Should I do a DPM

[Medicineman20]

I took the MCAT score a 23. I currently shadow a DPM, he strongely encourages me not to go into this field, since it will be nonexistent in the next couple of years.

What do you guys think ??

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[spyyder]

Apply to a DO school or the carribean. While podiatry is a respectable field with good lifestyle and pay don't sell yourself short. I my opinion podiatry just hasn't seemed to have found its niche, or its place in healthcare like pharmacy or optomotry.

 

[jonwill]

Apply to a DO school or the carribean. While podiatry is a respectable field with good lifestyle and pay don't sell yourself short. I my opinion podiatry just hasn't seemed to have found its niche, or its place in healthcare like pharmacy or optomotry.

Niche? I'm not sure what you are referring to but Podiatrists are the medical and surgical specialists of the foot and ankle. So I'm not sure how it will be nonexistent in the next couple of years (I'm betting the pod that said that is old, poorly trained by todays standards, and worst of all, stagnant). Podiatry is a huge field, but a well kept secret. If you enjoy a nice medical/surgical balance, then podiatric medicine is for you. Or you could apply to some Carribean MD program, graduate, get a "left over" MD residency, and be miserable. It's your call!

 

[AnalBeads]

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[krabmas]

I took the MCAT score a 23. I currently shadow a DPM, he strongely encourages me not to go into this field, since it will be nonexistent in the next couple of years.

What do you guys think ??

Well, let me see here....

If I thought podiatry was going to disappear from the face of the earth in a few years I would drop out now and start applying to MD, DO DDS, DMD or some other school so I could try to salvage some sort of career. Since I am not doing that and neither are any of my pod school buddies or pods that I know I have a feeling that that pod is disgruntled and if you really are interested in pod school then you should shadow a different pod.

Every doctor I talked to before going to pod school told me not to go into medicine. That included the eye doctor, the dentist, the pediatrician, the OBGYN (my aunt) and many more. But they started at a different time when there was more money and less insuarances to deal with. I chose not to listen because there was nothing else I wanted to do.

So if yu have a true passion to become a foot doctor you wouldn't let all those people stand in your way much less one person.

Good luck whatever you chose to do.

 

[desertpod]

I took the MCAT score a 23. I currently shadow a DPM, he strongely encourages me not to go into this field, since it will be nonexistent in the next couple of years.

What do you guys think ??

I agree with everything that has been said about podiatry, it is a rapidly growing field with unlimited potential. I especially agree with KRABMAS that you need to follow another podiatrist (surgically trained). You can also visit some of the online podiatry sites like Podiatry Today or Podiatry Online. I looked at DO schools and Podiatry schools and I don't regret my decision for a minute, the future of podiatry is very exciting. Good luck.

 

[spyyder]

...Or you could apply to some Carribean MD program, graduate, get a "left over" MD residency, and be miserable. It's your call!

"Left over" cases that ortho docs or any MD would never do. Insoles, warts, and clipping toe nails. Yeah preaty exciting stuff dude. Miserable? Your right it is his call.

 

[N4658H]

If there are any coming changes to it, they may be: the degree is changed from DPM to PMD, or, the field is incorporated into MD programs.

Does this have something to do with the APMA's relolution 2-05? This resolution introduces the concept of achieving an unlimited scope of practice by 2015. Some may not agree with it, but it affects us all.

 

[runnersfeet]

You are obviously ignorant and please tell me that you are not in the health field because you clearly do not know what you are talking about. Do some research and talk to some of the many incredibly successful DPMs...then you wont sound like such an idiot on this forum!

"Left over" cases that ortho docs or any MD would never do. Insoles, warts, and clipping toe nails. Yeah preaty exciting stuff dude. Miserable? Your right it is his call.

 

[jonwill]

"Left over" cases that ortho docs or any MD would never do. Insoles, warts, and clipping toe nails. Yeah preaty exciting stuff dude. Miserable? Your right it is his call.

You're right, they would never do a foot or ankle case because THEY CAN'T! They don't have the training. And because of that, they refer to us (90% of our patients are MD referrals). Every year, ortho groups hire pods as the foot and ankle specialist for their group. No, not exciting at all

 

[IlizaRob]

"Left over" cases that ortho docs or any MD would never do. Insoles, warts, and clipping toe nails. Yeah preaty exciting stuff dude. Miserable? Your right it is his call.

You obviously know nothing about podiatry. Thats like saying that Dermatologists are worthless because all they do is freeze warts. Orthos are not trained in the foot and ankle unless they do a fellowship after residency. Not many are doing it. Just look at how many spots go unfilled every year. Or maybe you should read what the President of Foot and Ankle International (An ortho organization) said about the subject. Do your research before you embarrass yourself on SDN.

To the OP. My advice would be to shadow more than one Pod. Dont base your decision on one person. Also, shadow a doctor who has the same surgical training as what you would get if you became a DPM today. And lastly, try to ignore advice from those who obviously dont know what they are talking about (our friend from ROSS).

My opinion: Podiatry has grown more in the past 5 years than it has the last 50. This is evident by standardized surgical residencies and a substantial growth of pods working in orthopedic practices. Will podiatry die in the future? Only the podiatry as we knew it 20 years ago.

 

[spyyder]

Lets not make this personal. You all sound ridiculous having to defend you own profession. To the OP, I agree, please spend some time with other podiatrists, to get a better idea if that is what you want to do. A big red flag should however be raised in your head when a WORKING podiatrist says the field is dying. Just look at posts in this thread. Do you want to be one of these guys having justify why you choose podiatry. I am not saying don't go podiatry, just be cautious. Its funny people go straight to the, "oh he goes to ROSS." Be nice guys, we are gonna be your BOSS one day.

 

[desertpod]

Lets not make this personal. You all sound ridiculous having to defend you own profession. To the OP, I agree, please spend some time with other podiatrists, to get a better idea if that is what you want to do. A big red flag should however be raised in your head when a WORKING podiatrist says the field is dying. Just look at posts in this thread. Do you want to be one of these guys having justify why you choose podiatry. I am not saying don't go podiatry, just be cautious. Its funny people go straight to the, "oh he goes to ROSS." Be nice guys, we are gonna be your BOSS one day.

I don't think any of the postings are about justifying why we went into podiatry, we are just defending our future profession. The world is full of people who run their mouth without ever doing any investigation. You took a shot at people on this website who were trying to help someone make a decision and those people in return defended themselves much the same way you defended your decision to go to nursing school at Ross. Some may say your posting was a justification as to why you went to school there.

 

[OOK]

I took the MCAT score a 23. I currently shadow a DPM, he strongely encourages me not to go into this field, since it will be nonexistent in the next couple of years.

What do you guys think ??

I would advise you to shadow some new podiatrists before dropping your dream of becoming a podiatrist. many of the old pods are probably losing of businesses and dislike the new focus on revitalizing the field. Podiatry of today and of yesterday are completely different. most podiatrists that would say bad things about the profession are from the old generation. however, some of them are very knowledgeable.
If you ever shadow that podiatrist again, please ask him where did he go for residency. most likely he didn't go to none.

 

[runnersfeet]

Again, you know nothing. There are plenty of working MD's that say how horrible their respective fields are and how horrible a time it is to practice medicine..any kind of medicine. So, there will always be people in their profession that are negative and feel as though it is not a wise decision to go their route. This does not mean that podiatry is dying- you are clearly clueless for even giving credit to one DPM who maybe said that! We are defending our profession to you for speaking ingorantly, but we dont need to defend it because it honestly is very clear to the majority of people in health care- its an absolute secure profession, well respected, and absolutely necessary for foot and ankle care.

Lets not make this personal. You all sound ridiculous having to defend you own profession. To the OP, I agree, please spend some time with other podiatrists, to get a better idea if that is what you want to do. A big red flag should however be raised in your head when a WORKING podiatrist says the field is dying. Just look at posts in this thread. Do you want to be one of these guys having justify why you choose podiatry. I am not saying don't go podiatry, just be cautious. Its funny people go straight to the, "oh he goes to ROSS." Be nice guys, we are gonna be your BOSS one day.

 

[IlizaRob]

To the OP, just thought I would post some quotes from an article that appeared in JAMA. It was listed as one of the top 25 articles. It talks about diebetic foot ulcers and the importance of podiatric medicine. I also included the link for you if you want to read the whole thing.

"Another randomized study of diabetic persons (N = 91) with a previous foot ulceration found a significantly reduced risk for ulceration recurrence (RR, 0.52; 95% CI, 0.29-0.93; P = .03) at 1 year for those who received routine podiatric care.84 Thus, screening foot examinations are unlikely to reduce the incidence of foot complications unless they eventuate in appropriate specialist referrals (eg, for intensive podiatric care and customized footwear; Table 4).
In another trial of diabetic persons with neuropathy, 235 were randomized to receive podiatric care at least twice a year and 263 to receive no podiatric treatment.95 During the study period ( 3 years), there was no difference in the incidence of foot ulcers, but the podiatric care group had fewer deep ulcers (6 vs 12), infected ulcers (1 vs 10; P<.01), and hospital admission days (24 vs 346; P<.01).
Possibly effective interventions include optimizing glycemic control, smoking cessation, intensive podiatric care, and debridement of calluses."

http://jama.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/full/293/2/217

Whether you are doing reconstructive surgery of the foot or ankle or managing diabetic wounds, there is a need for podiatric medicine and surgery. That fact that JAMA published an article saying that for the most part MDs arent equipped to handle diabetic wounds while podiatrist are, tells you that.

 

[manik]

Again, you know nothing. There are plenty of working MD's that say how horrible their respective fields are and how horrible a time it is to practice medicine..any kind of medicine. So, there will always be people in their profession that are negative and feel as though it is not a wise decision to go their route. This does not mean that podiatry is dying- you are clearly clueless for even giving credit to one DPM who maybe said that! We are defending our profession to you for speaking ingorantly, but we dont need to defend it because it honestly is very clear to the majority of people in health care- its an absolute secure profession, well respected, and absolutely necessary for foot and ankle care.

Why is everyone on this podiatry forum so damn defensive?? Instead of berating other people's opinions why don't you give an honest and balanced opinion stating both the positve and negative things about your profession. In all honesty, being so defensive only makes you look insecure about your career choice. If respect is what you demand, this is not the way it will be attained.

 

[psionic_blast]

Lets not make this personal. You all sound ridiculous having to defend you own profession. To the OP, I agree, please spend some time with other podiatrists, to get a better idea if that is what you want to do. A big red flag should however be raised in your head when a WORKING podiatrist says the field is dying. Just look at posts in this thread. Do you want to be one of these guys having justify why you choose podiatry. I am not saying don't go podiatry, just be cautious. Its funny people go straight to the, "oh he goes to ROSS." Be nice guys, we are gonna be your BOSS one day.

How do you think you'll be our boss, Are you that naive? There are podiatrist in management at hospitals, for all you know will be your boss, so play nice.

 

[IlizaRob]

Why is everyone on this podiatry forum so damn defensive?? Instead of berating other people's opinions why don't you give an honest and balanced opinion stating both the positve and negative things about your profession. In all honesty, being so defensive only makes you look insecure about your career choice. If respect is what you demand, this is not the way it will be attained.

Manik please...everywhere you go on SDN all you read are defensive comments from meaningless attacks by different professions. The DDS vs MD seems to be a popular one. Allopath students are often defensive when a dental student claims dental school is more difficult. This is what SDN is all about, egos. The fact that we dont see eachother face to face makes it easy to belittle and degrade. Anyway, this is nothing new. Defininately not a podiatry specific behavior, only an SDN one.

 

[runnersfeet]

You are the one that is "manik." We are just being honest and trying to inform ignorant people like you. So, once you catch a clue here, you wont feel like everyone is attacking you. How do you think people would respond on a Radiology forum if I said something as naive as "radiology is not a good field to go into, it may not even exist soon?" You cant think that you people are not going to jump on your comments when they are flat out erroneous.

Why is everyone on this podiatry forum so damn defensive?? Instead of berating other people's opinions why don't you give an honest and balanced opinion stating both the positve and negative things about your profession. In all honesty, being so defensive only makes you look insecure about your career choice. If respect is what you demand, this is not the way it will be attained.

 

[All4MyDaughter]

In another trial of diabetic persons with neuropathy, 235 were randomized to receive podiatric care at least twice a year and 263 to receive no podiatric treatment.95 During the study period ( 3 years), there was no difference in the incidence of foot ulcers, but the podiatric care group had fewer deep ulcers (6 vs 12), infected ulcers (1 vs 10; P<.01), and hospital admission days (24 vs 346; P<.01).

This is a very impressive statistic. The non-podiatric control had almost 15x the hospital admissions as the group managed by podiatrists!

I have been very impressed by the podiatric care my husband and I have received and I've recommended it to others.

I think it's great that you guys are proud of your profession!

 

[N4658H]

I don't think any of the postings are about justifying why we went into podiatry, we are just defending our future profession. The world is full of people who run their mouth without ever doing any investigation. You took a shot at people on this website who were trying to help someone make a decision and those people in return defended themselves much the same way you defended your decision to go to nursing school at Ross. Some may say your posting was a justification as to why you went to school there.

I agree with you. My gf is finishing her MHA/MBA and is going to be a hospital administrator soon. I tell you this to define my credibility. It is a fact that the COX healthcare system at the hospital she is training at just signed six podiatrists to join their orthopedic group. These doctors are labeled as physicians both by the hospital and insurance companies and compensated very well. As part of their contract with the hospital and insurance companies they are guaranteed referrals from other doctors in the network. Last week she brought home lecture notes from her healthcare administration class to show me just how in demand the profession is. I asked her to discuss podiatry with her professor, also an MD. In his opinion, there are not enough of them and they will continue to hire as needed. We do not need to try and justify the profession, it will thrive without our cheerleading, however it can’t hurt to support it.

 

[jonwill]

How do you think you'll be our boss, Are you that naive? There are podiatrist in management at hospitals, for all you know will be your boss, so play nice.

The Chief of Medical Staff at the hospital I was just at is a Podiatrist.

 

[JohnfootDr]

I work with 3 podiatrists..one is on part time due to some Cardiac Issues.

In the Last week, I saw about 60 patients (would have been more, but we are moving into a new office and had to close for a few days).

10% Routine Foot Care (nails and calluses).

25% Diabetic Wound Care.

20% Recent Trauma (Sprained Ankles, conservatively treated fractures).

20% Post Op patients (more on the surgeries later).

35% Misc. (Plantar Fasciitis, Arthritis, Ankle Synovitis).

Now, to be honest, the older Podiatrist (the guy with Cardiac Issues) sees more Clipping and Chipping than the other guys-if he had been in, the % of the first two would have changed a bit.

Surgeries in the last couple of weeks--again, a bit slow because of the office move and adding a new computer system.

2x Ankle Fractures. One of which was a Pilon fracture with External and Internal Fixation (3 hour surgery--not helped by the patient walking on the fracture for a month before she decided it was more than a sprain).

3x 5th Metatarsal Fractures. (had a run of them lately for some reason).

A few Bunions and Hammertoes and misc lumps and bumps (Neuroma, Junctional Nevuus removal) thrown in for good measure.

In the next week:
Tailor's Bunion, 2 x Joint Implants (Biopro Hemi), 2 x Bunions, Digital Amputation and a Triple Arthrodesis with External Fixator.

That is JUST 2 surgeons currently.

That is what an average week runs split between 2 (and 1/2 with the other guy out) Podiatrists.

This is a fairly rural community (70 miles from Pittsburgh) with good rapport with the other physicians (MD & DO) in the area. There is one other practicing DPM in the nearby area that is not part of the Residency program (he does some forefoot surgery).

And, we actually take a number of the Fractures away from the Orthopod(s). One is local and hates taking call--the other two are from 40 miles away and cover. The ER Attendings call us first for Foot and Ankle trauma, knowing that we will take it immediately.

John

 

[jonwill]

Sounds like a pretty sweet deal. Do you feel that you are fairly compensated?

 

[JohnfootDr]

Pretty Well as a Resident.

Pay is $33k in a rural area. I get full health insurance for myself and family (along with Dental and vision, and 1 x my salary as life insurance) at no cost. (As an example of Cost of Living here...my 1 Br. Cottage I am renting is $350/mo).

I get $1500 CME money (used for my DEA and a Dell PDA so far and likely to use for a Digital camera).

I am on call when I am in town (24/7), however, I get called about 2-3x a week MAX (some weeks can go by with no call).

The surgeries are good...I have many more rearfoot/ankle than I need as a PSR-12. That is why the Director wants to go to a PM & S 36.

My only major stress right now is finding a job (where the Wife is interested in living...I'm trying to persuade her to want to come here).

We are still searching for an incoming resident...at least a good (well qualified) student to come in to see the place...we didn't sign up for CASPR/CRIP...have to try to get into the Scramble.

John

 

[AnalBeads]

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[busupshot83]

Well, let me see here....


Every doctor I talked to before going to pod school told me not to go into medicine. That included the eye doctor, the dentist, the pediatrician, the OBGYN (my aunt) and many more. .

... including my doctor.

 

[PublicHealth]

... including my doctor.

Yeah, but what DID they recommend that you do?

 

[krabmas]

Yeah, but what DID they recommend that you do?

There was no real recommendation but at my next visit to the eye doctor I told him that I was in podiatry school and he said that was probably a better option than traditional med school. This is from an optomatrist not an MD.

When I told my aunt, the OBGYN, that I was going to podiatry school she told me I should try one more time to get into MD school or even DO school. She has since done some research and come around to respect podiatrists and our training. She has realized that we are the foot and ankle specialists and that very few orthopods want to touch the foot. Other people that I have told said that I will be rich because the area that I am from is one of the highest paid in the country.

 

[PublicHealth]

There was no real recommendation but at my next visit to the eye doctor I told him that I was in podiatry school and he said that was probably a better option than traditional med school. This is from an optomatrist not an MD.

When I told my aunt, the OBGYN, that I was going to podiatry school she told me I should try one more time to get into MD school or even DO school. She has since done some research and come around to respect podiatrists and our training. She has realized that we are the foot and ankle specialists and that very few orthopods want to touch the foot. Other people that I have told said that I will be rich because the area that I am from is one of the highest paid in the country.

I thought your aunt told you NOT to pursue medicine (see above). Which is it?

 

[krabmas]

I thought your aunt told you NOT to pursue medicine (see above). Which is it?

She did tell me not to persue medicine but when people realize that you are going to do something anyway they usually try to tell you to do what they think would be the best option. At the time she thought podiatry was a bad choice and MD school would be better. She has since changed her position and agrees that podiatry is a fine choice if you want to specialize in the foot.

 

[busupshot83]

Yeah, but what DID they recommend that you do?

My physician told me that, due to the current state of medicine (managed care), I should not attend medical school unless I have a calling to do so. I clearly do not have that calling, but there are obviously others that do. To each their own.