After DPM residency, how easy is it to get a job?

[doclm]

Hello all,

I was wondering how easy is it to find a career as a DPM after residency? I have looked at some of the hospitals that offer the PM&S-24 and PM&S-36 residencies. They have usually 500 patient beds and around 6-12 DPM's on staff each. That brought me to the question, if most other hospitals have no DPM's or less, how many DPM openings are there out there per year? Considering that there are 250-300 new DPM's per year in the U.S., is there a lot of need for more DPM's in hospitals. (I know that all of you would agree, however I don't know where I can find data that would support this)

Do most Podiatrist's get many offers straight out of residency?

Also, I looked at MN for DPM residencies and saw that the two hospitals that offer the PM&S and each program had one spot only.

What is going to happen to the DPM's who are in the RPR/PSR12 residencies now? Whats the difference between the RPR, PSR-24 and PPMR, PSR-24?

Why would someone spend 3 year to do a RPR, PSR-24 that would take three years, when someone else could do a PM&S-36 in the same time?

Sorry about all the questions.

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[dpmgrad]

Hello all,

I was wondering how easy is it to find a career as a DPM after residency? I have looked at some of the hospitals that offer the PM&S-24 and PM&S-36 residencies. They have usually 500 patient beds and around 6-12 DPM's on staff each. That brought me to the question, if most other hospitals have no DPM's or less, how many DPM openings are there out there per year? Considering that there are 250-300 new DPM's per year in the U.S., is there a lot of need for more DPM's in hospitals. (I know that all of you would agree, however I don't know where I can find data that would support this)

Do most Podiatrist's get many offers straight out of residency?

Also, I looked at MN for DPM residencies and saw that the two hospitals that offer the PM&S and each program had one spot only.

What is going to happen to the DPM's who are in the RPR/PSR12 residencies now? Whats the difference between the RPR, PSR-24 and PPMR, PSR-24?

Why would someone spend 3 year to do a RPR, PSR-24 that would take three years, when someone else could do a PM&S-36 in the same time?

Sorry about all the questions.

Majority of the Podiatrists do NOT work for the hospital. Most of the newly trained Podiatrists would join a group practice (multispecialty, podiatry, orthopedics), work for the government (VA, armed forces, Indian Health Services, etc...), or start up their own practice. Most of the Podiatrists that are listed in the hospital are Podiatrists that are on staff at the hospital but do not necessary work for the hospital. However, there are a few Podiatrists that work for the Hospital or Hospital System, such as the Kaiser Permanente in California or Broadlawns in Iowa.

As for jobs, there are many Podiatric jobs out there. It is a matter of finding a job that fits the criterias that you are looking for in a job.

By the time you graduate from Podiatry school, all of the residency programs will either be PM&S-24 or PM&S-36. Majority of the RPR/PSR-12, POR/PSR-12, and PPMR/PSR-12 will convert over to the PM&S-24 with a few exceptions where a few program might convert over to PM&S-36 if they have the appropriate surgical volume. The remaining RPR/PSR-24, PSR-24, PSR-24+, PPMR/PSR-24, and POR/PSR-24 will convert over to PM&S-36 with a few exceptions where a few programs might downgrade to PM&S-24 if they don't have the surgical volume.

RPR (Rotating Podiatric Residency) - basically one year of various medical and sugical rotations with some Podiatry. Most of the RPR will lead to some advance training PPMR, PSR, or POR. 2007 will be the last year where RPR graduates may sit for the ABPOPPM Podiatric Medicine board exam

PPMR (Primary Podiatric Medical Residency) - basically one year medical and surgical rotations with Podiatry rotations. PPMR graduates are eligible to sit for the ABPOPPM Podiatric Medicine board exam. PPMR forms the basic first year rotations of the PM&S-24 and PM&S-36 programs. 2006-2007 will be the last year for any free standing PPMR residency programs since a residency graduate would need to complete a minimum of 2 years of residency to sit for the ABPOPPM Podiatric Medicine board exam after 2007.

POR (Podiatric Orthopedic Residency) - one year of residency with emphasis on Podiatric Biomechanics. POR graduates are eligbile to sit for the ABPOPPM Podiatric Orthopedic board exam. I am not sure if ABPOPPM is offering the Podiatric Orthopedic board exams any more. AGain, 2006-2007 will be the last year for any free standing POR residency programs since a residency graduate would need to complete a minimum of 2 years of residency to sit for the ABPOPPM board exam, if they still offer the Podiatric Orthopedic exam.

PSR-12/PSR-24/PSR-24+ (Podiatric Surgical Residency requiring 1 year, 2 years, or 3 years to complete) - PSR-12 graduates are eligible to sit for the ABPS Foot Surgery board exam. PSR-24 and PSR-24+ graduates are eligible to sit for the ABPS Foot Surgery board exam and ABPS Reconstructive Rearfoot board exam. I am sure that ABPS will soon require a minimum of two years of residency training for a residency graduate to take the ABPS board exam. Hence, any free standing PSR-12 residency programs will be eventually eliminated.

The training between RPR/PSR-24 is pretty much the same as PM&S-36. The only difference is that a RPR/PSR-24 graduate will be eligible to sit for the ABPS board exams. On the other hand, PM&S-36 graduates will be eligible to sit for both ABPOPPM and ABPS board exams. The reason why a PM&S-36 can sit for both board exams is that PM&S-36 is the combination of the PPMR and PSR-24 residency models. The reason why someone would be doing a RPR/PSR-24 program is that the residency program has not converted over to the new residency model.

As for the RPR/PSR-12 graduates, they are no different than a PM&S-24 graduate. The RPR/PSR-12 graduate will be able to sit for the ABPS Foot Surgery board exam.

 

[jonwill]

There will only be PM&S-24/36 after this next year with the following projections:

390 PM&S-36
140 PM&S-24

These are new models. When podiatric medicine was in its infancy, a one year residency was the norm if you did any residency at all. That is where the one year programs came from (PPMR, POR, PSR-12). Just ten years ago, the standard was 2 years of residency. As programs started to convert to 3 year residencies, they would "piggy-back" an RPR on a PSR-24 equaling a 3 year residency, or an RPR/PSR-12 equaling a 2 year program, etc. That has led to the standardization that is now taking place (PM&S). It should be complete as of 2007. But for historical purposes (off the top of my head):

PPMR - Primary Podiatric Practice Medical Residency
POR - Podiatric Orthopaedic Residency
RPR - Rotating Podiatric Residency
PSR - Podiatric Surgical Residency

The job market is like any other medical specialty, only on a smaller scale. There are a lot of opportunities besides hospitals including multispecialty groups, ortho groups, and private practice groups. If DPM's weren't landing jobs out of residency, you'd be hearing about it. As our training has increased, so has our demand.

 

[doclm]

Majority of the Podiatrists do NOT work for the hospital. Most of the newly trained Podiatrists would join a group practice (multispecialty, podiatry, orthopedics), work for the government (VA, armed forces, Indian Health Services, etc...), or start up their own practice. Most of the Podiatrists that are listed in the hospital are Podiatrists that are on staff at the hospital but do not necessary work for the hospital. However, there are a few Podiatrists that work for the Hospital or Hospital System, such as the Kaiser Permanente in California or Broadlawns in Iowa.

As for jobs, there are many Podiatric jobs out there. It is a matter of finding a job that fits the criterias that you are looking for in a job.

By the time you graduate from Podiatry school, all of the residency programs will either be PM&S-24 or PM&S-36. Majority of the RPR/PSR-12, POR/PSR-12, and PPMR/PSR-12 will convert over to the PM&S-24 with a few exceptions where a few program might convert over to PM&S-36 if they have the appropriate surgical volume. The remaining RPR/PSR-24, PSR-24, PSR-24+, PPMR/PSR-24, and POR/PSR-24 will convert over to PM&S-36 with a few exceptions where a few programs might downgrade to PM&S-24 if they don't have the surgical volume.

RPR (Rotating Podiatric Residency) - basically one year of various medical and sugical rotations with some Podiatry. Most of the RPR will lead to some advance training PPMR, PSR, or POR. 2007 will be the last year where RPR graduates may sit for the ABPOPPM Podiatric Medicine board exam

PPMR (Primary Podiatric Medical Residency) - basically one year medical and surgical rotations with Podiatry rotations. PPMR graduates are eligible to sit for the ABPOPPM Podiatric Medicine board exam. PPMR forms the basic first year rotations of the PM&S-24 and PM&S-36 programs. 2006-2007 will be the last year for any free standing PPMR residency programs since a residency graduate would need to complete a minimum of 2 years of residency to sit for the ABPOPPM Podiatric Medicine board exam after 2007.

POR (Podiatric Orthopedic Residency) - one year of residency with emphasis on Podiatric Biomechanics. POR graduates are eligbile to sit for the ABPOPPM Podiatric Orthopedic board exam. I am not sure if ABPOPPM is offering the Podiatric Orthopedic board exams any more. AGain, 2006-2007 will be the last year for any free standing POR residency programs since a residency graduate would need to complete a minimum of 2 years of residency to sit for the ABPOPPM board exam, if they still offer the Podiatric Orthopedic exam.

PSR-12/PSR-24/PSR-24+ (Podiatric Surgical Residency requiring 1 year, 2 years, or 3 years to complete) - PSR-12 graduates are eligible to sit for the ABPS Foot Surgery board exam. PSR-24 and PSR-24+ graduates are eligible to sit for the ABPS Foot Surgery board exam and ABPS Reconstructive Rearfoot board exam. I am sure that ABPS will soon require a minimum of two years of residency training for a residency graduate to take the ABPS board exam. Hence, any free standing PSR-12 residency programs will be eventually eliminated.

The training between RPR/PSR-24 is pretty much the same as PM&S-36. The only difference is that a RPR/PSR-24 graduate will be eligible to sit for the ABPS board exams. On the other hand, PM&S-36 graduates will be eligible to sit for both ABPOPPM and ABPS board exams. The reason why a PM&S-36 can sit for both board exams is that PM&S-36 is the combination of the PPMR and PSR-24 residency models. The reason why someone would be doing a RPR/PSR-24 program is that the residency program has not converted over to the new residency model.

As for the RPR/PSR-12 graduates, they are no different than a PM&S-24 graduate. The RPR/PSR-12 graduate will be able to sit for the ABPS Foot Surgery board exam.

Thank you for spending a lot of your time explaining all of this to me. The different residency abbreviations all make sense now. I am glad everything is moving towards a PM&S-24 and PM&S-36. That model seems to make more sense for both Podiatrists, other medical professionals, and patients.

Thanks for your time.

 

[doclm]

There will only be PM&S-24/36 after this next year with the following projections:

390 PM&S-36
140 PM&S-24

These are new models. When podiatric medicine was in its infancy, a one year residency was the norm if you did any residency at all. That is where the one year programs came from (PPMR, POR, PSR-12). Just ten years ago, the standard was 2 years of residency. As programs started to convert to 3 year residencies, they would "piggy-back" an RPR on a PSR-24 equaling a 3 year residency, or an RPR/PSR-12 equaling a 2 year program, etc. That has led to the standardization that is now taking place (PM&S). It should be complete as of 2007. But for historical purposes (off the top of my head):

PPMR - Primary Podiatric Practice Medical Residency
POR - Podiatric Orthopaedic Residency
RPR - Rotating Podiatric Residency
PSR - Podiatric Surgical Residency

The job market is like any other medical specialty, only on a smaller scale. There are a lot of opportunities besides hospitals including multispecialty groups, ortho groups, and private practice groups. If DPM's weren't landing jobs out of residency, you'd be hearing about it. As our training has increased, so has our demand.

Thanks for explaining this to me. I am glad to hear that there are lots of other opportunities besides hospitals for DPM's. Is there postings for wanted Podiatrists anywhere or do most get hired from word of mouth in residencies? I found a website the other night of podiatrists listing their education, residencies, and what kind of employer(s) their looking for.

So are ortho groups the major private employers for PODs, or other DPM's that already have a group. Can just DPM's, (no Orthopods involved) have a practice that would involve all of the major surgeries learned in the PM&S-36 residency? Do some DPM's have their own Anes Doc's or CRNA's for the more serious surgeries?

Thanks for your time.

 

[dpmgrad]

Thanks for explaining this to me. I am glad to hear that there are lots of other opportunities besides hospitals for DPM's. Is there postings for wanted Podiatrists anywhere or do most get hired from word of mouth in residencies? I found a website the other night of podiatrists listing their education, residencies, and what kind of employer(s) their looking for.

So are ortho groups the major private employers for PODs, or other DPM's that already have a group. Can just DPM's, (no Orthopods involved) have a practice that would involve all of the major surgeries learned in the PM&S-36 residency? Do some DPM's have their own Anes Doc's or CRNA's for the more serious surgeries?

Thanks for your time.

There are various resources that a DPM can utilize for job search. They include classified ads in various publications (including listings in the state's podiatry association newletters), word of mouth, listings of job opportunites from podiatry school for alumni. Of course, internet is a resource as well.

Currently, Orthopedic groups are NOT the major employers for Podiatrists. Majority of the DPMs work in other DPM groups, mutlispecialty groups, or solo practices. As I mentioned earlier, some do work for the hospital or government. However, there is a trend that some DPMs are now joining Orthopedic groups. I just joined a DPM group that renders all aspect of foot and ankle surgery (forefoot and reconstructive rearfoot). The DPM group that I am joining gets referrals from area PCP, Orthopedic Surgeons, hospital (including the ER) and other DPMs that don't do rearfoot surgery. In addition, my DPM group also has an excellent relationship with Orthopedic Surgery at the hospital that I will be on staff at.

Whether you join an Orthopedic group or a DPM group, you will be rendering routine foot care and conservative foot care as a DPM. Apparently, there are some people that think that they can avoid doing routine foot care or conservative foot care by joining an orthopedic group. There are very very very few DPMs that do not render routine foot care and those have been in practice for a long time, have a huge referral source, and a good working relationship with the local area DPMs. The advantage of joining an Orthopedic group is that you have an instant referral for foot and ankle surgical cases.

As for DPMs having their own Anesthesia docs and CRNAs, I don't know of any DPMs having their own. There are a few DPMs that are part owner or owners of surgery centers that hire Anesthesia docs and CRNAs. Some DPMs also have a certified surgical suite in their office where they would have an Anesthesia doc that comes in for certain cases from time to time.