Dilemma crossroads questions about pods?

[capo]

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I finally got aceppted to pod school last year for this fall. As it draws closer I am undecided now. It was further alarming to be in the er recently, and overhear a patient tell the er doc in the room next to me, that "I had a surgery done on my ankle in 1990, and I know doc, I let a podiatrist do it and should've never done it".

This shook me a bit as I'm still seeing this impression out there, and this time it made me shudder again. I'm just kind of unsure about this whole thing now. It is a big decision and alot of time and money to invest in private school tuition, and to now begin having heavy doubts about the profession. I know the decision rests solely on me, and I was very excited and clear up until recently, but that comment (and actually hearing the er doc's agreement with this patient, further scaring me as to the opinion still out there) really threw me into cement.

Thanks for listening and advising on your thoughts.

 

[devilpup]

I finally got aceppted to pod school last year for this fall. As it draws closer I am undecided now. It was further alarming to be in the er recently, and overhear a patient tell the er doc in the room next to me, that "I had a surgery done on my ankle in 1990, and I know doc, I let a podiatrist do it and should've never done it".

This shook me a bit as I'm still seeing this impression out there, and this time it made me shudder again. I'm just kind of unsure about this whole thing now. It is a big decision and alot of time and money to invest in private school tuition, and to now begin having heavy doubts about the profession. I know the decision rests solely on me, and I was very excited and clear up until recently, but that comment (and actually hearing the er doc's agreement with this patient, further scaring me as to the opinion still out there) really threw me into cement.

Thanks for listening and advising on your thoughts.

you shouldn't put too much emphasis on *****ic statements made by insensitive people even if they carry an MD. If such perceptions seriously affect you, then perhaps you should consider another profession. Worrying about validation of your profession from *****s rather than focusing on what really matters (e.g. becoming the best pod you can be) will only make things worse.


other than DPM what other career choices are you considering?

 

[capo]

My interests are in sports med, general medicine, surgical procedures and overall health. I thought podiatry allows much of this blend in daily practice.

But I'm open to other health professions as well. I've thought of physical therapy. I've also even thought of a physical therapy assistant program (even though it is only 2 years and less money than a physical therapist DPT) which still makes a decent salary (I'm not looking to get rich, just to enjoy what I do).

I've really searched this out, and though I wanted to put all my efforts into podiatry and being a doctor, I am rethinking if this is ALL I could live with or really need. I may not need to do podiatry if I find something less intense, less stressful and still as interesting to me.

I'm not keen on physician assistant though, as it is almost as much demanding work as a physician yet with much less income. A physical therapist makes a comfortable wage but I really had my heart set on a form of medicine (podiatry in this case) but now don't really know exactly why I had the specific interest.

As you can see I'm bigtime indecisive and have been toying this around for over the last few months or so and now soon will face showtime.
Thanks for your help and interest.

 

[rom3o]

I finally got aceppted to pod school last year for this fall. As it draws closer I am undecided now. It was further alarming to be in the er recently, and overhear a patient tell the er doc in the room next to me, that "I had a surgery done on my ankle in 1990, and I know doc, I let a podiatrist do it and should've never done it".

FYI, having dealt with feet for the past 3-4 years, I've heard it both ways from patients.

"Oh, I saw an orthopedic doctor, and then saw a podiatrist... I should've never seen the orthopod and gone straight to the foot specialist" and vise versa.

Take these things with a grain of salt...

there are some podiatrists in my area that do a great job and really know their stuff and I refer patients to them exclusively. At another office I work out of, I refer them to a D.O. F&A specialist because I think he is excellent, so it really depends on the individual.

EDIT: I should also mention that patients are going to come to a decision on whether the doctor is "competent" or not, imo, based on how they feel the results turned out. For example, if the patient goes in for a procedure and is pain-free, they are going to tell the world about it. If it doesn't go their way, they are going to find some excuse. For example, in my case, if I make a patient a pair of foot orthotics and it doesn't help them they're going to come to the conclusion that the reason is because "he's young and inexperienced, he doesn't know what he's doing".

 

[PodunkUDPM]

Thanks for the insight. Maybe just as a suggestion you should change your status to podiatrist so people don't get confused and think that you are a pre-pod.

 

[rom3o]

Thanks for the insight. Maybe just as a suggestion you should change your status to podiatrist so people don't get confused and think that you are a pre-pod.

I am pre-pod though 🙂 Just more experienced than your average pre-pod.

 

[umass319]

I am pre-pod though 🙂 Just more experienced than your average pre-pod.

Cool, please explain.

 

[rom3o]

Cool, please explain.

I work for a prosthetic & orthotic company where I concentrate primarily on the orthotic end.

Been at it for about ~4 years now, a year ago I just started doing more AFOs and other custom-molded LE stuff. I am a board eligible orthotist and am 50% completed with my exams.

I see mostly foot orthotics and diabetic shoes/inserts. But also do a lot of SMOs, AFOs, KOs, UE stuff, and am just starting to get into the more "challenging" aspect of KAFOs, RGOs, etc...

 

[NatCh]

If you're going to become a Podiatrist you should expect to encounter some prejudice against the profession once in awhile. It's not right, but it happens. ANY surgeon will have a less-than-desirable result at some point. No one bats 1.000, at least not for very long. When it happens to an an MD or DO people write it off as a complication. When it happens to a DPM people sometimes blame the profession. It's not fair, but it happens.

 

[Podmeister]

Sounds like a case of cold feet.🙂

JOKE: What do you call the guy who finished last in his med school class?

...Doctor

 

[capo]

Thanks guys for the vote of confidence and info. But my concern is that no one ever seems to say, "I shouldn't have let the ortho do the work instead of the DPM or Family Practice doctor". I all too often hear it, as NatCH has said, against the DPM. Even bunion or other smaller surgeries, seem to have patients claiming the ortho or family doctor would do it as well or better.

I realize this is clearly unfair bias but it is a long hard road to get through school, residency and licensure to feel like in the end, you will still be dealing with adversity and bias til you retire. I know times are changing, but will they change fast enough?

No one questions the scope (or professional standards, talent or knowledge) of say, a family practice doctor or even a physical therapist, but they do (from what I've seen throughout these forums also) go after DPM's, Chiropractors and even still to some degree, DO's.

It may just be case of cold feet (pardon the pun) but i sure hope i know what i'm getting into (even at this late a juncture) to shell out so much money for tuiont then becomce dissillusioned in the end. I really don't know how, when you have doubts, you can EVER really rest assured you will survive and do well and also enjoy the process AND the destination in this case. I'm still very undecided.

Again thanks for all viewpoints from everyone so far.

 

[NatCh]

No one questions the scope (or professional standards, talent or knowledge) of say, a family practice doctor or even a physical therapist...

Sure they do. Everyone gets questioned by someone else eventually. Even ER docs get accused of practicing shallow medicine. Maybe only dentists have a monopoly on their scope of practice, and they get razzed too. Did you see The Hangover? "I'm a doctor." "Actually, you're just a dentist."

I've had patients who were past patients of the local F&A Ortho guys and said they regretted having surgery by them. It does go both ways.

There aren't any guarantees in any branch of medicine. I watched an excellent Internist go bankrupt and my own dentist had to shut his doors and move out since his business failed.

If you like what you do and believe in what you do then nothing anyone says will damage you.

The bigger question is whether or not you have the intestinal fortitude to stomach the accusations and defend your competence, because sooner or later someone is going to question your abilities. It even comes from within your own profession. Part of being a professional is demonstrating your competence.

 

[capo]

Sure they do. Everyone gets questioned by someone else eventually. Even ER docs get accused of practicing shallow medicine. Maybe only dentists have a monopoly on their scope of practice, and they get razzed too. Did you see The Hangover? "I'm a doctor." "Actually, you're just a dentist."

I've had patients who were past patients of the local F&A Ortho guys and said they regretted having surgery by them. It does go both ways.

There aren't any guarantees in any branch of medicine. I watched an excellent Internist go bankrupt and my own dentist had to shut his doors and move out since his business failed.

If you like what you do and believe in what you do then nothing anyone says will damage you.

The bigger question is whether or not you have the intestinal fortitude to stomach the accusations and defend your competence, because sooner or later someone is going to question your abilities. It even comes from within your own profession. Part of being a professional is demonstrating your competence.

NatCh, thanks again. Let me ask you a serious question. Honestly, if you could be a DPM or F&A MD which would you choose, and why, over again?
I'm not really interested in the lifestyle of an MD so much either. Time for family, friends, outside pursuits, is very important to me. I think DPM presents with many of these opportunities but worry about how well ALL, not just top candidates, DPM's will really be able to do upon graduation from a 2 or 3 year residency.

 

[PharoPod]

Do not get biased by individual opinions, in the medical field you will always hear things like this regardless of the speciality.

I had a surgery done on my ankle in 1990, and I know doc, I let a podiatrist do it and should've never done it.

My family doc did better controlling my blood sugar than the internal medicine specialist.

Just to let you know 70% of all foot an ankle procedures (surgical & nonsurgical) are done by podiatrists.

 

[NatCh]

NatCh, thanks again. Let me ask you a serious question. Honestly, if you could be a DPM or F&A MD which would you choose, and why, over again?
I'm not really interested in the lifestyle of an MD so much either. Time for family, friends, outside pursuits, is very important to me. I think DPM presents with many of these opportunities but worry about how well ALL, not just top candidates, DPM's will really be able to do upon graduation from a 2 or 3 year residency.

I chose podiatry as my primary career goal; it was not a back-up. I would not choose to be an orthopedic surgeon (or any other type of MD/DO for that matter). The training is too long and arduous as is the demands of work. They have to take ER call (I don't) and their malpractice is much higher. If I were not podiatrist I would want to be a dentist.

I'm completely secure with being a podiatrist. When people talk trash about the profession I'm immune because I like what I do and it gives me what I need. They talk trash, then they go bitching and moaning back to work and I happily go on my way. I figure that when someone has to insult someone else, then it's a sign of their own insecurities.

As far as income is concerned, here's something consider: there are some 17,000 podiatrists in the U.S. (right?). What's the stated average income, $120,000-$180,000 depending on the source? At the far ends of the bell curve you have those few percent making a king's ransom. At the other end of the curve you have those making relatively little. Then there's the bulk of us in the middle whose names you've never read or heard of. We're the remaining 16,000 podiatrists in the middle of the curve who did not finish in the top 10% of our class, just quietly going to work in our little corner of the world. You could say we're all pretty ordinary yet our incomes average out to those numbers listed above.

Making a practice thrive has so much more to do with your personality than it does with how well you did in class. Are you someone who thinks about business? Are you someone who has decent interpersonal skills? The last time you went to see a doctor or a dentist, did you like him or her? Did you ask what his or her class rank was? Did you ask him or her about Residency match? More likely you evaluated your doctor based primarily on how well you connected, then secondarily on whether they got you better. Am I wrong?

There will be a few podiatrists who do the advanced procedures that most don't do, and if you are not one of them you can refer to them, but those esoteric cases are not the bulk of what most of us do. Most of us do bread-and-butter podiatry: nail fungus, bunions, hammertoes, neuromas, heel pain, plantar warts, athlete's foot, corns, calluses. Most of us do the basics and average $120,000-$180,000. Even if you were to start at $65,000 it probably wouldn't stay there for long.

 

[G0dFather]

Great post doc!!

 

[capo]

NatCh, thanks again. It was informative. I'm leaning though, against going this year. I'm still undecided and to embark on a cash journey with so much financial aid to lose, may not be prudent at this time. Maybe, though I researched podiatry the last 3 years, somehow I'm still not ready? I don't know how this is but yet it is. Thanks for your time and advice. Also, in talking with the school I get weird vibes about the education and administation. Just my gut feeling I could be over-reading into it, I don't know.

 

[NatCh]

NatCh, thanks again. It was informative. I'm leaning though, against going this year. I'm still undecided and to embark on a cash journey with so much financial aid to lose, may not be prudent at this time. Maybe, though I researched podiatry the last 3 years, somehow I'm still not ready? I don't know how this is but yet it is. Thanks for your time and advice. Also, in talking with the school I get weird vibes about the education and administation. Just my gut feeling I could be over-reading into it, I don't know.

If you're not certain you want to embark then it's probably not a good idea to start. If you're not completely enthused at the start then I think it'd be really hard to make it through.

 

[Podmeister]

After 3 yrs of research and you're still unsure, then podiatry is not for you. It's time to start exploring other professions.

 

[capo]

Thanks agin to you both. Unfortunately I don't know what it takes to really feel secure about doing the profession. I wish I was the type of person to "wing it" but I'm not. I think (and rethink) and then easily see too many pitfalls for this long a training career. At least in shorter training careers it will/would be easier to back out should I not want to continue. (You never plan for this but should it arise you should have a backup plan or awareness that things can (and often do) change in a heartbeat.) This shorter training base, coupled with attending a state school, brings a tuition loss to a minimum should I need to leave. I know you ask, why would you need to leave? But circumstances at this stage of my life dictate that I have an open-ended policy with a career. I'm not sure what I'll do hereforth but it will take rebuilding to think it through. Again, you guys have helped allow me to in clear conscience give up on a career that I wasn't ever really probably destined to be in. Until I tell the school officially I'll continue to weigh my options. Unfortunately again, I can't release 100% yet (but seem closer everyday) and jeapordize my chances should I still need to attend. But short of a miracle I would think this game is in hand and already over but for the shouting.

 

[PMSIII]

Thanks agin to you both. Unfortunately I don't know what it takes to really feel secure about doing the profession. I wish I was the type of person to "wing it" but I'm not. I think (and rethink) and then easily see too many pitfalls for this long a training career. At least in shorter training careers it will/would be easier to back out should I not want to continue. (You never plan for this but should it arise you should have a backup plan or awareness that things can (and often do) change in a heartbeat.) This shorter training base, coupled with attending a state school, brings a tuition loss to a minimum should I need to leave. I know you ask, why would you need to leave? But circumstances at this stage of my life dictate that I have an open-ended policy with a career. I'm not sure what I'll do hereforth but it will take rebuilding to think it through. Again, you guys have helped allow me to in clear conscience give up on a career that I wasn't ever really probably destined to be in. Until I tell the school officially I'll continue to weigh my options. Unfortunately again, I can't release 100% yet (but seem closer everyday) and jeapordize my chances should I still need to attend. But short of a miracle I would think this game is in hand and already over but for the shouting.

Good luck to you in your endeavours. Committing to further education and training in any field is a very big decision (and investment) on both personal and financial levels of course. You should definitely follow where your heart and mind guide you as there is no point in committing to a situation where you'd feel unsettled and negative.