Read Full Article Here2025 Rising Star blends medical skill and artistry to elevate skin care.
Dr. Watchmaker is now a three-time Castle Connolly Rising Star, a designation created to recognize early-career physicians who are emerging leaders in their fields.
“I am so honored to have been nominated by my peers and recognized as a Castle Connolly Rising Star,” Dr. Watchmaker says. “It’s important to me that my peers as well as my patients respect me and think I’m a great doctor.”
Asked what advice she would share with aspiring doctors and medical students starting their careers, Dr. Watchmaker suggests that they strive to be kind, helpful, and confident about asking for professional guidance.
A Rising Star in Arizona
Jacqueline D. Watchmaker, MD, knew from an early age that she wanted to be a physician. She comes from a family of healthcare providers: her father and uncle are doctors, and her grandfather is a dentist.
“I always saw physicians as positive role models and my family all loved their careers,” Dr. Watchmaker says. “It was kind of always my path.”
Dr. Watchmaker now practices both general dermatology and cosmetic dermatology at the Center for Aesthetic and Laser Medicine (CALM) Scottsdale, part of U.S. Dermatology Partners — a Castle Connolly Center of Excellence.
Certified by the American Board of Dermatology and a Fellow of the American Academy of Dermatology, Dr. Watchmaker evaluates and treats skin conditions such as acne, skin cancer, scarring, hair loss, psoriasis, eczema, and rashes.
Transforming Lives Through Skin Care
Dr. Watchmaker chose dermatology as her specialty during her training at the Medical College of Wisconsin. While there, she was assigned to follow a dermatologist.
Because a variety of medical conditions can cause skin problems, dermatologists routinely care for people with larger, systemic illnesses.
During her dermatology residency at Boston Medical Center, Dr. Watchmaker took part in its autoimmune cosmetic clinic, where she saw patients whose autoimmune conditions were well managed, but who had related cosmetic skin issues such as severe scarring and facial deformities. Her experience led her to focus on cosmetic dermatology, she says — and to develop special expertise in the use of laser skin therapies.
“Using lasers, fillers, and cosmetics, we were able to really improve the appearance of their faces, and I saw how that transformed and improved their quality of life. That experience helped steer me toward cosmetic and laser medicine within the field of dermatology,” she says.
As a first-year dermatology resident, Dr. Watchmaker encountered an otherwise healthy 30-year-old male with an invasive, very deep melanoma on the bottom of the foot, she recalls.
“It was shocking for me to be the one to find his cancer and challenging to have to tell him his diagnosis and treatment plan,” Dr. Watchmaker says. “But having that experience early in my career helped me get more comfortable with having difficult conversations with patients.”
