Danielle- Listen to all, then listen to yourself

Dear Danielle:

Please allow some facts regarding podiatry:
Facts:

Very few people are applying to podiatry schools-not b/c of the few schools (7) teaching podiatry. vet schools/DO schools have no problems attracted well-qualified applicants.

In the last couple years, approx. 230-260 APPLICANTS have applied to the 6 ACPMS podiatry schools. Applicants. There are over 600 seats available. Quality, qualified?!

Medicare reimbursements are significantly down for podiatry care, since a great majority of your patients are elderly, this directly affects your finances.

Very few MD/DOs, people know what a DPM does, stands for or the education obtained. Discrimination does indeed exist in professional societies, academies, and hospital soley because of the DPM designation and it is a stigma regardless of how some like to spin or perfume it.
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very few opportunities for NIH research, or publishing in real peer-reviewed research other than case book reports.

Residency training is completely haphazard and not uniform in scope, rigor, or length.

Schools are not consistent in education, didactics, rigor, or real clinical experiences.

MCATs are not required anymore b/c the schools' recruiters need to solicit applicants for their schools.

If you don't get a surgical residency (which is haphazrd). you will clip toenails and deskin elderly paitents for a little over 35K-45K.

If you DO get a 1-2 "surgical" program, that does not guarantee you will get on health care plans, practice surgery in hospitals ( b/c DPM discrimination) or your scope may be limited for the foot. My colleague operated on the talus (bone in the hindfoot) and got suspended because DPMs can't touch the hindfoot/ankle. Thought a podiatrist is all about feet and ankles (AACPM website).

There is no universal scope of practice for podiatrics, like having an OBGYN who can deliver C-Sections in Maine yet can't in CA. Unheard of in other legitimate medical specilities.

There are no loan repayments plans for podiatry. They are not bankruptable (thanks Billy Clinton), $1400-1600 each month for 30 years.

Residency selection is not a merit/substance based system period.

Starting salaries are woefully inadequate with no benefits (med/dent, 401K, 403b). You are a 1099.


Weak professional podiatric societies who beg for beg for monies to inact change by pressuring politicians rather than based on podiatric medicine "selling" itself b/c it is vital, importants, and critical in medical system-unfortunately it isn't.

Foot and ankle orthpods do everything and much more than a pod. Plus they do see much more real pathology (not toenails, bunions, or large callosities). I know b/c during residency I worked intimately with a foot/ankle orthopod and a podiatrist and saw HUGE differences in scope, pathology, and patient case load.

Recruiters for podiatry still profess mistruths either intentional or not to solicit naive students to sign up for podiatry with outdated, massaged stats, data and other podiatry propaganda re: 40 hr work week, no beeper, great lifestyle, etcc.. these are liess and the degrading cartoon podiatric CD-ROM that went out ot each MCAT test taker proves my point.

Read this forum with an open mind, regardless of how "negative" (AKA: reality), truth is truth.