- Joined
- Oct 16, 2012
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This is a general question to the residents and podiatrists here!
1) You get better training for foot and ankle surgery!
There are more attendings of your same specialty to learn from: during grad school, way more at the post-graduate level. Much like going into OMFS, you are a specialist from the start.
2) Much less (maybe no) trauma call.
Orthos get better training than DPMs for humeral, femoral, radial, etc etc fractures. those aren't in DPM scope, and therefore almost invariably orthos will have (or get to, depending on how you look at it) to take (wamp wamp wamp) ER ortho trauma call. Unless you like planning 6 weddings (and divorces) in your life and scouring match.com at age 55 while a lot of DPMs are retired, or you like waking up to realize your kids are going off to college yet you've barely seen any of their plays or sports games... then going to school for silly old powe-diatry might be a better lifestyle choice?
3) You're done much earlier.
4yr grad school + 3yr residency versus 4yr grad school + 5yr residency + 1yr fellowship. Hi kids, who wants to start having children at age 30+ or get their career going or let something give? Whoopedydoo.
4) If you're smart in business terms (many are not), compensation is MUCH better per hour as a DPM than a F&A ortho since you have many nonsurgical cares a lot of orthopedists don't learn about, don't read about, or just don't care to utilize (biomechanics, orthotics, diabetic wound care, derm of the foot and ankle, etc etc).
....I guess I should duck and cover for all the orthos, F&A orthos, thousands of ortho gunners, ortho hopeful pre-meds or med students, etc who wish podiatry residency was available to them. It'll be an interesting day when MDs and DOs all (most already have) come to realize that DPMs don't just clip toenails anymore. A lot of hospitals already realized how profitable a DPM can be... ever noticed how when a major hospital or health system employs one or two... they suddenly want a bunch more? Hmmm.
scouring match.com at age 55
It'll be an interesting day when MDs and DOs all (most already have) come to realize that DPMs don't just clip toenails anymore