Podiatry Experience

[undergrad1991]

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Hi all,

I'm in my last year of undergrad and was originally pre-med. I just recently discovered podiatry as a separate career path (I used to think podiatry was a medical school path-related specialty). Anyways, I'm very interested in podiatry for multiple reasons. A major one being the diversity of ailments a podiatrist gets to diagnose and treat (dermatology to orthopedic, etc.) I only have shadowed a podiatrist once (a few weeks ago for about 7 hours) and it was a very positive experience for me. I have about 150 hours of shadowing various physicians. Is 7 hours of shadowing a podiatrist enough to apply to podiatry school, or do I need to get more shadowing in before I can apply? I appreciate your answers, thanks!😀

 

[BCAA]

Hi all,

I'm in my last year of undergrad and was originally pre-med. I just recently discovered podiatry as a separate career path (I used to think podiatry was a medical school path-related specialty). Anyways, I'm very interested in podiatry for multiple reasons. A major one being the diversity of ailments a podiatrist gets to diagnose and treat (dermatology to orthopedic, etc.) I only have shadowed a podiatrist once (a few weeks ago for about 7 hours) and it was a very positive experience for me. I have about 150 hours of shadowing various physicians. Is 7 hours of shadowing a podiatrist enough to apply to podiatry school, or do I need to get more shadowing in before I can apply? I appreciate your answers, thanks!😀

If you have decent stats, 7 hours is fine. Just try to get more shadowing; if you can't, then I wouldn't worry about it. Do you have above a 3.2 and above a 23 MCAT? If so, no problem. If not, then I don't know enough to comment.

 

[BCAA]

Hi all,

I'm in my last year of undergrad and was originally pre-med. I just recently discovered podiatry as a separate career path (I used to think podiatry was a medical school path-related specialty). Anyways, I'm very interested in podiatry for multiple reasons. A major one being the diversity of ailments a podiatrist gets to diagnose and treat (dermatology to orthopedic, etc.) I only have shadowed a podiatrist once (a few weeks ago for about 7 hours) and it was a very positive experience for me. I have about 150 hours of shadowing various physicians. Is 7 hours of shadowing a podiatrist enough to apply to podiatry school, or do I need to get more shadowing in before I can apply? I appreciate your answers, thanks!😀

Can you ask him to write a letter on your behalf? Someone should correct me if I'm wrong, but some programs ask for a DPM letter?

 

[undergrad1991]

Yes, my stats are above that plus I think I have some pretty good extracurricular experience. Before I left the podiatrist mentioned that he could write me a letter.

 

[BCAA]

Yes, my stats are above that plus I think I have some pretty good extracurricular experience. Before I left the podiatrist mentioned that he could write me a letter.

Ask him to write it. At the time I applied, I only did a 4 hour shadowing and he offered to write my letter, and it worked out just fine.

 

[undergrad1991]

Ask him to write it. At the time I applied, I only did a 4 hour shadowing and he offered to write my letter, and it worked out just fine.

Awesome, thanks so much for the advice!

 

[heybrother]

The letter and the requirement are a sideshow. This is the rest of your life and a small fortune to boot. More shadowing is better. Don't just fill in the check-boxes. Have you seen the debridement of a diabetic ulcer? How about nails being clipped and burred? Some sort of nail avulsion/matrixectomy? A minor surgical procedure like a bunion or hammertoe?

 

[LittleMopeHead]

The letter and the requirement are a sideshow. This is the rest of your life and a small fortune to boot. More shadowing is better. Don't just fill in the check-boxes. Have you seen the debridement of a diabetic ulcer? How about nails being clipped and burred? Some sort of nail avulsion/matrixectomy? A minor surgical procedure like a bunion or hammertoe?

I would agree! Filling the requirement is one thing, but actually experiencing different aspects of podiatry and loving the work, seeing yourself doing this for the rest of your life, is another. More shadowing in different settings is recommended.