general view of podiatrists
Started by BenPRunkle
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In my residency program, they are an integral part of the trauma team. They are well liked and respected by us orthopods and very knowledgeable about their specific field of study. They fulfill an important niche in healthcare.
That is generally how I view podiatry, however, the longer I troll around the Podiatry forums the more I start to feel like many have an inferiority complex and aren't secure in their chosen field of study. Many feel they are entitled to things that they have not earned (MD/DO degree equivalency). I am bothered when I hear podiatry students and residents talk about their time in "medical school". I am all for podiatry programs elevating their level of education to have similar coursework compared to medical schools, but the reality is that they should see increased education demands as a way to make better podiatrists, not "backdoor" their way into another field they may not have otherwise been able to obtain. Have some MF'in pride in what you do and who you are.
I am a Podiatry resident and I couldn't agree with you more. Please don't let the few and VERY ignorant on a random and "anonymous" internet forum change your opinion of us. The vast majority of Pods are very happy and content with their career path/choice. From what I've seen, there's plenty of foot and ankle work to go around. My beef isn't with any particular person, but rather, just do a good job at what you do.
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Good to hear. I have spent some time assisting numerous doctors in the OR and I really like what both pods and orthopods do. I am about as sure as I can be that I want to work on the musculoskeletal system. However, I probably enjoy what the orthopedic surgeons do a little more because they get to work with knees, hips, and shoulders also. I am just a little discouraged about orthopedics because all I hear is how crazy their hours are and how less that 4% of all med students match in a ortho residency. So I guess I am just a little worried that I could potentially work my tail off in med school and still not even match into an ortho residency and be unhappy doing another specialty. I am really not trying to sell myself short already, I am just trying to be realistic to the fact that there is a chance I could not match into orthopedics. What do yall think? If I got into both allopathic and podiatry school would it be wise or unwise to turn down allopathic?
You are misinterpreting that statistic. While it is true that less than 4% of a medical school class (on average) will match into ortho, it isn't true that less than 4% of people applying into ortho match into it. Their match rate is somewhere in the 75% range.
Depends on you. Remember that medical school (MD or DO) allows you to pursue other interests in medicine. You may wish to shadow other types of physicians to see if they interest you. Also realize that there are many ways you can be involved in the care of patient's musculoskeletal issues such as primary care sports medicine, physical medicine and rehabilitation which are generally considered less competitive, or other allied health professions such as occupational and physical therapy,
As others have already stated, it's up to you to decide that. No one can make that decision for you. I'm the type of person that I give my best effort and leave it all out there and if it doesn't work out, then it's meant to be (or not in this situation). But this is your career and life and if you won't be happy with anything less than being and Orthopod, then I think you have your answer. Just be happy with your decision and don't second guess yourself because that never ends well in my personal experience.
There are some people that just like to pull legs all the time so to speak, and no matter what it is that's what they are gonna do. You can't take it personally, and its not from a technical standpoint, that's just the way it is. Now granite the orthopaedic surgeon does have more training in orthopaedics, and less training in the foot, but the standard to get into medical school is higher and thus somebody might think an orthopaedic surgeon is more accomplished. On the flip side, a podiatric foot and ankle surgeon has more training and experience in the foot, which most likely is going to trump less experience. However, the standard to get into podiatric medical school is much less of the other medical professions, including M.D., D.O., and D.D.S./D.M.D. to name a few. Another variable is that a lot of people that apply to podiatry school are genuinely interested in podiatry and may have a stellar previous academic record, or an MCAT score to validate their abilities. I cannot comment on the saying "it's hard to make it through podiatry school" because I am not aware of attrition rates, exam difficulties, and how people generally work in those schools in comparison to other medical schools. In general I think an orthopaedic surgeon or podiatric surgeon should be viewed in the same regards as far as specializing in the foot and ankle, however all podiatrists and orthopaedic surgeons are not created equally, and the professional who you think does the best should be chosen based on reputation, experience, and results. In general if my foot was operated on again, I would have to choose someone with the best results, not where their education came from, and having really high academic credentials might make me feel safer but it in no way would guarantee a good result over someone who worked really hard to be a surgeon and has excellent results. So, I wouldn't even think twice about these sorts of people, they are just starting **** and those are the types of people also that don't analyze situations from differing viewpoints, they are narcissistic and you shouldn't give them any attention, and furthermore the vast minority of the people that are going to not think twice about having a podiatrist operate on a foot versus an orthopaedist.
