Well, you all wanted to hear from me... (very long)

Geez, you guys are relentless….

Well, I’m only going to post once, so let’s see what I can respond to:

To Poor_Dch:
I have neither the time nor inclination to do a point-by-point analysis on your 10 myths. I think you will see later in my post how I generally see things.

To Doc_Foot re: uh, slight income discrepancy:
Are you serious? You are comparing our salaries to opthamologists and cardiologists? Uh, ok.
And why is everyone assuming that I said we are “in demand”? I never once said those words. But the way I see it, with only 450 chiropodists in this province, there is the OPPORTUNITY to succeed in private practice. Yes, as I recognized before, there are other professions encroaching upon what we do, but there is no SINGLE profession that can do ALL of what we do (please don’t say MD’s – that’s just ignorant to think that they actually waste their time doing everything we do). And there is no other profession that can lay claim to being the only regulated health profession for foot care. Now that may not mean much in a practical sense, but there is another OPPORTUNITY to set ourselves apart from the other foot care providers. We just need to market ourselves as such.

RE: OSC Website:
Sorry about that, folks. I am currently awaiting budget approval to have a whole new website re-designed. It will finally look like it belongs in this century and will be designed such that regular updates will be easier to do. We are also planning a public and member forum for sharing info.

To Buckwheat:
Re: “specialized” – Well, it’s a matter of semantics really. However, legislatively speaking, “specialized” does not mean exclusive. If it were an “exclusive” scope, then they would be called “authorized acts”. I am fully aware that most of what we do are not authorized acts. But no one can deny the fact that we (DCh’s AND DPMs) take care of feet better than any other profession. That’s what I mean by “specialized”.
Re: “3 years [education], just to cut nails?” – that’s simply not true in my practice. In my private practice, “simple” nail care makes up less than 25% of my gross billings. Timewise, it makes up about 65%. So if you see yourself as just cutting nails, you need to market yourself differently.
Also, I happen to disagree with your comment that we are “not worthy to clients who are well informed about what's out there”. I actually believe that it is the educated patients that recognize that the $20 pedicurist, who may not be using sterile instruments, may not be providing the healthiest nail care. It is the educated patient that suspects the orthotics kiosk at the CNE might not actually be custom made if they only have a 3 hour turnaround time. So if these “informed” clients are only informed about who’s cheaper than who, then fine – go get cheaper footcare elsewhere. I certainly wouldn’t call them more informed.
Yes, as past OSC pres, it was very difficult. There were constant barriers to overcome: lack of recognition, lack of funding, lack of support from those we are trying to help, and the constant fighting within the profession. We are a very under appreciated group. We all have families and busy practices and still volunteer several hours each week for the profession. Half of the profession wants this, the other half wants something completely opposite. Who do you listen to? We can’t listen to those who are non-members, obviously. And yet, they are our biggest critics. There are so many non-members out there that have such vast knowledge and experience and would be an asset to our association, but they simply refuse to help. Instead they gripe and criticize about what’s not being done. Other past presidents tell me it has been this way from the start. So what to do?
You know, I recently resigned from the Board (family reasons) and at the time of my resignation, I was the SENIOR member of our board. That’s right – I graduated in 1998 and with only 6 yrs of practice, I was the senior member. Where are all the experienced chiropodists? Why aren’t they joining the OSC and helping to turn things around? And you folks are blaming the OSC for not doing anything… Put your money where your mouth is and help fix this!
And for the record, the OSC has NEVER sought the Dr title, and I ALWAYS correct patients who call me Dr.
With regards to sending back to the GP for tests and such, you would be surprised at how many MD’s actually GAIN respect for you. Not only does it keep them in the loop with their patients’ care, but it also gives us an opportunity to communicate professionally with them. Don’t get me wrong, though – it is one of the goals of the OSC to pursue such requisition rights. I believe that the profession should evolve this way. I’m just saying that we have yet another opportunity here to market ourselves, this time to MDs.
Re: taking advantage of patients with insurance. Well, Buckwheat, I am insulted that you would accuse me of this. I pride myself in prescribing orthotics ethically. I HATE the overprescription of orthotics by our colleagues and the blatant fraud being committed with free shoe coupons etc.

To dr_nails_88:
What do you want me to explain? How can I possibly explain every single angry/unsuccessful/depressed chiropodist or podiatrist story? I still can’t believe that after 20 years of practice that you haven’t realized that there are good and bad stories in every profession. If you choose to get bogged down by the negativity, then that’s your problem. You truly sound unhappy about this profession. I know if I were so unhappy, I would be doing something else.
I never once said that every person who enters this profession will succeed. All I said is that there are some that do. How you define success is entirely personal. Doc_Foot above thinks that you have to be billing in excess of $800,000 (like the cardiologist that he likes to compare our profession with) to be successful. Darla (who I’ll get to) thinks that you have to have 3.5 employees to be successful. All I was trying to do is balance out some of these horror stories with a moderate success story of my own. Am I rich? No, never will be in this profession. But I pay the bills and live somewhat comfortably. What I know for sure is that I would rather be doing this over nursing, OT, PT, and even DC. Would I rather be a dentist or MD or optometrist? From a money perspective and ONLY from a money perspective, yes.
Re: the OSC. The reason that the midwives and RPNs have been successful is because of public pressure. The government ALWAYS caves in to public pressure. Also, both of those groups had large enough numbers and strategic government lobbying to get things pushed through legislation quickly. They also have a strong presence nationally. I’ll admit the OSC needs to apply more government pressure. But again, this comes back to a numbers game. Where do we get the funds? I’ll tell you one certainty (again), if all chiropodists and podiatrists were united, things would happen much more swiftly. We are our own enemy.

To Anonymous Re: Chiropody Student Debt:
I can’t dispute your numbers. They are indeed very grim. But nurses, physios, pharmacists, heck, all post grad studies will face the same debts. Actually, all of their tuitions are significantly higher than the chiropody program, so their debts are even worse. I’m not sure anyone will survive in this day and age… unless your numbers are wrong (?)

To Darla:
Boy, Darla, did I inadvertently run over your dog or something? Why are you directing all this bitterness and anger at me? Was I wrong for saying that I’m doing OK? Should I not have told Amanda (the original poster) that there are other chiropodists who are also doing OK?
And please stop putting words in my mouth. I never said there was an extreme shortage. I never said that EVERYONE will do well. But I will say that there are opportunities. If you deny that, then there is simply no way to argue with a close-minded person.
NOW AGAIN, I will re-iterate: The purpose of my post was to state for all to read that there are some of us who are actually happy in this profession. I will admit that I will be happier if some things change. But until then, I will use my energies positively and continue to promote it. The belief here that the more chiropodists there are the worse my practice will become is very short-sighted. I believe that more chiropodists will bring more public awareness and more negotiating power at the government level.

There. I’ve said my piece. And I don’t care to say anymore.