Let me explain

What's funny about this post is that I've yet to read anything from someone who isn't surgically trained voicing the same opinions. It's always a case of the have's and the have not's.

No matter what the explanation for me not matching with a surgical program will never negate the fact that the profession failed to AT LEAST minimally train me, and many others, to be a competent podiatrist. We paid a lot of money and worked extremely hard in school and rightfully assumed that we would at least be minimally competitive. For the record, I'm not ugly, I'm affable and even humorous. Every single MD and DO school GUARANTEES their students that they will be trained in whatever specialty they match with. Sure, they may not match with their first choice, but at least it won't become an issue later on when they try and join a health plan or make a decent living. THEY WILL BE FULLY TRAINED TO BE EITHER AN MD OR DO. My training was so sparse and superfluous, I frankly do not know what to call myself.

I am not deluded. I am not a crybaby. I tolerate a lot in this world. I'm a very agreeable person. I'm smarter than the average bear. I will only take responsibility for not researching podiatry further. I was too trusting in what I read and heard.

I'm not doubting what you said about everyone knowing that they needed a surgical program to make it, but I can tell you that I never ONCE heard anything like that when I was in school. I never ONCE heard that in order to be on any reasonable health plan you would need to be surgically trained. In fact, I never heard that we might not be surgically trained until well into my 1st year. I, and many others, mistakenly assumed that we would at least be comfortable with the basic podiatric procedures like bunions and hammertoes. We weren't really thinking about the nuance in differences between a PPMR, RPR, PSR-12, etc. All we knew is that a podiatrist does surgery just like the schools told us. You can't deny that the schools EVER mentioned to a prospective student that they may never be trained to do podiatric surgery. I never in my wildest dreams thought that the extent of my 170k spent on school was going to be learning, re-learning and learning again nail cutting, callus debriding and nail avulsions.

I applied to several dozen programs and busted my ass going to CRIP's on two separate occasions. In a couple of my interviews I was purposely embarassed in front of everyone when I couldn't come up with the obscure answer they were looking for. Where else does this happen in a residency interview? Nowhere else. There were more than a few of my classmates who not only had a significantly lower GPA than me, but were somewhat lacking in the personality department. Of course, they matched with a PSR-24. CRIP's is not a merit based system.

If your sister matches with an FP residency OF COURSE she can practice dermatology!!! What are you talking about???!! Do you think a family practice doctor automatically refers out every single case of eczema, psoriasis or tinea? She will have an unlimited license to practice medicine! If she feels uncomfortable treating a patient, THEN she'll refer out.

There is an enormous difference between pod schools and med schools. No matter what you match with in a med school, you will be fully and competently trained. You will have every tool and technique to succeed in whatever your specialty is. Since podiatry IS a joke, I do not have enough skills or experience to treat patients like a foot specialist should. Not only is it embarassing, it's financially burdensome. I didn't even get enough training on the most basic aspect of podiatry, strapping and padding! We had about 3 lectures in school and very minimal exposure in my residency.

Do I blame podiatry? Damn right I do! And I'm not the only one. I can't afford to go back to do a surgical residency even if there was one to be had. And I'm also not interested in taking one away from a student who, as I can testify, will need it to even have a snowball's chance in hell to make a living.

The only thing that podiatry has done for me is give me some real experience that I can translate into being a real medical student. I've applied and have several interviews on the docket. Once I'm in, I can start pretending that this whole nightmarish trip was all a bad dream.