Altruism vs. The Real World

I think you're missing the main point regarding many of these "negative" posts.

I'm leaving podiatry in two months and starting osteopathic medical school. I've been at it for 3 years and see no hope at all. Do you really think I would go through this again just to make more money?

I'm leaving podiatry for the following reasons:

1. My "training" was pathetically inadequate and left me with no skills to make a living (note: I said "make a living", not "make a mountainous heap of money"). I am one of the unfortuate many who did not secure sufficient residency training after graduation through no fault of my own (3.6 GPA, spotless attendance, great personality, etc.). Therefore, because of the embarassing system of podiatry, I am now 179k in debt and can basically cut nails and calluses and do partial nail avulsions. Yee-haw.

2. Podiatry is disappearing as a viable medical specialty.

3. Even if I wanted to leave my current impacted area to seek employment elsewhere, I would fail. First, there are no jobs to be had. Second, I have virtually no skills or unusual talents to offer any legitimate practice group. I could also never be able to save up enough money to survive the inevitable lean months that would occur during my transition.

4. I am truly embarassed to be a part of this profession. The thought that these schools can charge what they do and not at least assure you of adequate residency training causes bile to rise from my gut. Where else does this happen? I swear, I can't think of one single profession that offers post-graduate training that would not be uniform and adequate. I'm still considering a class-action lawsuit. You might laugh but my wife is an attorney and I already have several highly disgruntled DPM's who are interested. Maybe (and I mean maybe) this year the graduates will all have at least one year of surgical training. But, you know what? This still won't assure them of squat. There still aren't any jobs out there. Also, the APMA/schools never have and never will level with prospective students on just how difficult it is to find gainful employment.

5. Podiatry is oftentimes ridiculed in popular culture and generally thought of as a pseudo-medical profession. When was the last time you saw podiatry portrayed in a positive light on television or in film? (20/20 expose a few years back, Seinfeld episode, Golden Girls episode, the current movie out "The In-Laws"). I didn't spend untold years toiling away at my pre-med courses, studying for the MCAT, suffering through 2 years of didactic misery and 2 years of bogus clinicals + 6 months of nails, calluses and ingrowns and 6 months of actual medicine to be thought of as a half-ass wannabe doctor. I'm forever defending podiatry and the education to practically everyone I meet. I'm done with it.

6. None of my colleagues from my class who I keep in touch with are making even an adequate living. One of them just e-mailed me today and asked if I could use her part-time (she at least has a PPMR/PSR, but still can't find work. She's been out of residency for 3 years). Two of them quit the first year and are working in a totally unrelated field.

7. My last two years of podiatry school were nothing less than a sham. I spent something like 80k for both years only to further sit on my ass in the third year listening to repetitive lectures and pretty much waste the fourth year driving around to each mostly b.s. externship. On one externship in AZ, I observed one hip surgery during the entire month. That was it. The DPM kept telling me that he was too busy (he didn't want me to see his own patients or be in the O.R. with him). He advised that I call around town to see if any docs would mind if I tagged along. No kidding. Another month in Anaheim was almost as bad. I spent two days a week with the "director" going to house calls and nursing homes to trim bucket-fulls of nails and calluses to fatten up his wallet. Oh yeah, and he didn't have any surgical priveleges because he failed to update his license. That was helpful. The other days were spent farting around with one of the residents and seeing maybe about 6 patients. The only productive month that I had was with (surprise) a dermatology rotation. This would be real medicine. And, if you're wondering, I complained vociferously in several letters to my school. Guess what? Nothing happened. They were still functioning residencies last I heard.

7. Podiatry has no means of loan repayment through the government.

8. Podiatry is the #1 most fraudulent medical specialty. You will always be under suspicion.

9. You cannot return to school and become a different type of doctor. You are a podiatrist and will always be a podiatrist.

10. Podiatric biomechanics is voodoo medicine (my opinion).

11. Since my school went bankrupt and joined forces with a vocational college, they lost all of my personal information (my vaccinations, etc.). This meant that I had to be re-vaccinated all over again before I could go to real medical school. I am honestly shocked that they were able to send my transcripts to the right medical school.

12. Whether you want to admit it or not, podiatry school is for people who couldn't get into medical school. I'd rather not live the rest of my life knowing this (ironically, having my DPM probably got me into DO school).

13. I'm angry for some of my classmates who had to take unfunded crap programs because there weren't enough paid ones to go around.

14. I was paid 10k a year as a podiatry resident. The MD residents were paid over 30k. I had to make ends meet by waiting tables on the side. Nice.

15. Being a podiatrist gets you nowhere outside of practicing podiatry. It won't help you get a job as a hospital administrator. It won't help you get a job as a medical technician. It won't help you get a job as an EMT. Nobody knows what to do with a podiatrist. Nobody knows what a podiatrist does nor do they know what your training was. None of the classes transfer to medical school. None. Not even overseas to the risky med schools. That's good respect, huh?

Need I go on?

It isn't because people on this forum are upset because they aren't driving Bentleys. It's not because they can't get a home in the Hamptons. It's everything that I mentioned above. Podiatrists are not offered jobs for the most part. The few that can find a job are usually offered inadequate compensation with few benefits. And, there are a tiny handful who can find good jobs with something like a Kaiser where they can make enough money to live with some benefits.

So, that leaves the vast majority who have been shoved out of the nest with varying skills. So many new DPM's have absolutely no idea how difficult it is to actually make money when you're finished with your education and training. I was one of them. And, having one or more years of surgical training doesn't even help that much. You still have to find a place that needs you. Believe me, it isn't easy.