Dr. Patrick S. Phelan is a board-certified dermatologist and Assistant Professor of Dermatology at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS), where he is actively involved in both clinical care and medical education. His clinical practice encompasses the full spectrum of adult medical and surgical dermatology, with expertise in the management of complex inflammatory skin disorders and the surgical treatment of skin disease.
Dr. Phelan has a special clinical interest in the care of patients with hidradenitis suppurativa, autoimmune blistering diseases, and other challenging chronic inflammatory dermatoses. He directs the inpatient consultative dermatology service at UAMS, providing specialized dermatologic care to hospitalized patients with acute and severe cutaneous disease. In addition to his medical dermatology work, Dr. Phelan has a robust surgical dermatology practice, including the excision of benign lesions and skin cancers, and has developed a niche in minimally invasive surgical approaches (such as deroofing) for outpatient treatment of hidradenitis suppurativa.
Dr. Phelan is particularly interested in medication risk management, helping patients and colleagues navigate the balance between therapeutic efficacy and potential adverse effects. He emphasizes individualized, evidence-based treatment plans, drawing on a broad range of therapeutic options—from well-established systemic and topical agents to newly approved medications and biologic therapies—to best meet each patient’s clinical needs and goals.
He earned his undergraduate degree from the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville, where he was inducted into the Phi Beta Kappa honor society for academic excellence. He attended medical school at Washington University in St. Louis, where he also completed a Master of Population Health Sciences (MPHS) degree with a concentration in clinical epidemiology. He completed his dermatology residency at UAMS, where he also undertook a one-year internship in internal medicine. As academic chief resident during his final year of training, Dr. Phelan developed original curricula for surgical dermatology and inpatient dermatologic care, and he remains engaged in curriculum development and resident teaching.
Dr. Phelan’s academic interests include medical education, clinical research methodology, biostatistics, medical ethics, and therapeutic safety. He is committed to advancing dermatologic care through rigorous, patient-centered practice and by mentoring the next generation of dermatologists in thoughtful, evidence-based clinical decision-making.