Shayna C. Rivard MD, FAAD

Dr. Shayna Rivard, a graduate from the United States Naval Academy (2007) and the University of Vermont College of Medicine (2011), received her training in dermatology at the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland, separated from the Navy in 2024 with the rank of Commander, and received her Mohs Micrographic Surgery fellowship training with Dr. Naomi Lawrence.

Before becoming a board-certified dermatologist, she distinguished herself as an officer in the Navy. She served with the U.S. Marines as the Regimental Surgeon to Marines at Camp Pendleton and deployed with the 13th Marine Expeditionary Unit in 2013-2014. She also received training at the National Trauma Training Center in Los Angeles and earned several qualifications, including Fleet Marine Force Qualified Officer, Surface Warfare Medical Department Officer, Expert Pistol Qualification, Expert Rifle Qualification, and Joint Service Achievement Medal. 

In 2014, she entered the National Capital Consortium Dermatology Residency Program at Walter Reed Military Medical Center where she presented at the American Academy of Dermatology (AAD) Gross & Microscopic Symposium in 2015 and was the national co-champion at the AAD Resident Jeopardy competition in 2016.  

Following residency, she practiced in Guam for close to three years, 18 months of which she was the sole dermatologist residing on the island, providing care to both military and civilian patients with specific emphasis on skin cancer detection and treatment. While on the island of Guam, she served as a skin cancer expert, distinguishing between non-cancerous and cancerous lesions, diagnosed 490 skin cancers, and provided excisions for skin cancer and benign lesions. The 35th Guam Legislature honored her service in the community with Resolution No. 303 -35 (COR), presented on March 11, 2020. She was interviewed on the local news station, KUAM, twice, and was the guest speaker for the April 2018 CME lecture with the Guam Medical Society. 

Following her tour in Guam, she was stationed in the Kingdom of Bahrain for 2 years, assigned to a Navy/Marine Corps crisis response unit in the Middle East, and served as the senior medical advisor to the 1-star Marine Corps General stationed overseas. She served as medical advisor during Octave Quartz off the coast of Somalia, as well as provided direct over-the-horizon support from Bahrain for the Afghan Noncombatant Evacuation Operations (NEO) mission. During her tour in Bahrain, she also served as Medical Director for over a year and pioneered the first dermatology clinic at NSA Bahrain, which served active duty, dependents, and foreign officers.  

After her overseas tours in Guam and Bahrain, Dr. Rivard returned state-side and deployed on the USNS COMFORT hospital ship in the Fall of 2022, serving as the sole dermatologist aboard and providing humanitarian care, to include dermatologic surgery, to patients in Guatemala, Honduras, Colombia, and the Dominican Republic.

Following her return from deployment and while still serving as a dermatologist at Naval Medical Center Portsmouth, for close to 16 months she worked closely and benefited from the teaching of Dr. Anis Miladi, Mohs surgeon for the VA. During this time, she studied Mohs histopathology, Mohs surgery, advanced suturing techniques, expanded treatment option considerations for skin cancer, and gained further understanding of unique considerations for Veterans with skin cancer. She additionally co-developed the Skin Tracker App with Dr. Miladi, which was created with the aim of improving self monitoring and recording of skin cancers as well as eliminating wrong site surgery.

Dr. Rivard departed the Navy in July 2024 and began her ACGME accredited Micrographic Surgery & Dermatologic Oncology fellowship training with the nationally and globally renowned, triple board certified Dr. Naomi Lawrence. She received training from Dr. Lawrence in advanced facial reconstructive surgery to include interpolation, advancement, and transposition flaps and grafts of the nose and ear. During her fellowship year, she actively participated in over 1,000 surgical procedures for the treatment of skin cancer, serving as the primary surgeon in over 500 Mohs cases. She has also gained further expertise in the improvement of scars.

Dr. Rivard has authored 23 publications in peer-reviewed journals, enjoys working with dermatology residency applicants, has contributed to the DermSurgery Digest Podcast, and serves on the American Academy of Dermatology Mohs Micrographic Surgery Committee.  

Dr. Rivard’s goal is to treat patients as family, build strong medical teams, and consistently overdeliver with top-notch patient care. She has a specific passion for evaluation of concerning masses and extensive experience in skin cancer detection and treatment.