Common Misconceptions

[Dr_Feelgood]

I was just thinking about a few things that make me laugh when I talk to applicants or interviewees. Misconceptions that I had and I'm sure I mentioned during my interview. So I thought what other things have you heard said my pre-pod students that are not accurate.

1) Podiatry is great for family life b/c you only work 8 am to 3 or 4 pm.

2) Podiatrist don't have to worry about being on call like an MD/DO.

I am eager to hear what other misconceptions are out there. Pre-pods feel free to ask if anything you have heard is true.

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[krabmas]

I was just thinking about a few things that make me laugh when I talk to applicants or interviewees. Misconceptions that I had and I'm sure I mentioned during my interview. So I thought what other things have you heard said my pre-pod students that are not accurate.

1) Podiatry is great for family life b/c you only work 8 am to 3 or 4 pm.

2) Podiatrist don't have to worry about being on call like an MD/DO.

I am eager to hear what other misconceptions are out there. Pre-pods feel free to ask if anything you have heard is true.

I heard both of those things which I think is true for the chiropodists and glorified chippers and clippers or orthotic salesmen in the profession. But for the newer pods with better training that is certainly not the case. The schools use that line to draw prospective students into the profession, which is the wrong line to use because it seems to draw the wrong type of person.

Even if later in your career you only work 3 days a week 5 hours a day, you got to that place by paying your dues at the start.

Also, many of the pods that only work a few days and make good money. Ask them what they do most of the day it will not be a large volume surgical practice. It is chipping and clipping, fungus, and orthotics. All of that is fine but I would like to be a surgeon.

The misconception that I heard was that podiatrists do not have to worry about life and death situations with their patients.

 

[Dr_Feelgood]

The misconception that I heard was that podiatrists do not have to worry about life and death situations with their patients.

That is a good one too.

 

[jonwill]

- Podiatric med students only learn about the foot.

- Podiatry school isn't that bad and it's not that tough on the family (I guess this one could be program dependent).

- Jonwill is not as cool as Ilizarob.

 

[krabmas]

- Podiatric med students only learn about the foot.

- Podiatry school isn't that bad and it's not that tough on the family (I guess this one could be program dependent).

- Jonwill is not as cool as Ilizarob.

You mean I should have learned more than just what is below the ankle

What am I going to do now? Boards are a few weeks away

 

[Podman]

i love this topic...here's a few:

1) You don't have to work hard in DPM school because everyone gets a residency.

2) School is easy, because you only learn feet.

3) podiatrists can't write prescriptions, so they don't learn pharmacology (scary thing is that this was said by a pharmD student )

4) podiatrists don't do surgery

 

[Feli]

I think the most obvious misconception is that every podiatrist does surgery and lots of it. I bet if you asked an incoming podiatry class during orientation, "how many of you want do do a lot of surgery someday," every single hand would raise up lightning fast. "Surgery" and "surgeon" are pretty magical words to pre-pod (and any pre-med) student that are assumed to bring all kinds of wealth and glory.

I guess it depends on your technical definition of podiatric surgery (minor office derm/nail procedures, local anesthesia, general), but the bigtime OR procedures that many pre-pods consider "surgery" just aren't for everyone. It becomes blatently obvious during the first suture workshop or or even the first month of gross anat lab that some people simply lack the fine motor skills. Others who might have all of the nescessary dexterity, confidence, and anatomy knowledge just won't want to take the beeper to respond at 3am to trauma/complications. A lot of people may also be intimidated by the possible liability that accompanies OR procedures.

The article near the end of this thread (posted by jonwill c/o kramba) sums it up:
http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=284170
Here's the article directly (c/o kramba):
http://download.journals.elsevierhe...91842206000449.pdf?clusterid=clinics&mis=.pdf

 

[Podman]

I think the most obvious misconception is that every podiatrist does surgery and lots of it. I bet if you asked an incoming podiatry class during orientation, "how many of you want do do a lot of surgery someday," every single hand would raise up lightning fast. "Surgery" and "surgeon" are pretty magical words to pre-pod (and any pre-med) student that are assumed to bring all kinds of wealth and glory.

I guess it depends on your technical definition of podiatric surgery (minor office derm/nail procedures, local anesthesia, general), but the bigtime OR procedures that many pre-pods consider "surgery" just aren't for everyone. It becomes blatently obvious during the first suture workshop or or even the first month of gross anat lab that some people simply lack the fine motor skills. Others who might have all of the nescessary dexterity, confidence, and anatomy knowledge just won't want to take the beeper to respond at 3am to trauma/complications. A lot of people may also be intimidated by the possible liability that accompanies OR procedures.

The article near the end of this thread (posted by jonwill c/o kramba) sums it up:
http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=284170
Here's the article directly (c/o kramba):
http://download.journals.elsevierhe...91842206000449.pdf?clusterid=clinics&mis=.pdf

Now that you mention that, I have a few good surgery related misconceptions.

1) I am from Georgia, we operate upto the Hip, so I want to be able to do Hip and knee replacements when I graduate.

2) Some states include the hands in their scope, so I want to be able to operate on the hands and wrists.

 

[Dr_Feelgood]

Now that you mention that, I have a few good surgery related misconceptions.

1) I am from Georgia, we operate upto the Hip, so I want to be able to do Hip and knee replacements when I graduate.

2) Some states include the hands in their scope, so I want to be able to operate on the hands and wrists.

Those are good. But I do love Georgia's scope.

 

[funfeet]

I was just thinking about a few things that make me laugh when I talk to applicants or interviewees. Misconceptions that I had and I'm sure I mentioned during my interview. So I thought what other things have you heard said my pre-pod students that are not accurate.

1) Podiatry is great for family life b/c you only work 8 am to 3 or 4 pm.

2) Podiatrist don't have to worry about being on call like an MD/DO.

I am eager to hear what other misconceptions are out there. Pre-pods feel free to ask if anything you have heard is true.

The podiatrist I shadowed only worked a few days a week (2-4 depending) and they were half days. She did do a few surgeries (1-2/mo) and was only called once during the night. It wasn't always like that for her, but her husband (another podiatrist) suddenly passed away, and she had 2 small children so she decided to cut back on work. So, even though its not the "norm", if somone chooses to do something (or is put in a position to have to) it can be done.

 

[krabmas]

I have also heard these:

1) "So you'll do pedicures when you graduate?"

2) "Do you do massage of the feet too?"

3) "I heard that the whole body was attached thru the feet. Can you tell me where to locate the intestines?" They were referring to reflexology.

 

[Dr_Feelgood]

The podiatrist I shadowed only worked a few days a week (2-4 depending) and they were half days. She did do a few surgeries (1-2/mo) and was only called once during the night. It wasn't always like that for her, but her husband (another podiatrist) suddenly passed away, and she had 2 small children so she decided to cut back on work. So, even though its not the "norm", if somone chooses to do something (or is put in a position to have to) it can be done.

That is called part-time work. I'm refering to full-time pods.

 

[funfeet]

I've been told that a lot too that life is a bit easier. But I still can't imagine it being as bad as a family doctor, lets say. My mom is a midnight nurse, and she calls doctors all the time, but said she's only had to call a podiatrist once (she left a message at his office). Can't you CHOOSE to be 'on-call' more/less? (I've heard that as well). I know that more you work, the more $, but can't you work at the office from 8-5pm if one chooses. And also, don't you schedule surgeries majority of the time (rather than emergency calls)? These are honest questions about 'misconceptions' people have mentioned. Please let us know what IS and what IS NOT true (for majority of pods in practice).

Thanks!

 

[PureBlue]

The misconception that I heard was that podiatrists do not have to worry about life and death situations with their patients.

Could you pod students/pods tell about life and death cases involving a pod? I am not trying to be sarcastic or doubting. As a pre-pod, I am really just curious to hear of these cases.

 

[txlioness]

I hope that I can find out a few things. I am planning to shadow 2 pods in private practice this week. Hopefully, they can shed some light on a few of this misconceptions.

I just hope they won't laugh in my face

 

[cool_vkb]

one misconception i hear from many people are:

Pods goes to same school as DCs. i dont know why they confuse with it.

 

[spo01]

a lot of these misconceptions are the ones that i only hear about. ex: lack of life or death situations, no call, and less stressful. ironic thing is, many podiatrists have told me different and would agree that these aren't exactly misconceptions. ofcourse, podiatry is no short cut by no means, but compared to MD/DO at the hospital on call, the stress and load is not nearly as vigorous. i've shadowed 3 pods already and wrote many, one of them said exactly the same thing mentioned above 'i went into pod for many reasons, one being i didnt want to deal with life or death on a daily basis'. anohter said because the hours are fantastic. ofcourse there is always exceptions where life or death is involved and what not, but it is not like you are examining an x-ray of the lungs or heart where a single decision you make can make or break a patient. when i shadowed the podiatrist, it was laid back, challenging yes, stressful to an extent, but he got done at 5pm as scheduled and left his work at the work place. i've compared this field to internal medicine and worked with a few doctors for many years at their office there, its a totally different ball game.

i agree about the schools, DMU, Scholl, etc you will be pushed as much as a DO/MD. thing is, its the different atsmosphere. you're with a lot of students whose avg gpa is a is b/w a 3.0-3.3. this makes a big difference if say, the majority of the class had 3.8 gpas and 30+ mcats. if you go to ohio or cali, the curriculum isnt as demanding either. will this make you a bad pod? not necessarily, it's up to the person. but my podiatrist at home graduated #1 at ohio pod school (about 15 years ago though) working part time/full time as a physical therapist and ended up with barely any debt.

please correct me if i'm wrong, but some of these misconceptions (mainly the ones mentioned in the very beginning) are actually valid according to several pods and pod students i've talked with. i'm not trying to start anything, just looking to get informed. thanks.

 

[cool_vkb]

a but my podiatrist at home graduated #1 at ohio pod school (about 15 years ago though) working part time/full time as a physical therapist and ended up with barely any debt.

i didnt understood this part. do you mean dpm is working as physical therapist?

 

[Podman]

a lot of these misconceptions are the ones that i only hear about. ex: lack of life or death situations, no call, and less stressful. ironic thing is, many podiatrists have told me different and would agree that these aren't exactly misconceptions. ofcourse, podiatry is no short cut by no means, but compared to MD/DO at the hospital on call, the stress and load is not nearly as vigorous. i've shadowed 3 pods already and wrote many, one of them said exactly the same thing mentioned above 'i went into pod for many reasons, one being i didnt want to deal with life or death on a daily basis'. anohter said because the hours are fantastic. ofcourse there is always exceptions where life or death is involved and what not, but it is not like you are examining an x-ray of the lungs or heart where a single decision you make can make or break a patient. when i shadowed the podiatrist, it was laid back, challenging yes, stressful to an extent, but he got done at 5pm as scheduled and left his work at the work place. i've compared this field to internal medicine and worked with a few doctors for many years at their office there, its a totally different ball game.

i agree about the schools, DMU, Scholl, etc you will be pushed as much as a DO/MD. thing is, its the different atsmosphere. you're with a lot of students whose avg gpa is a is b/w a 3.0-3.3. this makes a big difference if say, the majority of the class had 3.8 gpas and 30+ mcats. if you go to ohio or cali, the curriculum isnt as demanding either. will this make you a bad pod? not necessarily, it's up to the person. but my podiatrist at home graduated #1 at ohio pod school (about 15 years ago though) working part time/full time as a physical therapist and ended up with barely any debt.

please correct me if i'm wrong, but some of these misconceptions (mainly the ones mentioned in the very beginning) are actually valid according to several pods and pod students i've talked with. i'm not trying to start anything, just looking to get informed. thanks.

Ohio's curriculum not demanding? Those are pretty bold statements coming from someone who hasn't attended a single class in my school. You're grossly misinformed about that point - so I am correcting you. If some of your friends feel that it isn't then I highly doubt they finished any where near the top 10. Furthermore, I won't comment on the curriculum 15 years ago because ALOT has changed in that timespan - from standards to residencies.

Now that being said, yes the life and death situation does exist - for instance, when you have a patient with a diabetic foot infection - some of the microrganisms involved can kill the patient depending on the extent of the infection. Gas Gangrenes in the lower extremity are true medical emergencies. Pulmonary embolisms, which do kill patients start in the lower extremity 95% of the time. Amputations, which we do perform in many states (if not most), have an associated risk - as the survival rate for amputees is a factor on its own. Aside from that, as a foot and ankle surgeon, you always have to accept risks associated with your patient in any given procedure. Eventhough many of our bread and butter procedures are elective, we have to know and acknowledge to minimize any risk to the patient's health - in cases of trauma, the risk is enhanced, especially if the patient has a systemic disease that can cause potential complications.

Those were some of the examples tha you can deal with as a DPM in practice. During your training, you're also exposed to a great deal of podiatric and non-podiatric cases during your PGY-1 as you intern with many different medical specialties and are expected to take their cases accordingly.

Now, to conclude all this - not all DPM's are trained with 3 years of surgical residencies - so therefore, not all of them get to handle some of the cases/situations that I mentioned above. However, this does not negate the fact that many DPM's get the previlidge of handling such cases, especially the newly trained ones. I hope this answers your question.

 

[Dr_Feelgood]

A few more life and death situations:

1) Ewing's sarcoma in peds patients or other CAs

2) Septic shock from infections

3) Necrotixing fasciitis

Other emergent cases that can lead to bad things

1) Acute compartment syndrome (which can lead to kidney damage due to rhabdomyolysis)

2) Open fractures

 

[Dr_Feelgood]

Ohio's curriculum not demanding? Those are pretty bold statements coming from someone who hasn't attended a single class in my school. You're grossly misinformed about that point - so I am correcting you. If some of your friends feel that it isn't then I highly doubt they finished any where near the top 10. Furthermore, I won't comment on the curriculum 15 years ago because ALOT has changed in that timespan - from standards to residencies.

Not to insult you, (this is only a comment on OCPM) but if you have numerous students graduating with 4.0 GPAs there is something wrong with the difficulty of the curriculum. I know that you said that the previous graduating class was really smart, but common this is med school a 4.0 should be a perfect storm not something that happens multiple times.

I have not taken a single class at OCPM so my comments are only based on previous threads and information I have been given by you and a few other OCPM students.

 

[Podman]

Not to insult you, (this is only a comment on OCPM) but if you have numerous students graduating with 4.0 GPAs there is something wrong with the difficulty of the curriculum. I know that you said that the previous graduating class was really smart, but common this is med school a 4.0 should be a perfect storm not something that happens multiple times.

I have not taken a single class at OCPM so my comments are only based on previous threads and information I have been given by you and a few other OCPM students.

What school (other than DMU) does not have 4.0 students? We don't have numerous - its a couple - 2 or 3 at the most. The curriculum is comparable as the one you guys have at DMU - i'm not saying we're a better school overall. In fact, I always stressed that we're not top 3. However, the curriculum is the same and is very demanding. Don't let the average GPA fool you because we (sadly) have more than 20 kids dropping out after the first year. The problem with OCPM is that they admit too many people - many of whom are simply underqualified.

 

[krabmas]

Could you pod students/pods tell about life and death cases involving a pod? I am not trying to be sarcastic or doubting. As a pre-pod, I am really just curious to hear of these cases.

Post-op patient gets pulmonary embolism and drops dead.

Patient with gas in the tissues from an ulcer refuses amputation and dies.

It is not your typical patient with a bunion but it can happen.

 

[krabmas]

What school (other than DMU) does not have 4.0 students? We don't have numerous - its a couple - 2 or 3 at the most. The curriculum is comparable as the one you guys have at DMU - i'm not saying we're a better school overall. In fact, I always stressed that we're not top 3. However, the curriculum is the same and is very demanding. Don't let the average GPA fool you because we (sadly) have more than 20 kids dropping out after the first year. The problem with OCPM is that they admit too many people - many of whom are simply underqualified.

NYCPM does not have people graduate with 4.0 every year. It is a rare occurance as it should be.

 

[krabmas]

a lot of these misconceptions are the ones that i only hear about. ex: lack of life or death situations, no call, and less stressful. ironic thing is, many podiatrists have told me different and would agree that these aren't exactly misconceptions. ofcourse, podiatry is no short cut by no means, but compared to MD/DO at the hospital on call, the stress and load is not nearly as vigorous. i've shadowed 3 pods already and wrote many, one of them said exactly the same thing mentioned above 'i went into pod for many reasons, one being i didnt want to deal with life or death on a daily basis'. anohter said because the hours are fantastic. ofcourse there is always exceptions where life or death is involved and what not, but it is not like you are examining an x-ray of the lungs or heart where a single decision you make can make or break a patient. when i shadowed the podiatrist, it was laid back, challenging yes, stressful to an extent, but he got done at 5pm as scheduled and left his work at the work place. i've compared this field to internal medicine and worked with a few doctors for many years at their office there, its a totally different ball game.

i agree about the schools, DMU, Scholl, etc you will be pushed as much as a DO/MD. thing is, its the different atsmosphere. you're with a lot of students whose avg gpa is a is b/w a 3.0-3.3. this makes a big difference if say, the majority of the class had 3.8 gpas and 30+ mcats. if you go to ohio or cali, the curriculum isnt as demanding either. will this make you a bad pod? not necessarily, it's up to the person. but my podiatrist at home graduated #1 at ohio pod school (about 15 years ago though) working part time/full time as a physical therapist and ended up with barely any debt.

please correct me if i'm wrong, but some of these misconceptions (mainly the ones mentioned in the very beginning) are actually valid according to several pods and pod students i've talked with. i'm not trying to start anything, just looking to get informed. thanks.

The podiatric profession has changed lots in just the last ten years so a graduate from 15 years ago it not usually going to be your best source of info for what the profession has become.

There are always exceptions to the rule. But as a student I want to know what I am potentially going to deal with as well and not just all the glorified misconceptions.

The pods that are always preaching less work hours to draw people into the profession can actually turn people off. Hardworking people are not always looking for the short cut and they might not want to be in a profession where they think all of their colleagues (sp?) are not so hard working. This can leave the impression of a lazy profession.

 

[PureBlue]

Post-op patient gets pulmonary embolism and drops dead.

Patient with gas in the tissues from an ulcer refuses amputation and dies.

It is not your typical patient with a bunion but it can happen.

How are pulmonary embolisms discovered and treated by pods? One of my friends recently had a pulmonary embolism go to his lungs. Luckily it was treated in time. He said that it originated in his leg.

 

[Dr_Feelgood]

What school (other than DMU) does not have 4.0 students? We don't have numerous - its a couple - 2 or 3 at the most. The curriculum is comparable as the one you guys have at DMU - i'm not saying we're a better school overall. In fact, I always stressed that we're not top 3. However, the curriculum is the same and is very demanding. Don't let the average GPA fool you because we (sadly) have more than 20 kids dropping out after the first year. The problem with OCPM is that they admit too many people - many of whom are simply underqualified.

Again, I'm not trying to insult you, so please don't take it that way. I'm not trying to say that DMU is the best thing since sliced bread. I just don't think that schools should be setting the bar to the lowest student b/c it creates these high grades and discounts the hard work that the good students do.

 

[Podman]

Again, I'm not trying to insult you, so please don't take it that way. I'm not trying to say that DMU is the best thing since sliced bread. I just don't think that schools should be setting the bar to the lowest student b/c it creates these high grades and discounts the hard work that the good students do.

No offence taken feelgood. I just wanted to clarify miconceptions regarding OCPM students. But we'll leave it at that

 

[krabmas]

How are pulmonary embolisms discovered and treated by pods? One of my friends recently had a pulmonary embolism go to his lungs. Luckily it was treated in time. He said that it originated in his leg.

A pulmonary embolism (PE) by definition is in the lung. A deep venous thrombosis (DVT) can go to the lungs and become a pulmonary embolism.

The patient will be diaphoretic (sweating), tachycardic (fast heart beat) and short of breath if they have a PE - at least these are the most common signs and they can have chest pain as well.

If they have a leg DVT - they may have pain on squeezing the calf or cord like feeling when the clinician squeezing the leg. They may have unilateral swelling of the leg with the DVT and rubor (redness).

In-patients at some hospitals are commonly/routinely prophylaxed w/ lovinox for DVTs and PEs. This depends on hospital protocol and the patient's risk factors to develope clots.

 

[Feli]

...I'm not trying to say that DMU is the best thing since sliced bread...

Riiiight. Suuure you're not

 

[Dr_Feelgood]

Riiiight. Suuure you're not

I was saying it is the best thing since dirt.

As for treatment of a PE. Any doctor would call a bus and send the patient directly to the ED. No office has all of the proper equipment to treat and/or diagnose a PE.

 

[spo01]

sorry this is so long!
cool-vkb- he was a physical therapist for 7 years before pod school, then he continued to work as a PT while in pod school.

podman- sorry i didn't mean to put down ohio's pod school, actually i will be either going there or scholl after next year. but, from what i've heard, and read, for example lets say DMU (not to say DMU is the best), but i've been told by numerous students that besides the fact you take your classes with DO students, they are more oriented on the 'whole body' as opposed to ohio which emphasizes 'whole body' as well, but focuses more on the foot/ankle. i read some classes were not to be taken at some schools that are offered at others, so all curriculums are not equal, sure, they all ARE challenging, but i think some maybe SLIGHTLY less challenging than the other especially when certain schools demand certain things from their students. for example, i have taken classes at a pretty good university in ohio, and i've taken very similar classes at a prestigious top ranked school outside ohio, i can tell you the latter is more difficult, and it's not because the curriculum is different per se. as an example, getting a 4.0 at DMU or Scholl I feel is probably more difficult than getting a 4.0 at cali or florida.
i've been told this by many students from not only on this forum, but from pods themselves from another forum. nonetheless the schools are still challenging and i am not meaning to put down any school. your education at a school is what you make it. as i said ohio is tied for my #1 choice with scholl. pod school is a very demanding and difficult, and personally i feel the #1 misconception is that it is easy or an alternate/easier route to being a doctor.



i still do not buy the life or death situations. they are true no doubt, but i'm talking in comparison and to what extent. for example, many would prefer dermatology over anesthiology because of the malpractice and life/death risk. and the fact with dermatology many physicians do there job and go home. thats it. done. sure there are life/death situations in each field, but i still stand by my words when i say there is not nearly as much of it in podiatry. to play word games, every profession has a potential life or death situation. just 3 months ago my old dentist killed a baby via too much anesthesia. yet, many will enter the field b/c it doesn't deal with life or death consistently or because it doesn't deal with insurance companies as much, and i would agree.

my reasons for possibly entering podiatry are probably related to these 'misconceptions' but i feel i am not misinformed. i've done my research, talked to numerous of you privately, and shadowed different pods. to explain (and tie in some misconceptions) here are my reasons:

1) specializing: i like to specialize early on and you do in pod school. the foot and ankle are of interest and the fact it is 'feet and ankle' (a part not too many are fond of) i like it even more, the grosser and dirtier the better. the fact that you focus on speciality so much does make it a bit easier to learn/understand then say if you had to know everything about the entire body. don't get me wrong, pods do know their stuff when it comes to the whole body as the foot isn't indepedent from it, but they don't know as much as other fields who have had rotations in all of the general areas of medicine.

2) the way you can practice: the fact you can open your own practice AND do surgeries at the hospital is an awesome combination. i would also like to do a fellowship in sports medicine, this is like the icing on the cake for me.

3) as for being on call: you maybe on call or called up late night here and there, but, there is no ON CALL that is demanding like an MD/DO school. at my house, the phone rings consistently for my father (an internist) and it rings consistently throughout the night, being called to go to the hospital at 3 in the morning on many occasions. if i leave the phone off the hook, the police come to the house 30 minutes later telling us to put it on. i simply cannot imagine podiatric physicans facing this type of lifestyle, which is ok, because it's not the lifestyle i want. there are many professions similar to this: dermatology, radiology, dentistry, etc. is this bad? no. but it means we're not into the 'adrenaline rush' of work and would like to leave work at the office, and not necessarily take it home with us.

4) it's different: this may sound strange, but for me personally, MD is too cliche. i used to be set on MD and i feel i have the stats for it (not to brag), but for the reasons above podiatry interests me more and is a unique field. i'm sick of being around gunners who would kill go get into an MD school, and the psycho type A personalities that supersaturates those schools draws me away. i find people in DO and Pod schools to be much more laid back and 'geniune'. and ofcourse, there will be gunners and a**holes in those schools, but you get my point.

5) lifestyle: ofcourse, i would be a hypocrit if i said the high salary didn't attract me. it does. and the lack of life and death and on call attracts me as well.


*once again, correct me if i'm wrong. i would like to know my thinking is clear before i apply. but i feel i've brought up many strong points.*

 

[Dr_Feelgood]

3) as for being on call: you maybe on call or called up late night here and there, but, there is no ON CALL that is demanding like an MD/DO school. at my house, the phone rings consistently for my father (an internist) and it rings consistently throughout the night, being called to go to the hospital at 3 in the morning on many occasions. if i leave the phone off the hook, the police come to the house 30 minutes later telling us to put it on. i simply cannot imagine podiatric physicans facing this type of lifestyle, which is ok, because it's not the lifestyle i want. there are many professions similar to this: dermatology, radiology, dentistry, etc. is this bad? no. but it means we're not into the 'adrenaline rush' of work and would like to leave work at the office, and not necessarily take it home with us.

This goes back to how you want to structure your practice. If you do surgery, you are on call. It maybe as simple as getting calls in the middle of the night b/c the patient can't handle the pain or can't sleep. It could be more emergent surgery or in-patients that will require to get up and go into the hospital. That second example is more common if you want to be a high volume surgeon b/c if the ED or the ortho group calls you and you don't go in. That is probably the last time they call.

 

[krabmas]

i still do not buy the life or death situations. they are true no doubt, but i'm talking in comparison and to what extent. for example, many would prefer dermatology over anesthiology because of the malpractice and life/death risk. and the fact with dermatology many physicians do there job and go home. thats it. done. sure there are life/death situations in each field, but i still stand by my words when i say there is not nearly as much of it in podiatry. to play word games, every profession has a potential life or death situation. just 3 months ago my old dentist killed a baby via too much anesthesia. yet, many will enter the field b/c it doesn't deal with life or death consistently or because it doesn't deal with insurance companies as much, and i would agree.

my reasons for possibly entering podiatry are probably related to these 'misconceptions' but i feel i am not misinformed. i've done my research, talked to numerous of you privately, and shadowed different pods. to explain (and tie in some misconceptions) here are my reasons:

1) specializing: i like to specialize early on and you do in pod school. the foot and ankle are of interest and the fact it is 'feet and ankle' (a part not too many are fond of) i like it even more, the grosser and dirtier the better. the fact that you focus on speciality so much does make it a bit easier to learn/understand then say if you had to know everything about the entire body. don't get me wrong, pods do know their stuff when it comes to the whole body as the foot isn't indepedent from it, but they don't know as much as other fields who have had rotations in all of the general areas of medicine.

2) the way you can practice: the fact you can open your own practice AND do surgeries at the hospital is an awesome combination. i would also like to do a fellowship in sports medicine, this is like the icing on the cake for me.

3) as for being on call: you maybe on call or called up late night here and there, but, there is no ON CALL that is demanding like an MD/DO school. at my house, the phone rings consistently for my father (an internist) and it rings consistently throughout the night, being called to go to the hospital at 3 in the morning on many occasions. if i leave the phone off the hook, the police come to the house 30 minutes later telling us to put it on. i simply cannot imagine podiatric physicans facing this type of lifestyle, which is ok, because it's not the lifestyle i want. there are many professions similar to this: dermatology, radiology, dentistry, etc. is this bad? no. but it means we're not into the 'adrenaline rush' of work and would like to leave work at the office, and not necessarily take it home with us.

4) it's different: this may sound strange, but for me personally, MD is too cliche. i used to be set on MD and i feel i have the stats for it (not to brag), but for the reasons above podiatry interests me more and is a unique field. i'm sick of being around gunners who would kill go get into an MD school, and the psycho type A personalities that supersaturates those schools draws me away. i find people in DO and Pod schools to be much more laid back and 'geniune'. and ofcourse, there will be gunners and a**holes in those schools, but you get my point.

5) lifestyle: ofcourse, i would be a hypocrit if i said the high salary didn't attract me. it does. and the lack of life and death and on call attracts me as well.


*once again, correct me if i'm wrong. i would like to know my thinking is clear before i apply. but i feel i've brought up many strong points.*

While once you are out of residency you will be able to choose how you set up your life yes some of these advantages may apply.

If you are going to open your own practice you can set it up however you want.

Most people graduating from residency these days are going to work for someone else due to financial and debt concerns. If you are to work for someone else you may be able to pick whom you work for but you will most likely not get everything on the list that draws you into this profession.

Many practices are looking for associates to expand their practice and bring in revinue. So the easy life as you see it may not happen.

I really believe all the "benefits" or misconceptions are based on podiatry before it morphed into such the surgical subspecialty. Once you become a surgeon you give up your 9 to 5 life.

 

[Dr. Gangrene]

I think the "misconception" of working office hours is possible, but less likely. As many of you have said, it was the old way to work office hours. Theoretically, as a physician, you can work whatever you want, including office hours.
Unfortunately, as was also stated, due to debt and other concerns (actually getting surgeries) it is probably required to work more/take call etc.

This is my view at least coming in. I have met many pre pods that I think are deceived into thinking it will be a cake job. They don't realize it is a MEdical Specialty.

So, in closing, would I be justified in saying it is not so much a misconception as it is unrealistic if you really want to do surgery? Thanks

 

[defboy]

Everything is of individual opinion-everything. I aced my philosophy classes and the kid next to me failed them. We had chem I together and I had to drop it after test 1-partly family issues, but I'd be lying if it was not kicking my family jewels; he got a 100%?!
I know it is undergrad but as far as misconceptions that pod, optom, or chiro is easier than md/do/dds go to the best school in the profession for 4 years get your friggin' degree and then decide which is hardest. a PT would have an advantage with the proper training because they do the chemistry and have to really know the a&p to be successful-especially if they manage to do school, pay for living expenses and still pay for most of the tutition. anyhow you hit most of the misconceptions i've heard.

I do hear-"don't go into medicine there's no money in it!" what the heck? no money in medicine-maybe not the 250K or 500K you thought everyone with a piece of paper was entitled to ut the reality is good docs/business wise make enought o pay there bills if they aren't Parish Hilton spendy.

 

[Dr_Feelgood]

I know that this thread has been dead for awhile. But I just saw on the OCPM website that they are the ones that tell prospective students that pods have the 40 work week with little call.

One attractive aspect of the profession is the ability to maintain a quality of life to the physician’s professional interests. Podiatrist in general practice work an average of 42.5 hours a week, spending a majority of their time with patients, and with few disruptions caused by after-hour emergencies.​

I'm sure this is a true statement but a pre-pod student would not catch this statement:

Podiatrist in general practice​

Shame, shame OCPM. Don't twist the truth to get applicants.