ACMS Members
  • Find a Surgeon
  • ASMH
  • Member Login
  • ×

Christian L. Baum, MD, MS, FACMS

Present Affiliation

  • Professor of Dermatology, Mayo Clinic College of Medicine
  • Vice Chair and Practice Chair, Department of Dermatology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN

Medical School

  • University of Iowa, 2005

Residency and Fellowship Training

  • Residency: University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics, 2009
  • Fellowship: University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics, 2010

Professional Activities

  • Resident Representative, Board of Directors, American Society for Dermatologic Surgery, 2008-2009
  • Chair, Young Dermatologic Surgeons Workgroup, American Society for Dermatologic Surgery, 2009-2012
  • Co-Chair, Young Dermatologic Surgeons Workgroup, American Society for Dermatologic Surgery, 2012-2013
  • Education Workgroup, American Society for Dermatologic Surgery, 2013-2016
  • Policy and Priorities Workgroup, American Society for Dermatologic Surgery, 2015-2017
  • Audit Committee, American Society for Dermatologic Surgery, 2015-2017
  • Partnership to Improve Patient Care Representative, American Society for Dermatology Surgery, 2015-2017
  • Resident and Fellows Committee, American Academy of Dermatology, 2008-2010
  • Non-melanoma Skin Cancer Guideline Taskforce, American Academy of Dermatology, 2014-2017
  • Perineural Imaging Taskforce, Association of Professors in Dermatolog, 2014-2015

American College of Mohs Surgery activities:

  • Tromovitch Award Committee, 2013-2015, 2017, 2020-2021
  • National Registry and Outcomes Committee, Data Use Subcommittee, Member, 2015-2016
  • National Registry and Outcomes Committee, Data use Subcommittee, Chair, 2016-2018
  • National Registry and Outcomes Committee, Vice Chair, 2018-2020
  • National Registry and Outcomes Committee, Chair, 2020-2022
  • National Registry and Outcomes Committee, Ex Officio, 2022-present
  • Board of Directors, Director, 2018-2021
  • ACMS Strategic Planning Committee, Member, 2018-2020
  • Mohs Surgery Reimbursement Work Group, Member, 2022-present

Other national, state and local dermatology society activities:

  • Iowa Dermatologic Society, Member, 2006-present
  • American Academy of Dermatology, Member, 2006-present
  • American Society for Dermatologic Surgery, Member, 2006-present
  • Minnesota Dermatological Society, Member, 2010-present
  • Association of Professors in Dermatology, Member, 2014-2020
  • American Dermatological Association, Member, 2020-present

Medical Society, Government and/or Professional Appointments, Awards and Honors:

  • Alpha Omega Alpha, 2004
  • Arnold P. Gold Humanism Award, 2005
  • Outstanding Service Award, American Society for Dermatologic Surgery, 2013

Publications:

  • Author of 77 publications

Position Statement:

The most valuable resource in the Mohs College is you, the membership.  Together, we stand on the shoulders of our predecessors, we navigate the present by the collective wisdom of our colleagues, and we will determine our future through the expertise of our members. To remain the gold standard in skin cancer we must maintain our focus in four areas:

Advocacy:  We must support our colleagues who serve on our behalf to discern and advocate on many fronts including reimbursement denials, narrow networks, lidocaine shortages, challenges from CMS to the Physician Fee Schedule payments, global surgery services, and whatever the next iteration of MIPS looks like.  Our position in the public eye must be held high and in a manner that is professional, engaging, and effective.

Education:  Thanks to the tireless efforts of many individuals, the College delivers high-yield educational opportunities through the Annual Meeting, webinars, Journal Club, and MDS board preparation.  We need to maintain those resources and expand offerings that provide relevant content.  Improving Wisely demonstrated the power that meaningful feedback provides for individual improvement.  It is important to expand opportunities for individual self-assessment in other critical components of our practice, including the interpretation of frozen-section histology and complex cutaneous oncology.   

Research:  Data that we own must be leveraged for our own benefit. MohsAIQ serves that need and, going forward, we are in a favorable position to execute meaningful analysis and control our own destiny with the registry.  We must improve the efficiency with which we collect the data, ensure the data represents the breadth of the college, and utilize the data to positively influence decisions that affect us all.  With this asset and the opportunities such as the ACMS Investigator Research Awards we can conduct unprecedented research for the benefit of the College and our patients.  

Fellowship Training:  The future of the college will be shaped by fellows-in-training and those who follow their footsteps.  Excellent patient care requires the highest standards be maintained and enforced in our fellowship programs.  At the same time, it is imperative that we optimize the mechanisms by which we recruit the very best candidates for training and provide support for the training programs to meet the standards that we expect.  

I’ve had the tremendous pleasure of serving in leadership roles within and outside of ACMS, including as the Chair of the National Registry and Outcomes Committee and the Practice Chair of a large academic department.  I believe in honoring the best of our traditions while embracing innovation, soliciting, and carefully considering all perspectives, and maintaining a clear focus on our patients and members with every decision.  

It is humbling to be nominated for this role. It would be a distinct honor and privilege to serve the College as Secretary-Treasurer.  If elected, I will promise an open mind, a passion for paying my good fortune forward, an eye for developing practical solutions, and a humble awareness of the associated responsibilities.  Thank you for your dedication to your patients and to the College.