New Students

Well, you're beginning a new journey. You're going to learn a lot about the lower extremity and, most certainly, have some tough times and moments of self doubt. A lot of lesser people have made it through so keep telling yourself that you can, too.

Don't be too discouraged if you see a lot of negative stuff about podiatry on this site. It isn't for everyone, but there's a lot of DPM's who love it and make a great living. You'll probably get some responses to your posts that will be less than encouraging. Don't ignore them completely, but don't let them get you down. Your experience is going to depend on large part on how you perceive it.

My advice is STAY POSITIVE and commit yourselves to being a PODIATRIST and learn as much as you can. Don't succumb to MD envy. If you chose this route because you were unable to get into MD or DO school, get those thoughts out of your head right now. They'll torture you forever. Think more that you're going to be a PODIATRIST and less that you're going to be called "doctor" for the rest of your life. This is the absolute wrong mindset. Don't rely on the schools to provide for you for all of your education. Try and get your hands into as much as you can. Internal knowledge pales in comparison to actual experience. Don't freak out when you discover that a lot of people don't know what a DPM is or that they look at you as something "less" than an MD or DO. It goes with the territory. You are going to be one of a small group of health practitioners who can rightfully call themselves the pre-eminent foot and ankle specialists in the world. You WILL know far more about the foot and ankle than any other doctor. That is the best part aside from your patients who will love you.

My other advice is don't take it too seriously. Your grades only reflect your effort and interest. Study hard because you want to learn and not because you want to get straight A's. If you love what you're doing then you'll probably get those A's. Knowing how to make the proper padding or how to effectively off weight your diabetic patient is FAR more important than getting a good grade in immunology. Make sure that you CONSTANTLY pick the brains of the DPM's in your school. Learning how to actually practice the art of podiatry is INFINITELY more important than scoring well on your exams.

Good Luck

Marc Wright, DPM