Grain of Salt

Consider that as a rule of thumb if something bad happens to someone, they tell 7 people; if something good happens they don't tell anyone. Get my drift?

You should speak to DPM's in practice including those that have been in practice for various # of years, especially if you have an area of the country where you tentatively would like to practice. If you can, you should definately speak with residency directors as they have a pulse (for lack of a better term) on career opportunities of their nascent graduates.

As you find forums on Podiatry on the internet you will find many dicussions bashing the profession and a few that are not.

People like me who are "cheerleaders" of the profession tend to let these babies cry and not partake in the adolescent discussions found here. YES there are DPM's that failed miserably; just as there are MD's, DMD's, DVM's, etc.. BUT, I can tell you first-hand that there are many that I personally know that are successful (if you define success as personal reward related to caring for patients + compensation for your hard work).

Also consider who is commenting on the profession and take their comments with a grain of salt. Someone who has a financial interest in you entering the profession will more than likely not tell you the negatives. Someone who has a financial interest in you NOT entering the profession (like maybe some of the pods in here that don't want competetion ) may only tell you the bad things.

Podiatry, like anything else, is what you make of it. There will always be those that are successful, those that fail, and those that are somewhere in between - but you already knew that.

I think you'll find that the DPM's that are doing well have an interest in running a business and are good at it (or have hired good people to run their business). Of course there are no guarantees - if you are a Harvard MBA and graduated #1 in your DPM class and set up shop in a town with a population of 100 you might be hard pressed to make your student loan payments.

Finally, don't be too quick to think that the grass is greener on the other side of the fence. Trust me on this one - I'm speaking from experience.

Feel free to contact me via email if you have any questions or are looking for guidance but regardless of what you do from now until you decide the path you'll chose - be critical of who is giving you information. The choice you make will be your own and I think.

-r.s., d.p.m.