typical day of a podatrist?

[patrickd223]

I am becoming more interested in podiatry, but the info seems hard to dig up. What is the typical day of a podiatrist like? Stressful/unstressful, on call/not on call, normal hours/irregular hours, most common places they work at, types of surgeries performed and frequency(ankle reconstruction vs pulling a toe nail), general pop. they treat(geriatric mostly from what i gather), and intensity of training (will you be worknig 30 hr shifts in reidency?). Yeah that is alot of questions, thanks

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[Feli]

This a complex question because podiatric residency training has become increasingly lengthy and complex. I'd say the typical middle-aged DPM has a private practice where he sees patients 2 or 3 days per week, rounds at a hospital or nursing home 1 day per week, and does surgeries 1 or 2 days per week, but it varies quite a bit. There is no easy answer here because different podiatrists prefer different settings and will tailor their practice to those preferences. A lot of younger DPMs are taking jobs to work in a group practice or hospital full-time.

Here's a link where I typed a response to a similar question:
http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=388062&highlight=shadowing

You will learn the most by shadowing and asking questoins first hand.

 

[krabmas]

I am becoming more interested in podiatry, but the info seems hard to dig up. What is the typical day of a podiatrist like? Stressful/unstressful, on call/not on call, normal hours/irregular hours, most common places they work at, types of surgeries performed and frequency(ankle reconstruction vs pulling a toe nail), general pop. they treat(geriatric mostly from what i gather), and intensity of training (will you be worknig 30 hr shifts in reidency?). Yeah that is alot of questions, thanks

Residency really depends on the program. Some programs follow the 80 hour rule and some don't. The AMA and AMSA passed the 80 hour rule and pods operate under the CPME, APMA, APMSA so this rule has not been passed for us yet. Many pod programs practice the 80 hour rule though. This means 80 hours a week maximum. And a max of 24 hours straight through.

The newer grads are probably working greater than 40 hours a week because that is what you do when trying to proove yourself. They may do 1-2 days of surgery and the rest ofice hours.

The typical patient has heel pain, in grown nail, ankle instability, posterior tibial tendon dysfunction, flatfoot, or DM or vascular issues. There are also nail and callus patients, and athletes foot. You'll also get some other random stuff but this is the norm.

Some pods specialize and only do diabetic feet. they still get some of the other normal stuff.

I hope this helps some.

Feli is right. shadow, shadow, shadow.

I was reading a thread in the MD section that said all these people shadow older docs or ER docs and have this glorified image of medicine.

You must shadow a slue of different pods to see if you really like the profession.

 

[AlleghenyPOD]

Residency really depends on the program. Some programs follow the 80 hour rule and some don't. The AMA and AMSA passed the 80 hour rule and pods operate under the CPME, APMA, APMSA so this rule has not been passed for us yet. Many pod programs practice the 80 hour rule though. This means 80 hours a week maximum. And a max of 24 hours straight through.

The newer grads are probably working greater than 40 hours a week because that is what you do when trying to proove yourself. They may do 1-2 days of surgery and the rest ofice hours.

The typical patient has heel pain, in grown nail, ankle instability, posterior tibial tendon dysfunction, flatfoot, or DM or vascular issues. There are also nail and callus patients, and athletes foot. You'll also get some other random stuff but this is the norm.

Some pods specialize and only do diabetic feet. they still get some of the other normal stuff.

I hope this helps some.

Feli is right. shadow, shadow, shadow.

I was reading a thread in the MD section that said all these people shadow older docs or ER docs and have this glorified image of medicine.

You must shadow a slue of different pods to see if you really like the profession.

I love the hands on-type of podiatric physicians. I shadowed with a local podiatrist near my campus and he made sure I saw every inch of the foot when he was removing a wart, or made sure he explained what he was doing. Then again there are podiatrists who get angry when you ask them too much questions, lol.