They have unlimited scope. They are fine doing it. This is nothing new.
Warts and ingrowns are fast and easy and pay well... why
wouldn't they try them? (and botox, knee inject, and whatever else)
Many primary care and Urgent care midlevels and MDs in my area do podiatry stuff (nearly all try warts, tinea Rx, some do onycho Rx, some try ingrowns usually total nail avulsion but sometimes they try partials, some inject heel pain, a few biopsy/ablate foot skin lesions, etc).
My late residency director always said this is a
good thing. Let them do it. Teach them F&A skin and nail procedures if you have time; be non-judgemental when you have to save them on bad outcomes. They will do it fairly well sometimes, screw it up other times... and they will remember who taught them or backs them up and and
where to send it if it goes sideways. Most will try it a time or two and give up and just send all of it to you. As long as yours come back looking good, what's the issue if they want to try stuff that's "yours" once in awhile?
Basically, don't sweat it.
Everything podiatry can be done elsewhere, there is overlap:
Nail salons do nail cares... derm does a bit.
Orthotist shops do DME, orthotics, pads, shoes, etc.
Ortho can do all of the deformity and injury bone/msk surgery.
Vascular and gen surg can do the wounds and amps.
Derm can do the nail and skin stuff... warts, tinea, whatever.
Rheum and ortho and sports and PCPs can do the injects, gout, arthritis, etc.
PT does much msk stuff.
Just because our job is useful and valued
doesn't mean it's special or necessary. It's not.
...All you have to do do is do the work well...
or be a lobster (take stuff nobody wants... wound care, DM/MCA trauma, nursing home or inpt decub and nails, amps, etc)...
or do both good work + lobster.
That's not even legal is it? Nail avulsions are considered a surgical procedure.
They have unlimited scope... it's just an office/bedside procedure, like biopsy or warts or inject or whatever.
They can reduce fx or cast or debride wounds or do whatever they want (some just have to be billed under MD/DO).
