Paula Zook, MD, FAAD

Terrible terrible service at Dermatology Associates. First, I was diagonized with perioral dermatitis and was given a topical treatment to try out. That made matters even worse — half my face (and I am not exaggerating) was scarred, and when I reached out to the Doctor by phone, I was told I could send her an email and she would respond. crickets for two weeks — after which the receptionist called me to say that Dr. Zook would want me to come in to evaluate me in person. However the earliest appointment she had was 3 weeks away. Seriously! Did they honestly think I would wait for 6 weeks when my face has broken out like this? Instead, I asked them for the antibiotic prespription which Dr. Zook had told me would be most effective. It is a 6 week course. I only got a 2 week prescription — which seemed to be working. When I called back in after my 2 week supply ended, for a refill (since its a 6 week course), I was told they can’t give a refill — and that Dr. Zook would have to see me in person. Why? Esp. when this medicine is working? And I haven’t even finished the 6 week course. Not going back here ever again.

Wonderful doctor! I visited her office today to potentially start a second round of Isotretinoin treatments. She was very thorough in asking me questions about my skin, previous experience, etc. She and her staff are very professional, helpful, and extremely nice. Huge thanks to Rachel at the front desk!

Had Dr. Zook freeze off a small red bump (cherry angioma). There was no warning on how expensive this would be. I got a $ 150 bill in the mail, and if that wasn’t enough, the bump didn’t go away. I paid the bill, but requested that I be able to come in again to have it removed at no charge… denied. Thanks a lot, $ 150 for NOTHING!

Dr Zook is fantastic. The consultation didn’t feel rushed at all. Additionally, an older reviewer commented on her mood. She was in a perfectly friendly mood during my consultation. The one star reviews are far from a typical experience.

She’s now with Dermatology Associates, not the PolyClinic fyi. DA is located in a large building and has parking, but it’s very very expensive. I think it’s like $ 8 for half an hour and if you have to wait for a while and it’s even a moment over the half hour it’s $ 11. I think. It’s insane. But that’s not to do with Dr. Zook. Dr. Zook is fantastic; I followed her to DA and plan to stay with her. She knows exactly what to do in every instance of skin problems I’ve had (including three (!!) rounds of accutane).

The doctor was very rushed. I really felt that the consultation was just a waste of time. Nothing the doctor said was helpful.

Dr. Zook is wonderful! Always sweet, knowledgeable, on time, etc. Her office staff is, for the most part, good. A good dermatologist is hard to come by, and Dr. Zook is one of the few. Takes time with you, answers your questions, really cares about what you want, does NOT push any additional products or even any certain treatment, just gives you the options and lets you decide.
HIGHLY recommend!

I wasn’t expecting much for my upcoming visit with Dr. Zook as my phone call with her assistant Brit was, shall we say «less than warm.» She implied that my baby’s eczema was not serious enough to see a dermatologist although when a pharmacist saw it she unprofessionally responded with an «Eewww.» Brit suggested that our pediatrician could take care of a «little thing like that» although we’d already seen our pediatrician for this. Anyhow, after making me feel a bit silly, she conceded and «let me have an appointment» anyway. The night before my appointment I decided to read the reviews for Dr. Zook and considering my interaction with Brit over the phone, I expected to be treated in the same manner that others have implied: that a money-​grubbing Dr. Zook and Brit would go all «Mean Girls» on me.
So I was ready to stick up for myself and my eczema stricken little babe. But, low and behold we were greeted by this lovely nurse named Kate; she was sweet as the mocha I celebrated with after my appointment. And for Dr. Zook? She was equally as lovely. Gave me more advice than I’d asked for (or expected) and spent lots of time explaining what to expect with my baby’s condition. I saw and experienced nothing negative. In fact she was just as lovely as my regular dermatologist, whom I love to death, Dr. Nylander. So give Dr. Zook a chance…

I had a few biopsies done today by Brit, Dr. Zook’s nurse. She was great!

Paula is awesome. Besides being competent, professional, personable, and concerned about my finances, she is the most beautiful doctor I’ve ever met. That makes the pain of freezing off moles far less annoying for me. Thank you Dr. Zook.

‘Meh’ about sums it up. I saw Dr. Zook for a routine screening and she ended up biopsying a dark mole, only after I pushed b/​c I told her it had grown darker over the year. It turned out to be a melanoma in situ. She removed the melanoma and I was pleased with the procedure/​service up to that point.
You are supposed to have follow-​up screenings every 3 months the first year after the melanoma is diagnosed, since the likelihood of recurrence is highest within the first year or two. I was able to get an appt. 3.5 months after the initial diagnosis/​procedure and arrived for my appt. 10 minutes late (after a 40 minute drive in traffic, finding parking, etc). I accept responsibility for being late but was shocked when the receptionist told me I would have to reschedule since ‘that was the whole length of my appt. time.’ There was ONE other person in the waiting room of a normally pretty busy clinic. It was dead. How’s that for customer service? Especially considering they schedule 2 – 3 months out, I wouldn’t be able to get in again for my first follow-​up appt. until at least 5 – 6 months time from the melanoma diagnosis. That’s irresponsible and negligent in my opinion. And the receptionist was on a bit of a power trip and didn’t seem to care.
Guess you don’t need my business anymore! (Which she doesn’t, she’s making plenty of money).

I would not go back to see Dr. Zook. I saw her for my cystic acne and she prescribed Accutane which necessitates a monthly visit.
Even in my initial visit, she took a quick look at my face but that was pretty much it. No discussion about what sort of products I use, if I used sunscreen, if I had any moles that I was concerned about. This surprised me. She also has a very abrupt, rushed manner to her. I’m a pretty assertive person but her bedside manner did not invite a lot of questions!
Our monthly check-​ups probably lasted five minutes tops. I was particularly disturbed by the fact that on a couple occasions, I had a pretty painful breakout and when I told her about it, she just said, «Yeah, looks like that hurts.» No suggestions about what I might be able to do about it! She just has a knack for making you feel like your concerns aren’t important and that she doesn’t really care about whether your skin is getting good and healthy; the whole thing felt very, very transactional.
There are lots of dermatologists in this city. The next time I need one, I won’t see Dr. Zook.

Dr Zook appears to be a good doctor, but after a scheduling an appointment 4 weeks in advance, she was still running behind 30 minutes after my scheduled time. The assistant informed me that it would still be an additional 10 minutes, then consult and prep time. I was looking for simple botox shots, and perhaps a Dr office is the wrong place for a basic procedure.

After searching for a good dermatolgist in Seattle for several years, I finally found Dr. Zook a couple of years ago. She was the first dermatologist I found who actually helped cure my skin problems when I was at the point when I thought there wasn’t a cure.

Definitely knows her stuff, but not arrogant about it. Asks the right questions, gives you straight answers.

What a terrific dermatologist! Dr. Zook is professional, her nurse is amazing and funny, I felt very comfortable there and under the best care with the latest in whatever. Also amazing was absolutely NO pressure to do expensive cosmetological dermatology – they listen to what you are concerned about and educate you on your choices. I didn’t have to wait long, and they promised to communicate with my other doctors. As an additional plus, they have parking below the building (but beware the elevators – they have about half the number they need, and if you are able, get that extra exercise by walking up the hard-​to-​find but across the elevator stairwell.
If you park on the upper level, you only have one staircase to the lobby to check in, then one more up to Dr. Zook.