Fellowships?

PM&S36 residencies are pretty much standard now. Are fellowships going to be the "next big thing" 3-4 years from now?

I don't think podiatry fellowships will ever be as prevalent as they are in the allopathic world, where a general Internal Medicine resident can do a fellowship to become a GI doc, a cardiologist, an endocrinologist, etc. In contrast, a podiatrist who does a fellowship...is still a podiatrist, just more knowledgeable. It doesn't change your scope of practice/salary nearly the same way. That being said, I'm sure doing a biomechanics fellowship would make you a more desirable hire for any practice

Originally Posted by amaprez

...biomechanics fellowship would make you a more desirable hire for any practice

why?

Originally Posted by dtrack22

why?

Biomechanics and sports medicine aren't really covered in PM&S36, right? I have no idea, but I thought that was an argument against the change?

Originally Posted by dtrack22

why?

The following is from an article on Podiatry Today called "My Search For A New Associate"

I agree with Dr. Hyer that a percentage of graduates from podiatric medical school need to go on and train for complex ankle surgery and trauma. At the same time, we have abandoned any other type of sub-specialty training (podiatric sports medicine, biomechanics, podopediatrics) and we certainly have neglected training the well-rounded general practitioner of podiatric medicine.

I was fortunate to have found a graduate of one of the few American Academy of Podiatric Sports Medicine (AAPSM) fellowship programs who appears to fit the needs of my practice quite nicely. Yes, he happens to have excellent training in trauma, forefoot and ankle surgery, but this will make little difference. What matters most is that he can explain to patients why they have heel pain and how he can help them.

Of course, this editorial was only the viewpoint of one (somewhat cynical) DPM. Overall I'm sure if you go to a good residency and work hard, you'll be able to market yourself well for a job afterwards!

Originally Posted by amaprez

The following is from an article on Podiatry Today called "My Search For A New Associate"



Of course, this editorial was only the viewpoint of one (somewhat cynical) DPM. Overall I'm sure if you go to a good residency and work hard, you'll be able to market yourself well for a job afterwards!

So I was right?

Originally Posted by amaprez

The following is from an article on Podiatry Today called "My Search For A New Associate"
.......

Of course, this editorial was only the viewpoint of one (somewhat cynical) DPM. Overall I'm sure if you go to a good residency and work hard, you'll be able to market yourself well for a job afterwards!

So you're equating a fellowship with Losito, or Saxena, or Heit to a fellowship in "biomechanics"? How so?

Serious question. I figured since you are a student maybe you had heard/were taught something about the specifics of these fellowships.

Originally Posted by MaxillofacialMN

Biomechanics and sports medicine aren't really covered in PM&S36, right? I have no idea, but I thought that was an argument against the change?

The problem is that neither of these are "specialties" that you can just do rotations in during your time as a resident. But I don't know how somebody can say that these aren't covered in a PMSR program since they are utilized in almost all aspects of podiatric care. Just throwing an axis guide in a met head osteotomy requires skills and understanding in biomechanics. And sports medicine is simply what you learned throughout your education, applied to a group of individuals who may require more extensive preventative measures and a more rapid recovery. Hallux limitus is hallux limitus. There are only so many treatment options, even if they are an NBA player. Does that mean that sports med fellowships won't make you better at treating these individuals and preventing injury? No, of course they will make you better. Additional exposure will almost always make you better. But saying they "really aren't covered" just isn't accurate.

Originally Posted by dtrack22

I figured since you are a student maybe you had heard/were taught something about the specifics of these fellowships.

I believe "amaprez" is a pre-pod.

Originally Posted by amaprez

I don't think podiatry fellowships will ever be as prevalent as they are in the allopathic world, where a general Internal Medicine resident can do a fellowship to become a GI doc, a cardiologist, an endocrinologist, etc. In contrast, a podiatrist who does a fellowship...is still a podiatrist, just more knowledgeable. It doesn't change your scope of practice/salary nearly the same way. That being said, I'm sure doing a biomechanics fellowship would make you a more desirable hire for any practice

You are comparing different allo residency options. How about an ortho that does a fellowship in spine/knees/f&a/peds/trauma/sports med etc... still an ortho.

Seems similar to a pod doing a fellowship in trauma/peds/deformities/sports med/RRA etc... still a pod.

Why would a pod not want to get additional training in an area of interest?

Originally Posted by Ferocity

You are comparing different allo residency options. How about an ortho that does a fellowship in spine/knees/f&a/peds/trauma/sports med etc... still an ortho.
Very good point. In this case you're right they are very comparable.

Seems similar to a pod doing a fellowship in trauma/peds/deformities/sports med/RRA etc... still a pod.

Why would a pod not want to get additional training in an area of interest?
I never said anyone should not want to get further training did I? I just said it may not be as popular.

see quoted

Originally Posted by amaprez

see quoted

It was implied. Again, why would it not be as popular for a pod?

Originally Posted by amaprez

I don't think podiatry fellowships will ever be as prevalent as they are in the allopathic world, where a general Internal Medicine resident can do a fellowship to become a GI doc, a cardiologist, an endocrinologist, etc. In contrast, a podiatrist who does a fellowship...is still a podiatrist, just more knowledgeable. It doesn't change your scope of practice/salary nearly the same way. That being said, I'm sure doing a biomechanics fellowship would make you a more desirable hire for any practice

ha ha....whew....that was a good one. Kids, that's the key to happiness - get one good laugh in a day.

I think perhaps sometimes certain practitioners place more emphasis on the training and knowledge that THEY have in order to downplay the importance of other areas of training. They figure that the knowledge that they use and how they practice is working and they are successful, and anyone doing it a different way is deficient. These hiring practitioners may then look to hire someone with similar skills because they desire an associate with a similar PHILOSOPHY.

We have a very busy pod who is a great and well respected surgeon who admits he knows very little biomechanics. Yet he has a booming practice and performs a lot of complex cases. He could then assume that biomechanics training isn't really necessary and downplay its importance (he doesn't do this publicly of course), but you see what I'm getting at. Others docs like Dennis Shavelson outwardly say we are forgetting our biomechanical roots; he couldn't imagine practicing without using his extensive biomechanical knowledge and skills. This doesn't mean that surgery training isn't important, but it is the niche that he most believes in, which is merely a difference in philosophy.

Fellowships are designed to give you additional training in an area that you are interested or feel your training has been deficient. Just realize that a deficiency or over emphasis in one area might limit your practice capabilities based on the philosophy of your future potential employers (as mentioned above) and the possible demographic of the area in which you hope to practice. For example, your focus in sports medicine or trauma might not be the most beneficial to your practice if your area is primarily geriatric and diabetic.

The answer seems to be seek a residency that will make you as well rounded as possible and then seek a fellowship if you do desire more training. Extra training is never a BAD thing, but saying surgery > biomechanics or making other similar comparisons is difficult to generalize.

Thanks for all the responses. In regards to someone looking to hire an associate, if everyone starts coming out with a PM&S 36, as good as their training will be, if someone with a fellowship applies for the same job it is an advantage. If the programs offering fellowships remain small then i feel it won't become a "necessity" but if many programs start popping up offering podiatric fellowships then it might become necessary for the sake of competitiveness to pursue a fellowship.