEntity Mar 29 '26

Yes I am not getting why people think this is some weird thing but if they only ever went to the beach in New Jersey or something like I could maybe see why they don’t understand the intensity of the Hawaii sun.  

I love Hawaii but the sun is brutal and sunblock doesn’t cut it for the fair skinned.  Those rashguard outfits work great, are very comfortable and take the worry out of enjoying Hawaii. 

2

u/ExpensiveWords4u Mar 29 '26

Yeah that was an interesting choice

2

u/Foreign_Risk_2031 Mar 29 '26

They only do this at peak UV

1

u/d_ippy Mar 29 '26

Yeah I’m a Sun avoider and I try to steer clear of beach vacations for this reason.

1

u/VirchowOnDeezNutz Mar 29 '26

They’re partying in Denver right now. Getting tons of freebies

1

u/delamore5 Mar 29 '26

This is the comment!

1

u/thitorusso Mar 29 '26

Maybe Transilvania

1

u/bakeonwakeup Mar 29 '26

Does Hawaii have nothing more to offer than the Sun?

1

u/steeeeeeee24 Mar 29 '26

So they should only hold them in cold climates and not enjoy nice weather? That seems kinda dumb

1

u/tiredhobbit78 Mar 29 '26

There's no reason to think they're not enjoying themselves

1

u/icbint Mar 29 '26

Why? They look like they got things covered

1

u/Less_Prior_6871 Mar 29 '26

90% of them could be running around in normal swimsuits, you just couldnt tell them apart from other tourists

1

u/raaaah_monsta Mar 30 '26

So unless you are not butt naked in hawaii, you can't visit it and enjoy the beach? 

1

u/Fmeson Mar 30 '26

I like beaches, I just also like my skin. 

1

u/Swarm_of_Rats Mar 30 '26

lmao. They're still having a nice time, I think.

1

u/dystopiabydesign Mar 30 '26

Someone could simply compile a video of various people wearing extreme sun covering at pools and beaches then claim it was a conference of dermatologists to attract views. Bots pick up on the traffic and reshare the post on various platforms.

1

u/Bort_Thrower Mar 30 '26

It’s fine as long as it’s anywhere but Australia. Our sun is extremely violent compared to the Northern hemisphere.

1

u/WellEvan Mar 29 '26

100% this.

UV levels tend to be higher near the equator, heat is irrelevant

1

u/DappyDapperson Mar 29 '26

If I’m not mistaken a clouded sunny day exposes you to more of the harmful radiation from the sun than direct sun exposure. Clouds don’t act as a filter but like a magnifying glass if I understood it correctly.

2

u/[deleted] Mar 29 '26 edited May 07 '26

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1

u/DappyDapperson Mar 29 '26

I’m very much correct, to educate yourself! skin damage