Polly Buchanan qualified as a nurse and midwife in Scotland in the 1970s. She has been working in dermatology since 1986 in a variety of roles including lecturing at the University of Southampton and Bournemouth University, developing a dermatology nursing service for Salisbury NHS Trust and writing for many books and journals. Polly is currently employed by Galderma UK as a consultant nurse in dermatology with managerial and clinical responsibilty representing a model working partnership between the pharmaceutical industry and the NHS.