The more I think about it, the more I realize it's not the degree "DPM" its the title = "podiatry" or "podiatrist". For decades it's been associated as an outside profession.... When they changed the original degree of "Pod. C" (sp, or something like that) to "DPM" they should have changed the title, too.
When ppl refer to "podiatry" it's not the same profession as it is today. Even in the 90's, many grads didn't have a residency and only stuck to routine care with nails. Only recently did the explosion of residency and on-par training really take hold. There were some in the 70's and 80's who did a surgical residency, but they were so few that it really didn't impact the profession and move it to what it is today.
Instead of changing or adding a degree, why not just change the name of "podiatry" to something more in line with the profession today? No one calls an ortho guy an Orthopedist, they are called "orthopaedic surgeons" and their profession is call, "Orthopaedics". So how about changing our name to "Podiatrics" and "Podiatric surgeons" or even "Podiatricians".
I can't take any credit for this thinking, it was first proposed by Dr. Lowell Weil Sr. (of the "weil metatarsal osteotomy"), and if you extern with him at his institute in Chicago, he'll start calling you a "podiatrician", his word for a podiatric physician.
This is just a marketing idea, especially after talking to UPMC Orthopaedic surgeons about the word "Podiatry" and it's connotations.
