Podiatry job satisfaction

[seventyfour]

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I'm trying to find surveys other than this one. This seems a little dubious to me considering that this would make podiatry one of the best jobs to have even independent of money and status and higher than most MDs. It also flies in the face of data from this ongoing informal survey, which while not scientific and small in sample size, would put the job near the bottom of MyPlan's list in job satisfaction. Links to other formal surveys?

Anecdotal discussion of podiatry job satisfaction also welcome.

 

[hughesn2]

Well when your only article is dating back to 2003 I wouldn't take it into that much of a consideration as a clear cut article. I think it would also be important to ask those that are 5 or less yrs into the profession of what their thoughts are so far. Any doctor will say they are satisfied with their career path if they have been doing it for 10+yrs.
When you ask most doctors they would say that the most stressful times are med school, residency, and first 5yrs on the job.

 

[jlocker83]

Well when your only article is dating back to 2003 I wouldn't take it into that much of a consideration as a clear cut article. I think it would also be important to ask those that are 5 or less yrs into the profession of what their thoughts are so far. Any doctor will say they are satisfied with their career path if they have been doing it for 10+yrs.
When you ask most doctors they would say that the most stressful times are med school, residency, and first 5yrs on the job.

Physician burn out rates suggest otherwise.

 

[NatCh]

Well when your only article is dating back to 2003 I wouldn't take it into that much of a consideration as a clear cut article. I think it would also be important to ask those that are 5 or less yrs into the profession of what their thoughts are so far. Any doctor will say they are satisfied with their career path if they have been doing it for 10+yrs.
When you ask most doctors they would say that the most stressful times are med school, residency, and first 5yrs on the job.

Good point. At greater than 13 years past residency I would say I am very satisfied but the first 5 years were pretty challenging.

 

[CapCrunch]

Good point. At greater than 13 years past residency I would say I am very satisfied but the first 5 years were pretty challenging.

Aside from the stresses of establishing a patient base, what were some of the major challenges as a new practitioner?

 

[rushrhees]

The three I shadowed seemed happy with their jobs. Like any career there will be ups and downs involved, it is work after all.

 

[NatCh]

Aside from the stresses of establishing a patient base, what were some of the major challenges as a new practitioner?

I can speak only for my own situation of course. After residency I opened a private practice and one of the difficulties was the long delay in getting paid by insurance companies. For the first several months I collected almost nothing while we waited for checks to come in. Meanwhile I had student loans to contend with and a baby to care for (along with the usual living expenses), so I had to enter deferment then forebearance my loan repayment, which of course increases financial burden further down the road.

After two years of private practice we moved to another state and I signed on as an Associate with a small podiatry group. One of the partners was an old school doc who entered practice before residency was a common thing, and in his view I was more of an apprentice than a fully-licensed, residency-trained doctor. It's a tricky thing this chain of command concept, but in that practice I ranked somewhere between the receptionist and the medical assistant. I got sent to the satellite offices and was scheduled with mostly C&C patients (corns, calluses, onychomycosis) while the potential surgical cases got scheduled with the partners. It was difficult getting the adequate variety of cases for ABPS board certification and I had to renew my board qualification status. My income was also based on productivity and it was hard to reach my bonus with a schedule full of $39 toenail trimmings. Eventually after three years of this mickey mouse I had had enough and left the practice, but I had to deal with a non-compete clause in my contract. Fortunately I had the foresight to deal with it and was able to stay in the area.

The third time around I joined another group as a full partner and now all is well.

 

[seventyfour]

I think it would also be important to ask those that are 5 or less yrs into the profession of what their thoughts are so far. [...]
When you ask most doctors they would say that the most stressful times are med school, residency, and first 5yrs on the job.

It all contributes, but thanks for the suggestion.

Like any career there will be ups and downs involved, it is work after all.

Average job satisfaction varies greatly across some jobs. See this and this. Important note: that list hasn't been updated in a while, and many of the jobs very high or low in particular are way off; you can see updated figures by clicking on a job and then "Community."

Eventually after three years of this mickey mouse I had had enough and left the practice

I like to imagine you doing a Mickey Mouse impersonation around this part when you tell it IRL 😀

Other formal survey information or well-based anecdotes on podiatrist job satisfaction would be greatly appreciated. I'm considering the field.

 

[CapCrunch]

For more detailed job satisfaction info, go shadow. It'll be more beneficial.

 

[Telekinesis]

The pods I shadowed seemed to love their job. In addition both had a great bedside manner and loved to teach me as well.