Is podiatry the right choice for you?

Started by air bud
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air bud

I am a dog and play basketball. Coming back in 26
15+ Year Member
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Have any of you guys tried that link at the top to see what is the best specialty for you?

http://studentdoctor.net/schools/selector

Be careful saying you want to help people too much and make long term friendships....you will get stuck doing OB/Gyn. It was 94% for me. Ortho was number 2 at 91%. I suspect that is the reason. Good luck. Also, not surprisingly (to me) all of the internal medicine specialties were at the bottom of my list. Thankfully there are plenty of smart caring people that want to do that. Not me. Oh wait, I can't because I went to podiatry school. Oh well....
 
It was a tie between Radiology and Dermatology for me.

Luckily, Podiatry can afford me both!
 
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haha my results are kind of unexpected. these were all between 83-85%... so i don't think there's any real difference.

IM-pulm
plastics
thoracic surg
ENT
IM-GI
gen surg
ortho

i find it interesting that pulm and thoracic surgery were both in the top 3 for me, since CV and pulm in physio/path/pathophys were difficult for me. GI was a nice surprise, as i found it to be one of the systems that made the most intuitive sense for me. other than that a lot of surgery options. i could never be an ENT though. out of all the different things we covered during my first 2 years, head & neck anatomy is probably what i hated the most.

seeing as my top options are a good mix of medicine and surg, it seems that podiatry is a pretty good fit for me.
 
Question for all ya'll pod students: why did you pursue podiatry? what was it about the field that drew you in?
 
Question for all ya'll pod students: why did you pursue podiatry? what was it about the field that drew you in?

Good question. Here is a section of my PS:

Through the years I have been able to become acquainted with many different fields of medicine. I have spoken and seen in action ophthalmologists, orthopedic surgeons, dentists, and physical therapists. When I entered high school I knew that I wanted to seek a profession in the medical field. I took anatomy and biology classes in which I learned about the human body.

At the end of high school I went to Chile for two years of volunteer service for my church. While there I learned the Spanish language and adapted to a new culture. I also discovered that I have a talent communicating and relating with others. I was able to discuss with the people I met ways of improving their lifestyle in a positive and effective way. I also had my first encounter with a podiatrist. I developed a large plantar wart on my heel and couldn't walk without it hurting immensely. I was told to visit a podiatrist. At my appointment I noticed that the podiatrist wasn't intimidating. He was very quick to give a diagnosis, his treatment was straightforward, and he educated me about how to prevent further foot problems.

Upon returning to the United States I was ready to start my studies again. Knowing that I was interested in a career in medicine, I began to narrow down my interests among the different specialties. I remembered my experience from Chile and researched podiatry. After speaking with several podiatrists and learning more about the profession, I found it was the right fit for me.

I arranged to spend time with some podiatrists. While observing them, I saw a variety of foot and ankle problems and how to treat them. There were fungal problems, infected toes, surgical follow ups, and wart treatments. My favorite experience was observing how both doctors interacted with their patients. They made the patients feel relaxed and answered questions about their treatment. From that time I have become excited about podiatry, making it my focus of study.
 
Hmm..
1) Physical Medicine and Rehab (85%)
2) Hematology (84%)
3) Plastic Surgery (83%)

I wonder where these would fit into pod, oh well! Very confident with my choice with pod as of right now.
 
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Hmmm...

IM: Hematology
Oncology
Pediatrics
Plastic Surgery
Gen Surgery

Odd combination...

Dead last: OB/Gyn
 
Question for all ya'll pod students: why did you pursue podiatry? what was it about the field that drew you in?

I liked it since it's a specialty with a wide variety of conditions seen, plenty of opportunity for surgery, great hours, and good potential for private practice.