All this negativity. What to make of it?

[AAhopeful86]

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I wanted to be an AA but recently discovered the field of podiatry. I have the stats so I went to shadow a few podiatrists for a few weeks. Maybe I went to the wrong group but all they did were nail clippings. They were presenting cases before we went into the room and it was always something to the effect of this is a 67 year old woman with a case of painful nails. I e-mailed a podiatrist that I knew through my family and he did not say anything positive about podiatry at all. He said many of his friends could not pay off loans and that it is hard to get started in the field. He recommended DO.

Now for my research: I have read countless threads and have done online research about podiatry (the physician and surgeon of the lower extremity). I youtubed Charcot reconstructions and other procedures that seem so cool! How can I tie the research I have done to the three REAL podiatrists I have talked to? Can someone help me? I do not know how to square this. I am holding out hope that I will see something that excites me. I went into shadowing so excited, but now I am beyond disheartened. I want to be a foot and ankle SURGEON. If I have to clip toenails 10% of the time (not 90%), then fine, but I really want to be in the OR most of the time.

 

[ldsrmdude]

I wanted to be an AA but recently discovered the field of podiatry. I have the stats so I went to shadow a few podiatrists for a few weeks. Maybe I went to the wrong group but all they did were nail clippings. They were presenting cases before we went into the room and it was always something to the effect of this is a 67 year old woman with a case of painful nails. I e-mailed a podiatrist that I knew through my family and he did not say anything positive about podiatry at all. He said many of his friends could not pay off loans and that it is hard to get started in the field. He recommended DO.

Now for my research: I have read countless threads and have done online research about podiatry (the physician and surgeon of the lower extremity). I youtubed Charcot reconstructions and other procedures that seem so cool! How can I tie the research I have done to the three REAL podiatrists I have talked to? Can someone help me? I do not know how to square this. I am holding out hope that I will see something that excites me. I went into shadowing so excited, but now I am beyond disheartened. I want to be a foot and ankle SURGEON. If I have to clip toenails 10% of the time (not 90%), then fine, but I really want to be in the OR most of the time.

If literally all they did was routine care, then maybe you did shadow the "wrong" group. There are many conditions that a podiatrist sees on a regular, and a large percentage of them don't require surgery. Most podiatrists see at least some routine care. For many podiatrists, it makes up a large share of their business. Try to shadow a podiatrist that has a more balanced practice. There are many podiatrists who do a number of the reconstructive cases you are talking about. There aren't many podiatrists who are in the OR >50% of the time honestly. They're probably out there though, but they're the exception.

 

[PatchAdamsFan]

I really want to be in the OR most of the time.

Wrong profession. From my understanding, the majority of podiatrists average a day or two max per week in the OR.

 

[AAhopeful86]

If literally all they did was routine care, then maybe you did shadow the "wrong" group. There are many conditions that a podiatrist sees on a regular, and a large percentage of them don't require surgery. Most podiatrists see at least some routine care. For many podiatrists, it makes up a large share of their business. Try to shadow a podiatrist that has a more balanced practice. There are many podiatrists who do a number of the reconstructive cases you are talking about. There aren't many podiatrists who are in the OR >50% of the time honestly. They're probably out there though, but they're the exception.

For me gait analysis (cool), casting (cool), diabetic foot check up for neuropathy (talking about the condition and medications for it) (cool), pain injections (cool),

 

[AAhopeful86]

If literally all they did was routine care, then maybe you did shadow the "wrong" group. There are many conditions that a podiatrist sees on a regular, and a large percentage of them don't require surgery. Most podiatrists see at least some routine care. For many podiatrists, it makes up a large share of their business. Try to shadow a podiatrist that has a more balanced practice. There are many podiatrists who do a number of the reconstructive cases you are talking about. There aren't many podiatrists who are in the OR >50% of the time honestly. They're probably out there though, but they're the exception.

For me gait analysis (cool), casting (cool), diabetic foot check up for neuropathy (talking about the condition and medications for it) (cool), pain injections (cool), microbiology/dermatology (cool)....nail clippings (not cool) but that is all I saw so that is what I am basing it on. I don't mind routine care at all.

 

[ldsrmdude]

For me gait analysis (cool), casting (cool), diabetic foot check up for neuropathy (talking about the condition and medications for it) (cool), pain injections (cool), microbiology/dermatology (cool)....nail clippings (not cool) but that is all I saw so that is what I am basing it on. I don't mind routine care at all.

When I say routine care, I'm pretty much meaning nail clipping, callus shaving, etc. Try to get a variety of experiences with several different podiatrists. Try and find a group that does a relatively high amount of surgery so you get a better idea of the full spectrum of treatments that you could provide.

 

[jonod1107]

I wanted to be an AA but recently discovered the field of podiatry. I have the stats so I went to shadow a few podiatrists for a few weeks. Maybe I went to the wrong group but all they did were nail clippings. They were presenting cases before we went into the room and it was always something to the effect of this is a 67 year old woman with a case of painful nails. I e-mailed a podiatrist that I knew through my family and he did not say anything positive about podiatry at all. He said many of his friends could not pay off loans and that it is hard to get started in the field. He recommended DO.

Now for my research: I have read countless threads and have done online research about podiatry (the physician and surgeon of the lower extremity). I youtubed Charcot reconstructions and other procedures that seem so cool! How can I tie the research I have done to the three REAL podiatrists I have talked to? Can someone help me? I do not know how to square this. I am holding out hope that I will see something that excites me. I went into shadowing so excited, but now I am beyond disheartened. I want to be a foot and ankle SURGEON. If I have to clip toenails 10% of the time (not 90%), then fine, but I really want to be in the OR most of the time.

How old are these Pod that you shadowed? That makes a difference because a lot of the older pods didn't do a surgical residency. 20+ years ago, there were very few surgical residencies and only the top of the class get those. Most pods from that time period only did 1 year non-surgical residencies and some didn't even do a residency.

I have shadowed many pods before, (search for my post on shadowing) and there was only one pod that did all nails, because he didnt have the training for anything else! But even in his office, he had hired a new grad Pod that did all the surgical cases.

As for the family friend that is a Pod, what age is he? What he talked about is true, because in like the 1980's, there was a HUGE shortage of residencies and many pod student didn't get residencies. There is currently a shortage again this year but hopefully that will get better soon.