Bluebird Dermatology

07/19/2025

Emma Lewis, the incredibly talented teen who illustrated my first children's book, is donating 50٪ of the July sales of her artwork to the Texas Children's Central Texas Flood Hope Fund. I just can't get over how hard she has worked to cultivate her God-given gift with jaw-dropping, stunning masterpieces! But what I'm most proud of is her kind and compassionate heart! Thank you, Emma, for sharing your radiant light and divine gift with the world and for using your superpowers to uplift others!

06/23/2025

Physicians, residents, medical students, healthcare entrepreneurs, educators, and advocates! Doctors on Social Media Dissecting Healthcare: The State of Medicine Conference is coming your way this week and you can watch it live for FREE June 24-27th! I'm so excited to be a part of an incredible line-up of speakers and to share that I'll be on not just one but TWO panels on Wednesday, June 25th!

As the American healthcare landscape becomes increasingly corporatized, physicians are finding themselves boxed in—restricted by non-competes, forced into volume-driven care models, and watching patients fall through the cracks. Unbound: Reclaiming Quality Care Through Physician-Led Models in a Broken System brings together four physicians on the panel who have defied the odds to deliver high-quality, inclusive, patient-centered care on their terms. We will be discussing how the physician-led care movement—particularly through DPC and locums—is creating powerful new models to rise above the noise, connect deeply with patients, and restore joy in the practice of medicine.

For the Mastering the Art of Connection on Social Media panel, I will be joined by four other physicians to discuss how we craft authentic and impactful messages that resonate with our audience while maintaining professionalism and credibility. In this increasingly digital world, how do we build our professional identity online, maintain trust and ethical clarity, and navigate the pitfalls of social media? Come join us to find out!

Register for free here (or at link in bio):
https://doctorsonsocialmedia.com/dissecting-healthcare-conference/?aff=Meena+Julapalli

05/16/2025

Can you tell that I'm excited about tonight's talk? There are 2 more days left of the Doctors on Social Media conference Healthcare's Kitchen: Adding Plants to Your Family's Plate where I'll be talking about "Eating the Rainbow: The Making of a Berry Joyful Kitchen" 🌈

I often tell my patients that in order to take care of what's on the outside, it's important to take care of what's on the inside -- how we think, how we feel, how we move, and what we put inside our bellies. And if we take care of what's on the inside, it's easier to take care of what's on the outside and the energy that we put out into the world. Learn more about how:

Link in bio or click here: https://somedocs.teachable.com/p/food-conference-plants?affcode=335065_dvw8jiz9

Use code MEENA for 20% off!

05/15/2025

Shinrin-Yoku, the Japanese practice of forest bathing, invites us to slow down, breathe in the fresh air, and connect with the natural world around us. It gives us the opportunity to cleanse away the layers of stress that keep us from enjoying simple pleasures and taking the time to rest, restore, relax, rejuvenate, and heal.

Each month, The Joyful Path and Bluebird Dermatology will be offering a deeper dive into this practice. Our next walk is Saturday, May 17th at 9am at Terry Hershey Park. Come join us!

We'll be joined by Personal Effectiveness Association, a 501 (c)(3) non-profit organization designed to support and improve individual mental health through exercise and knowledge of fitness and nutrition.

RSVP for FREE at the link in bio or click here:

https://walkwithadoc.org/join-a-walk/locations/houston-texas/

See you there!

05/13/2025

🌍 Thrilled to join a global lineup of voices transforming the world through compassion 💕

🎓I'll be presenting alongside leaders in education, health, justice, and more!

Attend my session "Hope, Possibility, Healing, and JOY: the HeART of Medicine"

❤️ Can't wait to connect with fellow change-makers around the world! See you there!

Register here: https://bit.ly/CACregistration2025

05/10/2025

I once overheard a 4yo ask when she was choosing a snack to eat, "Mommy, is this part of my diet plan?"

And my heart sank. I remembered when a friend of mine in her 30s shared with me that her mom had recently told her that she would be really pretty if she just lost some weight. And it took her back to the time when she was 4 years old and would go to birthday parties and be told that she couldn't have the cake because she was overweight. Ever since then, her relationship with food has been riddled with shame and guilt and manifested as eating disorders and one fad diet after another.

I often have families come to me after having eliminated everything from their child's diet only to discover that it didn't take their rash away - that it didn't improve their eczema. I encourage them to notice patterns instead. Unless they break out every time they eat a certain food, I think it's more important for kids, especially when being introduced to foods, to explore different tastes and textures. To notice how different types of food feel in their body, how it affects their energy, their mood, their focus, performance. To know where the food came from, perhaps even be involved in growing it and feeling pride in that and all the things they can create from it.

Because when they do that, they don't feel restricted or limited by their food choices, nor do they feel guilty when they want to indulge. They don't just see it as a source of sustenance or pleasure. Instead, they are connected to and empowered by the joy of how it nourishes their mind and body. To its vitality. Instead of asking, "Is this part of my diet plan?", they listen to what their body needs and will choose wisely. Our relationships with food begin at a very early age. Let's make it a joyful one.

Want to dive deeper into building healthy relationships with food? Check out conference Healthcare's Kitchen: Adding Plants to Your Family's Plate. I'll be speaking about Eating the Rainbow and sharing colorful recipes! Register at the link in bio or click here: https://somedocs.teachable.com/p/food-conference-plants?affcode=335065_dvw8jiz9

Use code MEENA for 20% off!

05/05/2025

It's Melanoma Monday!... which means it's time to bring back a classic... (watch till the end 😄)

Let's start at the very beginning...

Know the ABDCEs of Melanoma:
A is for Asymmetry: when one side is not like the other
B is for Border: when the edges are uneven, blurry, or notched
C is for Color: when there are varying colors within the mole
D is for Diameter: when it's larger than the size of a pencil eraser (about 6mm)
E is for Evolution: when your mole changes over time by growing fast, changes shape/color, becomes painful, bleeds, or is itchy all the time

If you notice any of these changes within your moles, please see your local board-certified dermatologist for evaluation and proper treatment. When caught early, melanoma is highly curable!

04/23/2025

A little bit about my story of how I share stories! For those of you in healthcare who want to know how I use the Power of Creating Your Own Story in clinical practice, check out my talk at the Doctors on Social Media Writer's Conference for Healthcare Professionals:

https://somedocs.teachable.com/p/writers-conference-2?affcode=335065_dvw8jiz9

Register with the code MEENA to get 20% off!

While everyone learned how to bake bread during the pandemic, Dr. Julapalli woke up one day and three children’s books poured out of her.

04/04/2025

One of my heroes, Dr. Ralph Feigin, would've been 87 today. And every year on this day, I am flooded with all the memories I have with him, all the stories passed down, the legacy of this man, this myth, this legend, the Godfather of Pediatrics, who touched countless lives around the world. In his last graduation speech before he passed, he said: "The child is someone with a heart and soul. Compassion and concern may seem outmoded in this age of modern medicine, but I can tell you from my own experience, in my own disease, that it has done nothing more than confirm to me the power of the human touch and proven that you must be more about caring than about curing. You cannot care for the patient well if you don't truly care FOR the patient." I can't believe how incredibly prescient his words were for the challenges medicine is facing now in these AI and technology-driven times we now find ourselves in and how easy it is to fall into the abyss of disconnection. Doctor's Day was a few days ago and it comes at a time when our profession sometimes feels like it's at its lowest -- burnout is through the roof, our autonomy, creativity, innovation, advancement, and growth often feels like it is being suppressed. In short, we feel undervalued and unappreciated in our crumbling and broken healthcare system. In times like these, I still, to this day, often say to myself "WWFD" -- What Would (Dr.) Feigin Do? And just like that, his heart, his wisdom, his light shows me the way.

I left the system to create the environment that would honor the sacred relationship of trust that is at the heart of the doctor-patient relationship. It restored my faith in how I live, love, and serve in the world, and I no longer need validation from anyone else because I value and appreciate who I am and have become as a physician. But the fact of the matter is, I had to focus on my own healing before I could present the best version of myself to my patients.

Dr. Feigin used to say, "If you tell me something is impossible, you can be sure I'm going to do it. That's how I've lived my life."... and now I live by those words, too.

Dr. Feigin, your faith and belief in me and what I could accomplish was astounding and even overwhelming at times, but it pushed me to always strive to work harder, do better, love deeply, live compassionately and humbly, give generously, and climb mountains I didn’t think I could…even to this day. I lived for those moments that you, with your all-knowing wink, toothy grin, and hearty laugh, would look at me with such pride in your twinkling eyes as you gave me the warmest “you did good, kid” kind of hugs…and I am grateful that you generously gave me so many of those memories to cherish. I do my best everyday to continue to live up to all that you wished and dreamed for me, and I often imagine (and hope) that you are looking down upon me and are still proud of the kind of physician (and person) I have become. Happy 87th birthday to a most beloved hero, mentor, and dear friend. I love you and miss you, today and everyday.

02/09/2025

This past year, I've been on a lot of podcasts, done a lot of interviews, and I am truly grateful for all of them, but this one in particular, holds a special place in my heart because it was conducted by a rising star -- Ulysses Hsu, a high school student who is already a published author, a talented pianist, and has his own podcast and YouTube channel. Y'all, he doesn't even have a driver's license yet. But he is so incredibly driven and has so much curiosity, poise, confidence, and determination. He IS why I do what I do. Kids will save the world. I am sure of it.

https://youtu.be/4hSJ_ZZTNwk?si=IwzATRCCDuhqE_dL

Podcast episode with Pediatric Dermatologist who is also a children's book author.

01/15/2025

When families call our office to enquire about an appointment, the first question we often get asked is, "Do you take _____ insurance?" My answer to that is that we see everyone regardless of what insurance you do or don't have. And it's true. We see those with no insurance, Medicaid, high deductible plans, insurance with good coverage, healthshare plans, and it's pretty even all across the board. Because we're not contracted with any insurance plans, the only thing we don't do is bill your insurance, but with a receipt, you can often submit for reimbursement yourself depending on your plan. This direct care model helps us keep administrative costs low so that we can keep the cost to you affordable and transparent. And, as this parent noted, it oftentimes is LESS than a visit to a provider within your insurance network. So whether you do or don't have insurance, make sure you're seeking care from a physician who is a good fit for your family and not just because an insurance company is telling you who to see. And be open to the possibility that that doctor might be outside of your network. You might find that it ends up saving you money, time, and energy. It's a big deal to find someone you trust to guide you with your health and the health of your precious family. Know your options, and know that you always have a choice.

12/25/2024

"And above all, watch with glittering eyes the whole world around you because the greatest secrets are always hidden in the most unlikely places. Those who don't believe in magic will never find it."
-Roald Dahl

No matter what you do, wherever you go, whatever lies beyond, remember that life doesn't just happen to you. You create the magic. In the ups, the downs, and everything in between. And when you see the world with your heart and let it guide you, the magic will always come to you. In grand ways, but especially in the little ways, in the synchronicities of life, in the chance meetings of people from all over the world, in the wondrous ways the clouds dance gracefully before you and the skies light up with the awe-inspiring colors of the rainbow, in the heartwarming smiles and laughter of children all around you.

I had the pleasure of spreading so much joy this past week, and it was fueled by my inexplicable love affair and connection to the world around me and everyone and everything in it. Thank you for being a part of this beautiful life experience and for allowing me to be a part of yours.

May all your days be merry and bright on Christmas and always, illuminated by the brightness of the beauty surrounding you, but most of all, by your own radiant light. Shine brightly, my friends!

Happy Holidays!