100k in debt after withdrawing from Caribbean med school, thinking about Podiatry.

[moe619]

I have 100k in federal loan debt from failing out of a Caribbean med school. At the time, I was not ready for such a daunting task, was going through depression and figuring out dosage for a new anti-depressant my doc put me on, and had some family issues which involved me having to come back to the States for a week right before an exam because my mom went to the hospital. Maybe all of these are excuses though, I don't know.

From my understanding, podiatry schools are relatively easy to get into but can be just as hard as MD/DO schools to graduate from. But now I know what to expect from my med school experience and I'll try my hardest to avoid making the same mistakes I made before.

I have always considered podiatry, and even shadowed two podiatrists for a little bit before starting med school.

I’m in my 30s now with no passion outside medicine. I wish I had something I can do that I can be happy with and pays decently to avoid the many years of stress and debt, but I just don't know what else I can do.

Would this career path be a terrible decision? If I complete podiatry school and residency, I'll be 40 years old with a ton of debt from podiatry school and my previous med school.

My entire life my family has been considered low-income, so I'm sure a podiatry salary would be an upgrade for me even though I know you guys deserve better after reading through posts regarding salary on Reddit and SDN.

I appreciate any guidance.

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[pod squad]

I would advise you avoid podiatry school like the plague. The ROI simply isn't there anymore. Especially if you already have 100k in debt. I would strongly consider PA school or RN -> NP/CRNA career track. Or even Anesthesiology Assistant. Arguably, all of those careers are better than Podiatry these days. Just my opinion. Good luck.

 

[MoostashPod]

I would not attempt podiatry at all. You're going to be miserable going through it and at the other side of it, that is, if you even make it through. It's not a cakewalk. Long years lost for a terrible ROI and huge saturation in the job market. Doing for the sake of being called a "doctor" is a huge mistake and don't do it as a backup either. There are way better options out there (RN, PA, NP, CRNA, etc.) than podiatry for better ROI. Don't waste your time even thinking about podiatry. Read up and really do the research on your own and decide. No one can make up the mind for you. But if you do pursue it, I wish you the best of luck. Come back in a few years. You've been warned.

 

[Shiyuan]

PA prob least expensive / least amount of years of education left at this point. I’d go that route…

 

[DYK343]

400k+ debt (im assuming DPM is still 300k which its probably not..) at 48yo without earning any retirement is a no go.
Dont do it. Financial suicide.
Especiallt when 50% grads make 100-200k for the first 3-5 years - probably without retirement.
Being a "doctor" at all costs is not worth it. Dont do it - at least DPM.

Were always the dropout backup. Im not offended because I get it. But deep down it hurts. Ugh.

 

[Feli]

Agree w above... you are already in a hole both financially and definitely in terms of time.
I'd try to get a job that is done fast. RN picking up some overtime and CCU shifts is probably the most viable if you like health care.
You could always go back and do NP later on if employer paid or you felt you wanted to.
You really need to get to working and knocking down debt, putting away for retirement investing.

Even if you were younger, pod school is a real crapshoot at best. You don't just have to graduate... you need to be near the top of the class to get a good residency (many are low quality). More people also now do a fellowship year after 3yr residency (due to lack of good jobs), which compounds their debt. Even if you secure good podiatry training, it's an uphill battle to get a high pay job at all - esp in an area you want.

...Doing RN or midlevel sidesteps a lot of that and gets you out working where you want quicker and with much less debt, especially since you are already older than most ppl finishing podiatry or even MD residency. GLuck

 

[msion]

If you are only considering careers in medicine then think RN, PA, or even technician jobs. Radiology Techs make good money in the hospital, if you are willing to work nights, weekends and cover trauma cases.

The academics of podiatry will not really be any different than that of your MD experience. There will also be the 3 board exams you need to take to graduate. Not everyone passes those. And after that you will face another monstrosity called ABFAS and hoping to achieve board certification with them. All this will add to the existing stress level and I can't imagine this being good for your mental health.

 

[Robin-jay]

I personally wouldn't go into podiatry school because tuition is just too much now.

I was fortunate and paid a fraction of most of my colleagues and the debt is still too much.

These days, you're looking at 350k+ of debt. A number in my mind isn't reasonable for the field. I think less than 300k is, and maybe you can get that number at some of the schools still.

But as far as a career goes, I think it's alright. I wish it was more like dental school where you get to do things on your own after school. Doing residency is a major pain.

Year 1: Do things no one else wants to do, like ER consults, on-call, inpatients, administrative busy work.

Year 2: Do less things no one else wants to do

Year 3: Actually do things you should have been doing in year 1 and 2, like actual clinic and surgery focus.

in my opinion, 3 years of residency makes no sense. 3 years of podiatry residency means that programs can afford to make you do useless things for several months or years because you really don't need to do that much for PRR overall. So you get stuck with a tremendous amount of work no one else wants to do.

I learn things every day, don't get me wrong. However, doing inpatient, on-call, administrative tasks, etc. are mostly a way to use you for cheap labor. I'm glad my program ends most of that by second year and we can focus on surgeries and clinic, but year 1 feels completely useless in real learning and geared more towards cheap labor.

Yes, working up ankle fractures every week in the ER is useful, but it's much better to have someone else work it up and you show up for surgery to learn how to do the surgery, instead of spending all your time doing the scut work, even if you scrub the case.

 

[Retrograde_Nail]

Just say no.

Be a nurse. Then do travel nursing making great money and having your housing/car covered. Get experience. Settle down in the geographic area of your choice (because you will have that flexibility due to demand for nurses). Then log 1-2 years of time in the ICU. Get into a CRNA program and get through it. Make 300K after you graduate and work 3-4 days a week for the rest of your life. The salaries for CRNAs will probably continue to rise over your career.

PA school is another viable option but I think travel nursing and eventually becoming NP or CRNA trumps PA due to flexibility and earning potential. Nursing profession has way more lobbying power than PA as well.

 

[Robin-jay]

Just say no.

Be a nurse. Then do travel nursing making great money and having your housing/car covered. Get experience. Settle down in the geographic area of your choice (because you will have that flexibility due to demand for nurses). Then log 1-2 years of time in the ICU. Get into a CRNA program and get through it. Make 300K after you graduate and work 3-4 days a week for the rest of your life. The salaries for CRNAs will probably continue to rise over your career.

PA school is another viable option but I think travel nursing and eventually becoming NP or CRNA trumps PA due to flexibility and earning potential. Nursing profession has way more lobbying power than PA as well.

The finances are good. But man, I don't think I would be able to withstand dealing with doctors my whole life as a nurse or PA.

If I wasn't a doctor in the field of medicine, I wouldn't even be in it.

 

[shadesofgrey]

Agree with nursing at this point in your life.

 

[pod squad]

Also, don't forget that you'll have to answer the question 'so why'd you become a foot doctor??' literally everyday for the rest of your life. 'Because I flunked out of Caribbean medical school' is not a great answer. So you end up making some crap up like everyone else about how you sprained your ankle once and now you have a passion for sports medicine. It can be soul sucking. This field is a farce. Don't do it.

 

[heybrother]

We don't really need to beat podiatry up here.

Presumably you went to the Caribbean because you weren't that academically successful to begin with. You didn't succeed before the Caribbean. You didn't suceed during the Caribbean. You've already been given a "second" chance to be a doctor because you probably didn't actually earn it the first time. You were given a completely clean slate when you started medical school. What has it gotten you? 2(?) years of wasted life and $100K in debt.

The admission process for regular medical school is designed to produce physicians but its also designed to protect people who aren't meant to waste their time pursuing something they aren't capable of doing.

The last few years have supposedly been a bonanza for people who want to work. I don't know your situation, but maybe if you found a higher paying job and enjoyed having a little money you might find out what most people already know - our jobs shouldn't define us. You might discover that you aren't meant to study for hours each day and take high stress exams. You might travel. Meet people. Spend time at bars or beaches or on mountains. You might learn that in a lot of cases doctors are simply trading time for money and that we often don't even do it that well.

 

[Hybrocure]

Podiatry is 7 years of your life for 350k in student loan debt and likely sub 200k income for most.

Do with that information what you will. We were told the average income for a podiatrist was 200k a decade ago and it’s somehow less now.

 

[HardRoadPaved]

OP enrolls in pod school in 3...2....

 

[Sole Badguy]

Do take into account what other people here are saying as they are true; loans suck, clear them out asap, nursing has a low barrier of entry and a great rate of return. But if you are STILL considering podiatry, maybe consider options that can grant you loan forgiveness if they're available - you'll be free from loans by the time you're ~50 which is as fast as you'd optimally get without sacrificing too much financial flexibility and mental stress from having to be near perfect (i.e. crushing school, crushing residency, crushing job search).

 

[icebreaker32]

Do take into account what other people here are saying as they are true; loans suck, clear them out asap, nursing has a low barrier of entry and a great rate of return. But if you are STILL considering podiatry, maybe consider options that can grant you loan forgiveness if they're available - you'll be free from loans by the time you're ~50 which is as fast as you'd optimally get without sacrificing too much financial flexibility and mental stress from having to be near perfect (i.e. crushing school, crushing residency, crushing job search).

They are not available to most.

One cannot just choose PSLF and take a job at a non profit hospital, VA or FQHC. Organizational jobs are competitive for podiatry and do not have ongoing shortages like in many healthcare professions.

 

[PODIATRYCRAZE]

I have 100k in federal loan debt from failing out of a Caribbean med school. At the time, I was not ready for such a daunting task, was going through depression and figuring out dosage for a new anti-depressant my doc put me on, and had some family issues which involved me having to come back to the States for a week right before an exam because my mom went to the hospital. Maybe all of these are excuses though, I don't know.

From my understanding, podiatry schools are relatively easy to get into but can be just as hard as MD/DO schools to graduate from. But now I know what to expect from my med school experience and I'll try my hardest to avoid making the same mistakes I made before.

I have always considered podiatry, and even shadowed two podiatrists for a little bit before starting med school.

I’m in my 30s now with no passion outside medicine. I wish I had something I can do that I can be happy with and pays decently to avoid the many years of stress and debt, but I just don't know what else I can do.

Would this career path be a terrible decision? If I complete podiatry school and residency, I'll be 40 years old with a ton of debt from podiatry school and my previous med school.

My entire life my family has been considered low-income, so I'm sure a podiatry salary would be an upgrade for me even though I know you guys deserve better after reading through posts regarding salary on Reddit and SDN.

I appreciate any guidance.

Opposite reply from me.

I would never recommend podiatry to anyone looking for a financially motivated career.

However your scenario sounds different. You said you are okay with mid to low income. And you are currently depressed because you only see yourself doing some form of medicine. If you are being honest, and think becoming a doctor will fix your depression then I would say go ahead.

School will still be tough. I know a bunch of people who transitioned from carribbean to podiatry. About half made it through, the other half dropped out again. Just make sure you are prepared.

When it is all said and done I know that if I had chosen an alternate career path, I would have done better financially. But in the back of my head I would always wonder “What if I became a doctor?” Now that I am a doctor I don’t have the same question the other way around because this was my actual passion. One of them at least.

 

[diabeticfootdr]

Do what you love and you’ll be happy.

Obviously, some on this board are motivated solely by income and not passion. The only thing they’re passionate about is bashing the profession. They’ll forever be miserable.

 

[air bud]

Opposite reply from me.

I would never recommend podiatry to anyone looking for a financially motivated career.

However your scenario sounds different. You said you are okay with mid to low income. And you are currently depressed because you only see yourself doing some form of medicine. If you are being honest, and think becoming a doctor will fix your depression then I would say go ahead.

School will still be tough. I know a bunch of people who transitioned from carribbean to podiatry. About half made it through, the other half dropped out again. Just make sure you are prepared.

When it is all said and done I know that if I had chosen an alternate career path, I would have done better financially. But in the back of my head I would always wonder “What if I became a doctor?” Now that I am a doctor I don’t have the same question the other way around because this was my actual passion. One of them at least.

Everyone is ok with mid to lower incomes until they spend 7 years of schooling, see their bills, see their repayment amount, see their friends living a different life...that dog don't hunt as the kids say. And if Podiatry wasn't podiatry we would have a lot more PSLF available....

 

[air bud]

Do what you love and you’ll be happy.

Obviously, some on this board are motivated solely by income and not passion. The only thing they’re passionate about is bashing the profession. They’ll forever be miserable.

Come on, take off your professional cheerleader hat for a moment. 40, no savings and lot of debt. Sure it's the internet and we don't know someone's feeling in their heart of hearts unless it's Dubya looking into Vlads eyes...but you are the only person saying the opposite of everything everyone on here is saying. Someone is wrong...even people on here saying no are not always podiatry doomsayers

 

[Scrantonicity]

Look into being a hardware rep! They get to be in all kinds of cool, interesting surgeries…and you’ll still be helping people (including the doctors) and learning about anatomy and how our bodies work. Many times, you’ll make more money on a surgery than a surgeon does, and you don’t have to deal with any of the complications!

 

[MoostashPod]

Do what you love and you’ll be happy.

Obviously, some on this board are motivated solely by income and not passion. The only thing they’re passionate about is bashing the profession. They’ll forever be miserable.

That's your assumption. Most of us are doing fine or really well. We are simply telling the truth and what is really wrong in podiatry. Something you don't really see or agree on, but that's fine.

 

[BubbaWub]

Do what you love and you’ll be happy.

Obviously, some on this board are motivated solely by income and not passion. The only thing they’re passionate about is bashing the profession. They’ll forever be miserable.

I agree with Dr. Rogers,

Unfortunately too many of you here are focused on monetary compensation. This is not what we got into podiatry for. Podiatry will give you immense emotional compensation. When I have finished with my patients, I like to engage in meaningful conversation. Sometimes, my patients have no one to help moisturize their feet, so I help with that as well.

Every single one of my patients leave my clinic with a smile on their face. The emotional ROI far outweighs any field available. If you are too money hungry, you will always be unhappy. I make less than most of you here, and I am not unhappy with podiatry. We need more podiatrists like myself and the prez.

I am proud to call myself a podiatrist. I do not make as much as some of the foot & ankle surgeons on here, but I do well. Podiatry should be for podiatrists.

Emotional ROI> Financial ROI in podiatry, and in life.

Thank you

 

[DYK343]

Do what you love and you’ll be happy.

Obviously, some on this board are motivated solely by income and not passion. The only thing they’re passionate about is bashing the profession. They’ll forever be miserable.

BUt podiatry is not what OP loves. OP wanted to be a MD and failed out.
Now inquiring about plan B
DPM is a medical degree but it is far different than a MD degree.

Also, its financial suicide. Not everything is about money. But to be that far in debt at that age is not wise.

You've said it yourself in the recent past on here that you were shocked at some of the job offers your grads were getting. Its a tough market. Some new grads get lucky in the job market. But too many take 3-5 years to make a living wage compared to loans. Its far too common. At OPs age 3-5 years is too long and that risk is too high.

 

[Feli]

It is generally a lot easier to do what you love and be happy if you first whistleblow your residency to get a large windfall of the monies.

One can also sue employers afterwards... makes it easier to not be motivated solely by income.

Lastly, one can then preach emotional ROI and passion of podiatry. Magnifico!

 

[PTPuser]

It is generally a lot easier to do what you love and be happy if you first whistleblow your residency to get a large windfall of the monies.

One can also sue employers afterwards... makes it easier to not be motivated solely by income.

Lastly, one can then preach emotional ROI and passion of podiatry. Magnifico!

Feli, I love you too much. Please don't get yourself blocked T_T

 

[PTPuser]

You're on your 4th pus case of the day since 7 am. There's an ankle waiting for you in the ER between your cases. You haven't eaten. You're exhausted, your attending is pissed and chewing you out for nonsense things cause it's not what they want. The floor is paging you for strikethrough and RN can't understand the meaning of re-enforcing the dressing until you're done with your cases to asses. IM just put in a consult for a scab. And your outside attending is booking a late case at 8 PM at a hospital 40 mins away and you're doing it cause you're on-call...

You're in the staff lounge grabbing tab water cause you're dehydrated. That CRNA staffing your case is on her 3rd break of the day and is complaining about how exhausted she is from renovating her town house that you most likely won't be able to afford.

That RN that paged you for strikethrough is making about more than you'll see in your career cause she's a traveler.

That IM resident who paged you for a scab is talking about their 7 days on and 7 days off hospitalist gig making 300K with bonus in a desirable city that is close to home.

All of this and your chief is taking 120K gig because she needs to start somewhere...

We do good work but we are not like them and our opportunities just aren't the same as them.

 

[icebreaker32]

Some new grads get lucky in the job market. But too many take 3-5 years to make a living wage compared to loans.

Add to above some are also still struggling 5 years plus out. Too many in all scenarios sacrifice on location.

 

[Weirdy]

You're on your 4th pus case of the day since 7 am. There's an ankle waiting for you in the ER between your cases. You haven't eaten. You're exhausted, your attending is pissed and chewing you out for nonsense things cause it's not what they want. The floor is paging you for strikethrough and RN can't understand the meaning of re-enforcing the dressing until you're done with your cases to asses. IM just put in a consult for a scab. And your outside attending is booking a late case at 8 PM at a hospital 40 mins away and you're doing it cause you're on-call...

You're in the staff lounge grabbing tab water cause you're dehydrated. That CRNA staffing your case is on her 3rd break of the day and is complaining about how exhausted she is from renovating her town house that you most likely won't be able to afford.

That RN that paged you for strikethrough is making about more than you'll see in your career cause she's a traveler.

That IM resident who paged you for a scab is talking about their 7 days on and 7 days off hospitalist gig making 300K with bonus in a desirable city that is close to home.

All of this and your chief is taking 120K gig because she needs to start somewhere...

We do good work but we are not like them and our opportunities just aren't the same as them.

None of this is relevant to OP because he does not know what he does not know.

If anything it makes his doctor dreams sound even more enticing because its new and sexy.

OP never got to this stage of training to understand how mentally and physically taxing it is, or how significant the ROI is.

 

[heybrother]

The best part is that your attending is billing that scab as a 11042, 99214

 

[PTPuser]

The best part is that your attending is billing that scab as a 11042, 99214

And then I get talked to about why I didn't order NIVS for a healed abrasion.

 

[heybrother]

And then I get talked to about why I didn't order NIVS for a healed abrasion.

Dear Lord. Did that scab go all the way down to bone? And if so 11044.

 

[MortonExtension]

You're on your 4th pus case of the day since 7 am. There's an ankle waiting for you in the ER between your cases. You haven't eaten. You're exhausted, your attending is pissed and chewing you out for nonsense things cause it's not what they want. The floor is paging you for strikethrough and RN can't understand the meaning of re-enforcing the dressing until you're done with your cases to asses. IM just put in a consult for a scab. And your outside attending is booking a late case at 8 PM at a hospital 40 mins away and you're doing it cause you're on-call...

You're in the staff lounge grabbing tab water cause you're dehydrated. That CRNA staffing your case is on her 3rd break of the day and is complaining about how exhausted she is from renovating her town house that you most likely won't be able to afford.

That RN that paged you for strikethrough is making about more than you'll see in your career cause she's a traveler.

That IM resident who paged you for a scab is talking about their 7 days on and 7 days off hospitalist gig making 300K with bonus in a desirable city that is close to home.

All of this and your chief is taking 120K gig because she needs to start somewhere...

We do good work but we are not like them and our opportunities just aren't the same as them.

This post is classic. I don’t miss residency at all…

 

[Weirdy]

OP, only you can make your bed and lay in it. I am not going to get into the "You should or shouldn't do this profession" argument because I'll be accused of picking sides. I am in a ton of debt, don't make a lot as a fresh grad. I hate the politics here and in our profession.

But I agree with some of what BubbaWub said despite his multiple troll comments- I like what we do, and most importantly getting to know some of the patients we treat. Even if its 1 of 100 that come in and are grateful- its still 1 person that has justified your decision to do what you do day in day out. I like sticking with just the foot and ankle. I have no desire to manage 5 different comorbidities and multiple medications. I know I don't have the bandwidth to do that either. Give me an ingrown toenail or easy foot surgery any day of the week.

With all other things constant, and ignoring the bajillion factors and realistic caveats that come with the following, here's an unsolicited pros and cons list for entering this profession for YOUR specific scenario with the info you've given us. Again, everything on the pros list will have caveats.

Pros:
- You're a doctor
- Clinic and surgery
- Middle to upper class income
- Make a difference in someone else's life
- Self fulfillment

Cons:
- Debt burden
- Attrition rate
- Job prospects
- ROI
- Repercussions if you fail out again

Personal factors:
- Academic history
- Questionable resolve
- Age
- Mental health


You have actually been on this forum before. This was you in 2019 in the WAMC thread:
"Do I have any possibility with a cGPA of around 2.6 and a sGPA of 2.45 ? I haven't done MCAT yet."

This is you in the DO forums currently:
"I don't know. I have always considered podiatry even back during undergrad. I think maybe I was scared I would end up in a field I wouldn't be passionate for but I wish I would have applied and went that route. But maybe it wouldn't have made a difference in the end because from my understanding pod school is still very tough."

There are other factors you have not considered:
-Do you have a family that relies on you? You have not experienced residency yet, but it is much harder with children versus being single.

-At your age, will you be able to keep up in school and residency? You did not pass your 1st term (semester? year?) even after repeating. How are you going to fix your study habits or discipline? Sure, you've taken steps to up your mental health game and maybe have family stuff taken care of. Things will pop up. You need an ironclad mentality, habits, and support system or you will fall back to the same pattern of behavior that landed you here. Think of the physical energy needed to grind through your school board exams, 16-20hr days for weeks in a row during your residency, more board exams, and the job search/job creation after residency. God bless you if you end up in a program that is toxic and unsupportive while you do all of that. You need to get stronger because you will be facing even harder situations than you've already experienced.

- What is your resolve right now? Based off nothing but your academic history and what you've told us, I cannot figure out why you keep pushing to be a doctor. Is it pressure from family? And if it isn't, is there a disconnect between what you think a doctor is in your head versus the reality of being a doctor? Because your history is sporadic in both academic aspects and career choice. There is no consistency.

 

[Robin-jay]

You're on your 4th pus case of the day since 7 am. There's an ankle waiting for you in the ER between your cases. You haven't eaten. You're exhausted, your attending is pissed and chewing you out for nonsense things cause it's not what they want. The floor is paging you for strikethrough and RN can't understand the meaning of re-enforcing the dressing until you're done with your cases to asses. IM just put in a consult for a scab. And your outside attending is booking a late case at 8 PM at a hospital 40 mins away and you're doing it cause you're on-call...

You're in the staff lounge grabbing tab water cause you're dehydrated. That CRNA staffing your case is on her 3rd break of the day and is complaining about how exhausted she is from renovating her town house that you most likely won't be able to afford.

That RN that paged you for strikethrough is making about more than you'll see in your career cause she's a traveler.

That IM resident who paged you for a scab is talking about their 7 days on and 7 days off hospitalist gig making 300K with bonus in a desirable city that is close to home.

All of this and your chief is taking 120K gig because she needs to start somewhere...

We do good work but we are not like them and our opportunities just aren't the same as them.

Holy cow, did you go to my residency? I felt like I was reading a text straight out of my phone when I'm venting.

 

[Hybrocure]

Holy cow, did you go to my residency? I felt like I was reading a text straight out of my phone when I'm venting.

This is Podiatry.

 

[PODIATRYCRAZE]

The best part is that your attending is billing that scab as a 11042, 99214

Not trying to be a douche. Just want to educate the readers.

This would not be a 99214, that is an office code. And that is for established patient. New patients are 99204.

Should be billed out as a 99223. This is a high level inpatient consult code. If the patient is healthy, you can downgrade to 99222. If you decide to see him tomorrow again for a progress note, switch to the established hospital visit code 99233.

~$50-$70? Maybe $100 with the debridement code but I’m pretty sure you cannot tack on both for initial visit.

 

[medicinewithoutbarriers]

I have 100k in federal loan debt from failing out of a Caribbean med school. At the time, I was not ready for such a daunting task, was going through depression and figuring out dosage for a new anti-depressant my doc put me on, and had some family issues which involved me having to come back to the States for a week right before an exam because my mom went to the hospital. Maybe all of these are excuses though, I don't know.

From my understanding, podiatry schools are relatively easy to get into but can be just as hard as MD/DO schools to graduate from. But now I know what to expect from my med school experience and I'll try my hardest to avoid making the same mistakes I made before.

I have always considered podiatry, and even shadowed two podiatrists for a little bit before starting med school.

I’m in my 30s now with no passion outside medicine. I wish I had something I can do that I can be happy with and pays decently to avoid the many years of stress and debt, but I just don't know what else I can do.

Would this career path be a terrible decision? If I complete podiatry school and residency, I'll be 40 years old with a ton of debt from podiatry school and my previous med school.

My entire life my family has been considered low-income, so I'm sure a podiatry salary would be an upgrade for me even though I know you guys deserve better after reading through posts regarding salary on Reddit and SDN.

I appreciate any guidance.

Find your way into medical sales now
Plan b would be community college nursing school

 

[HardRoadPaved]

Not trying to be a douche. Just want to educate the readers.

Bro... I thought we said no more of this.

This would not be a 99214, that is an office code. And that is for established patient. New patients are 99204.

Should be billed out as a 99223. This is a high level inpatient consult code. If the patient is healthy, you can downgrade to 99222. If you decide to see him tomorrow again for a progress note, switch to the established hospital visit code 99233.

~$50-$70? Maybe $100 with the debridement code but I’m pretty sure you cannot tack on both for initial visit.

I love your energy but you are not billing a high level inpatient code for a freaking eschar.

And if the e/m issue is separate and identifiable you can absolutely use -59 and get paid for the procedure.

 

[MortonExtension]

I have 100k in federal loan debt from failing out of a Caribbean med school. At the time, I was not ready for such a daunting task, was going through depression and figuring out dosage for a new anti-depressant my doc put me on, and had some family issues which involved me having to come back to the States for a week right before an exam because my mom went to the hospital. Maybe all of these are excuses though, I don't know.

From my understanding, podiatry schools are relatively easy to get into but can be just as hard as MD/DO schools to graduate from. But now I know what to expect from my med school experience and I'll try my hardest to avoid making the same mistakes I made before.

I have always considered podiatry, and even shadowed two podiatrists for a little bit before starting med school.

I’m in my 30s now with no passion outside medicine. I wish I had something I can do that I can be happy with and pays decently to avoid the many years of stress and debt, but I just don't know what else I can do.

Would this career path be a terrible decision? If I complete podiatry school and residency, I'll be 40 years old with a ton of debt from podiatry school and my previous med school.

My entire life my family has been considered low-income, so I'm sure a podiatry salary would be an upgrade for me even though I know you guys deserve better after reading through posts regarding salary on Reddit and SDN.

I appreciate any guidance.

 

[heybrother]

Not trying to be a douche. Just want to educate the readers.

This would not be a 99214, that is an office code. And that is for established patient. New patients are 99204.

Should be billed out as a 99223. This is a high level inpatient consult code. If the patient is healthy, you can downgrade to 99222. If you decide to see him tomorrow again for a progress note, switch to the established hospital visit code 99233.

~$50-$70? Maybe $100 with the debridement code but I’m pretty sure you cannot tack on both for initial visit.

My post was meant as a tongue in cheek commentary on the fact that a resident's "crap case" is just an attendings easily billed visit.

Good luck in your fantasy coding league.