She Came as an Intern. She Left as a Founder. Here's What We Both Learned
What does it take to go from intern to founder in 12 months? Most people would say: more credentials, more experience, more capital, more time. Jade Trevino, BSN, RN, proved otherwise. As the 2025 Mahogany Dermatology Research Fellow, Jade co-authored a peer-reviewed systematic review accepted for publication in the Journal of Clinical and Aesthetic Dermatology NP + PA Perspectives in Dermatology, wrote 17 published articles, founded Go Skin Check (an innovative solution for dermatology access), and earned a founding advisory board position with the Alliance of Cosmetic Nurse Practitioners, all as a BSN, RN. Not a nurse practitioner. Not with a DNP. A registered nurse who believed she was already enough. Her final reflection reveals the single most important factor that kept her going through moments of doubt: the practice of acknowledging her own growth. Month after month, she was forced to see her progress, name her accomplishments, and let them serve as proof of her value, something most of us never do. This matters because 70% of cosmetic nurse practitioners struggle or fail within their first few years, not due to lack of clinical skills, but because they don't believe they're capable. They think they need more before they can build. More credentials. More permission. More proof. Jade's journey, and what I learned from mentoring her, challenge that narrative entirely. Here's what we both discovered about what it really takes to build: You are already enough. You just need to believe it.
I want to take a moment to thank you, Kimberly, for spending the past year pouring into me. Thank you, first, for having an open heart and mind and offering this opportunity. Thank you for saying yes even when you were unsure how things would be. Thank you for trusting me. What you have given me is priceless. The confidence I’ve gained from your steady affirmations and the mindset shift I’ve made are a direct result of being in your presence this year. Every accomplishment stretched me and reminded me that I am capable of anything I set my mind to. I don’t know if you knew you would change someone’s life when you started the Mahogany Dermatology Internship, but that’s exactly what you did. Thank you!
The Launchpad: How the Mahogany Dermatology Internship Propelled My Journey
As I write this final reflection as the Mahogany Dermatology Intern, I’m filled with so much emotion and gratitude. I didn’t know what to expect when I started this journey, but my heart was open to both give and receive. Being the 2025 Mahogany Dermatology Intern meant stepping into a new light and seeing myself differently. There was no way to accomplish what was assigned to me without changing how I viewed myself. Yes, I had opportunities to practice new skills, but the real value was developing a true, deep belief in myself. Not just a surface-level belief, but the kind that’s rooted down deep.
The best way I can describe this experience: When I started, I brought valuable experience, knowledge, and skills, most of which I didn’t even recognize in myself. There were pieces of my own puzzle that were still hidden. Kimberly has a special gift for drawing out the greatness in others. Each month, every assignment unearthed something new, helping me rebuild a foundation that had been chipped away by years of self-doubt and the lies I’d told myself: “You’re not enough. You need to do more. You’re not special. You can’t do that.” Those cracks could only be repaired by doing the work, both physical and mental, and by being in the room with someone whose belief in herself and in others is unshakable.
Why I Didn’t Quit
In our final meeting, Kimberly asked me a question that made me pause: Why didn’t you quit during the moments when you wanted to? I realized it was the requirement of writing monthly reflections that kept me going. At first, I saw these reflections as a way to document the journey for others. Now I see they were the single most important part of this experience. They forced me to:
1. See my growth
2. Acknowledge my growth
Acknowledging it was the key. I couldn’t just brush off my month and say, “Oh, it was nothing.” Each time I sat down to reflect, I was reminded of how far I’d come. I had to think about how each moment, positive or challenging, made an impact, and what lessons I could carry forward. That’s why I didn’t quit. I’ve had plenty of accomplishments in my life, big and small, but for years I decided those accomplishments didn’t matter or weren’t good enough. I’d never taken the time to truly reflect and let them be proof of my value to myself. These monthly reflections became a reminder that even the smallest steps count and that the journey, including its imperfections, matters. They say when you teach others, you learn twice. Writing these reflections was a way of teaching both myself and others.
This year gave me the mental fortitude I’ll need as I embark on my next chapter as a leader, entrepreneur, and founder of Go Skin Check, an innovative solution for dermatology access. My time as the 2025 Mahogany Dermatology Intern has been a launching pad, propelling me into a bright future.
To the Next Generation
To the 2026 Mahogany Dermatology Intern: As you begin your own journey of growth and discovery in this program, remember this above all: You are already enough.
To the readers: Thank you to each and every one of you who took the time to read my reflections and follow my journey. I hope my experiences have inspired you to try something new and believe in yourself just a little more.
Jade is an innovative leader, redefining how registered nurses show up in the dermatology space. As the founder of Go Skin Check and a passionate advocate for equitable skin health, she is dedicated to educating and empowering nurses and healthcare professionals through leadership, mentorship, and a personal example of what’s possible when we believe in ourselves. Jade is a writer, researcher, and community builder, committed to bringing fresh ideas to the table and amplifying the voices of nurses in healthcare innovation. Her work demonstrates that registered nurses have a powerful voice and a vital role in shaping the future of dermatology.
JADE TREVINO'S STATS (2025 Mahogany Dermatology Research Fellow):
Who She Was When She Started:
BSN, RN (registered nurse, NOT a student)
10+ years of dermatology nursing experience
10 years of studying business
Founder mindset with twin sons and supportive husband
What She Accomplished During the 12-Month Fellowship:
Publications:
12 blog articles for Mahogany Dermatology
4 articles for Diversity in Dermatology
1 peer-reviewed systematic review co-authored with Dr. Madison: "AI-Assisted Dermatology in Provider Shortage Areas: A Systematic Review of Access and Wait Time Outcomes" (accepted by JCAD NP + PA Perspectives in Dermatology for May-June 2026 publication)
Total: 17 published pieces
Business Development:
Founded Go Skin Check LLC (innovative solution for dermatology access)
Established two websites
Built business model based on her JCAD NP + PA Perspectives in Dermatology research
Leadership Roles:
Founding Advisory Board member, the Alliance of Cosmetic Nurse Practitioners™
Blog Chair (leadership position)
Course instructor/teaching role
Mentored others
Professional Development:
Monthly 1:1 mentorship sessions with Dr. Madison
Monthly reflection articles published
Conference attendance (1-2 annually)
Contributions to ongoing research
Estimated Value:$10,000-$15,000 in mentorship, skill development, professional connections, and career advancement
By Dr. Kimberly Madison, DNP
From Intern to Founder: What Jade Taught Me About Building Enough
Why I Created This Internship
I started this internship because of a simple truth: when you are consistent and persistent, your business grows. And when it grows, you need help. My businesses were growing, and I needed help. But when you’re an entrepreneur, time and capital are limited. So, I designed the internship by leveraging my intellectual property, being willing to grant access to the thousands of dollars of resources I've already paid for, being willing to invite someone in on the journey, open doors, facilitate partnerships, and remain open to their feedback and input.
Jade came in with over 10 years of dermatology experience, 10 years of studying business, a desire to become an entrepreneur, and a husband and twin sons who add fire to her mission. In short, she already had what it took.
What I Learned From Jade
I learned so much: about dermatology, the problems, staffing, clientele, trends, limitations in providing pediatric care, and how to use some of the best tools for working in groups and producing quality output. Ultimately, Jade showed me how this nurse-led business internship should end: with someone starting their own business. She didn't just learn from me. She built alongside me. And in doing so, she became the embodiment of the vision I penned over 3 years ago.
The Gap that Inspired Everything
When I decided to specialize in dermatology, I was surprised, like many of you, to see that my 10+ years of nursing experience, NP licensure, terminal degree, and years of leadership were not valued nearly as much as 2+ years of dermatology experience. Had I known about this preference, I could have started getting experience 2 years before my transition because most nurses have 2+ years of nursing experience before we apply for our first NP job, and even more when we transition from another specialty. While this is obvious to the nurse, this is not obvious to other clinicians and the industry at large, as evidenced by the limited opportunities, barriers to access, and numerous questions about our education, which can be easily searched.
But no single piece of evidence makes it clearer that people really don’t understand nursing education, training, or our contributions to healthcare than when they question why nurses should be sitting at the table. At the heart of what we do is health promotion and disease prevention. This is executed through ADPIE: assessment, diagnosis, planning, implementation, and evaluation. This process occurs during screening, awareness campaigns, education, community partnerships, nurturing relationships, and the collection of human data. In many cases, it is the nurse the patient trusts, confides in, and ultimately relies on to make their healthcare decisions.
Why We Exist: Elevating Nursing Expertise
My vision has always been to increase access to dermatology nursing education and research with an emphasis on skin of color, business acumen, and digital fluency. These are just some of the gaps that need to be addressed to improve clinician confidence and patient outcomes. At the core, we exist to elevate the awareness of the expertise of nurses, which comes as a surprise to nurses and patients alike, and the degree to which we support the healthcare industry. Yet we still remain invisible, critiqued, disrespected, belittled, denied, betrayed, and siloed.
I know we worked too hard to have to fight every day just to be acknowledged. I know our families sacrificed too much to have to keep waiting for us to be available because we're still looking for that opportunity to make a lasting impact, and be fairly compensated.
The Ecosystem: White Paper, Podcast, and Alliance
That's what inspired the white paper: The state of Nursing Education: Pathways, Purpose, and the Future of Cosmetic & Dermatology Practice. I didn't want my colleagues, who are in this to help people, to have to spend any more time explaining our education or why we’re not doctors. It also serves as a guide for parents, teachers, and mentors advising people to enter this profession, so they know exactly what they are signing up for and how to get started today.
The Melanin Initiative podcast exists to help my colleagues who are challenged to provide the best care with limited resources, limited support, extraordinary expectations, and a nation with poor health literacy. With those conditions, it can be difficult to ensure patients know exactly what's going on and how to advocate for the care they need. Instead of depending on a 15- or 20-minute visit, our colleagues in medicine can refer patients to the show, and collectively we support the patient who is ultimately responsible for their healthcare. The Melanin Initiative podcast further helps the mission by elevating the expertise of nurses, bringing awareness to diverse career opportunities in the industry, and showing our peers how to leverage their expertise as clinicians and entrepreneurs.
It's the second iteration of a professional mentorship program I started during the pandemic to expose students in K-college to jobs of the future, inspired by my high school friend, who wanted her kids to consider being a lawyer. Ironically, it gave me a front row seat to entrepreneurship. A journey I didn't know I was on at the time.
Then there was the Alliance of Cosmetic Nurse Practitioners, which fills another gap in clinical education and patient outcomes. Here, we exist to support NP entrepreneurs so their doors stay open and patients can get the care they need when they need it from the people they want to get it from. After being the most trusted profession for 20+ years and numerous studies, there’s enough evidence to show that patients want to get care from nurse practitioners. But, we’re not the only ones they want care from. Hence, the Alliance. When the vision is fully manifested, we’re all sitting at the table: students, nurses, NPs, beauty professionals, scientists, legislators, educators, entrepreneurs, financial advisors, mental health professionals, and innovators. We’ll be ideating and executing businesses and investment opportunities with a front row seat to those opportunities – something that previously didn’t exist.
We don’t need permission to get there. We don’t need another certificate, degree, or 6-figures of debt. We just need each other.
What Jade Represents
Jade is proof that this works.
She came to this internship already enough. She leaves having built something that will serve communities for years to come. And now, she's passing on the same message I gave her: You are already enough. The evidence? Well, the very paper she penned to apply to this public experiment, served as the starting point for our first peer-reviewed article together which we just learned has been accepted for publication in the spring of 2026: AI-Assisted Dermatology in Provider Shortage Areas: A Systematic Review of Access and Wait Time Outcomes. Neither one of us foresaw that this would also serve as the evidence for her business model.
Congratulations Jade for a job well done. You far exceeded your own expectations and you showed me what God’s vision looks like fully manifested. Through your obedience, you created a new road for nurses to travel, especially when it comes to dermatology nursing, education, and research. There are not enough words to thank you for daring to believe and for participating in this public experiment. Now, let’s keep each other in business!
Thank you for your support, curiosity, and love through action. We know many of you started your own internship or would like to. Well, we have good news! As promised, if you're a founder ready to build your own internship or mentorship program, stay tuned. We're releasing The Mahogany Dermatology Nursing Internship Framework, a complete 200+ page system showing you how to attract top talent, execute your vision, and build a sustainable talent pipeline without burning out or breaking the bank. The same framework that transformed Jade from applicant to founder in 12 months. 100% of proceeds will go to the Alliance of Cosmetic Nurse Practitioners™ Founders’ Scholarship Fund. More details coming soon.
About the Author
Dr. Kimberly Madison, DNP, AGPCNP-BC, WCC, is a Board-Certified, Doctorally-prepared Nurse Practitioner, educator, and author dedicated to advancing dermatology nursing education and research with an emphasis on skin of color. As the founder of Mahogany Dermatology Nursing | Education | Research™ and the Alliance of Cosmetic Nurse Practitioners™, she expands access to dermatology research, business acumen, and innovation while also leading professional groups and mentoring clinicians. Through her engaging and informative social media content and peer-reviewed research, Dr. Madison empowers nurses and healthcare professionals to excel in dermatology and improve patient care
.svg)
.svg)
.svg)
