Dr. Weisman

"If you are stuck in PPMR "trash heap hell" THEN GET OFF YOUR BUTT AND GET SOME SURGICAL TRAINING. Now is the best time ever to get surgical training".

Kind of idealistic thinking, Dr. Weisman. First off, there aren't as many programs as you fantasize there are. Second, even if there were available surgical programs, how many of them would be worthwhile? Third, if there were programs, how many would be in my area? Fourth, if I were to take one of these programs, would I not be taking away from a podiatry student whose only mistake was to believe the hype and enter pod school??

While I'm not making a lot of money doing menial chip and clip (thanks to my inferior training, which is a direct result of podiatry's inability to fully train me despite the enormous amount of money that I paid for my anemic education), I certainly cannot afford to go back to a residency program that will pay me something near poverty wages and which will not guarantee me anything other than I finished a surgical program. I have a life, a fiance', a house, etc. I'm stuck as are many others like myself who naively believed that AT THE MINIMUM we would be fully trained as DPM's to at least have a chance to compete with other DPM's.

"I started my practice with a bank loan on top of $140,000 in school loan debt. Today I net about $350,000 in fees and have an office staff of 11 including three other DPM's. I took the risks, now what are you all gonna do? If you can't take the heat get out of the kitchen NOW!!!!!!!"

Well, since you're professing to have "made it" as a podiatrist, why don't you share your secrets of success with others on this forum who are nearing bankruptcy? Nobody else seems to be willing to help. They just want to point out what cry babies we are and to just shut up.

"You people who want to go back to DO school make me laugh. You think getting some ("perceived" second rate medical degree) is gonna make you happy, THINK AGAIN. If you want to be a medical doctor, GO TO AN ACCREDITED US ALLOPATHIC MEDICAL SCHOOL, not some osteopathy college or heaven forbid a beach school diploma mill. You will never get the perceived respect otherwise."

You're ignorance of what a DO is should embarass you. Clearly, you know nothing of the profession, the earning potential, the respect within the medical community, etc. Allow me to educate you on just a few facts: DO's have a higher standard for admission than podiatry school does. DO's make more than DPM's right out of residency. DO's can choose to be any kind of doctor they want to be AFTER they've done a traditional, fully inclusive medical education, which exposes them to ALL FACETS of medicine. Only then do they make an EDUCATED choice on what type of PHYSICIAN they are best suited to be. DO's have JOB OFFERS when they finish their residency training. DO's can choose from a variety of loan repayment programs to help them pay off their student loans. DO's can use their license in many countries overseas. DO's are compensated in exactly the same way as MD's. DO's are not called "DO's" when they finish their training. They're called "Internists", "Emergency Room Physicians", "General Surgeons", etc. Even if they were called a DO, they do not have the same inferiority complex that many DPM's have. DO's enjoy respect wherever they go with the exception of a tiny minority of ignorant MD's who are equally uninformed.

There is no standard at all for entry into podiatry school today. A pulse may not even be necessary. Podiatry residents, for the most part, struggle mightily when they finish their programs. A very small minority find a meaningful position, but most are relagated to chipping and clipping for some other pod. Most pod students enter podiatry because they were unsuccessful in entering DO or MD school and they have ABSOLUTELY KNOW IDEA if podiatric medicine and/or surgery is right for them. They just want to be doctors and found this to be the best back door way to get it. DPM's have almost no source for job opportunities and, thus, are running around trying to network for scraps. DPM's have no loan repayment programs to choose from, save a small handful of Indian reservations. A DPM's eduation is TOTALLY WORTHLESS ouside of the insulated world of podiatry. Even the overseas MD schools (which you so ignorantly slammed further embarassing yourself) won't touch a single unit with a sterilized 10 foot pole. DPM's are sometimes compensated differently than MD's and DO's simply because they are DPM's. Often, other health practitioners are paid MORE for the same work simply because of their title. Podiatrists are called "podiatrists" when they finish. Different people have different reactions to this title. As I said before, DO's are FULLY LICENSED PHYSICIANS and are known by their specialty, not by their title. DPM's are constantly fighting for respect and are always trying to educate the public on our training, qualifications and "doctor" status.

"I am a surgeon first and podiatrist second, you all need to think like that."

Ironically, it's this kind of thinking that is ruining podiatry. The schools are enticing students with visions of triples and reconstructive surgeries while abandoning what makes a podiatrist indispensable. They neglect to tell the students that it is fairly rare for a DPM to have surgery as a primary part of his or her practice. Non-invasive foot care is what separates podiatry from the rest of the pack. Surgery arose, in part, because of the MD envy that you disparage. Students are increasingly less interested in pursuing the less glamorous role of biomechanic expert, wound expert, shoe expert, etc. and are fixated on being a REAL DOCTOR which being a surgeon provides.

"Dissuading well qualified applicants to podiatry school is a travesty."

I feel I'm doing a public service by exposing the truth about podiatry that these well meaning prospective students would not have found out otherwise.

"With the current applicant crisis, we need good candiates to keep the schools and future practioners going, we need support not negativity."

Would you advocate more and more people to build their homes on a fault line?

"Some of you people need a stiff kicking to get back on track. I am absoluteley disgusted by some of the thoughts on this board. I hope my post sets a trend in this boards topics."

I can only imagine that you're living in a pretty insulated world and know nothing about the current realities that face new practitioners.