Podiatry Students/DPM's

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You might want to contact the admissions department at the schools to which you are interested in applying. They may be able to offer you some contacts with current students or admissions counselors. Additionally, you may want to check out the APMA's website for the mentoring program which would give you contacts. Good luck!
 
I am considering going to podiatry school but continue to run into issues. Such as do I really want to have the foot be my future endeavor and what if I get tired of feet? In the past few months I have been considering the osteopathic medical school program, because of the options and the philosophy. But I do know quite a bit about the podiatry app process if you had any questions.
 
DRJME,
If you have any doubts now, I am sure that they will double and triple while in pod school and most definitely when you finish residency and cannot earn a decent living. (Compared to the amount of money spent on school and the amount of hard work put in and the sacrifice you put in during residency)
There is a big disparity there. Go to a foreign medical school or DO school before you consider podiatry. Podiatry on the surface may seem like a safe bet, wheras medical school overseas seems like a terrible gamble, but speaking as one who has done both, I can tell you the reverse is true.

I am in residency now and at least twice per week I get ads soliciting for IM docs to fill positions. I would rarely get any while I was a podiatry resident/student. (I am not sure I ever saw one)

As an MD/DO, you can go work for someone and make a minimum 0f 120k, anywhere! That is as a generalist. As a DPM you will have a difficult time finding a job, first of all, and if you do, you will get paid about 1/3 as much as the MD. (Your student loans are just as big as the MD/DO's though)

In my podiatry school class of about 70 people I know of at least 4 people that gave up podiatry and went back to medical school. I am sure there are some people from my class that are doing well though.

Just in closing, don't go to podiatry school unless you: love feet, or love biomechanics of the lower extremity, or have a father who will give you his practice. Seriously!

Good luck
 
hey all..some may remember me..I used to post in defense in podiatry...

I still love the field...and am looking forward to practicing as a dpm...
if you have any question...please email me..i dont really check this board but i wil try to be around more

as to the last post..there is some truth to what he said...
you wont be solicited the same way as an md...but that shouldnt really mean much....

you can and will find a job...just be hungry and dont be content graduating with a passing average and passing skills..be hungry( i repeated that on purpose)...be ready to work when you get out...you'll be fine

...to be clear...md's need the same kind of drive if they want to earn a living..they need to see pts...its just that typically they will have more opportunities available to them in terms of what types of jobs they want and in demanding a higher starting salary..however..the overall income potential of podiatry is very good..you can make more than alot of md's in various specialties but then again.there are plenty of specialties that make more...
...you can do very well in podiatry...its just a smaller field...
loans can def be a killer though..so be careful with your debt...this again is something coommon to all fields lately...i just spoke to a young ortho surgeon who is finally done with school and now has 400 in debt on his head...hes got alot of opportunitys availble to him...but none of them are going to give him the kind of money he needs anytime soon.... unless hes ready to work his butt off for a long time...

the most impt thing...seriously..is to love what you do...and like i said..be hungry...

if you are not sure if its what you want..spend some time with a few diff pods...talk to any admissions office..they will be happy to put you in touch with pods...honestly...they are there to help...

admission to pod schools isnt overly competitve by any stretch...i am not sure how it works now...but i think there is a standard app that works for all of the schools...try the apma website...or i know nycpm has info on their site...

any specific ?'s plz dont hesitate to pm me...
-j

GASDR said:
DRJME,
If you have any doubts now, I am sure that they will double and triple while in pod school and most definitely when you finish residency and cannot earn a decent living. (Compared to the amount of money spent on school and the amount of hard work put in and the sacrifice you put in during residency)
There is a big disparity there. Go to a foreign medical school or DO school before you consider podiatry. Podiatry on the surface may seem like a safe bet, wheras medical school overseas seems like a terrible gamble, but speaking as one who has done both, I can tell you the reverse is true.

I am in residency now and at least twice per week I get ads soliciting for IM docs to fill positions. I would rarely get any while I was a podiatry resident/student. (I am not sure I ever saw one)

As an MD/DO, you can go work for someone and make a minimum 0f 120k, anywhere! That is as a generalist. As a DPM you will have a difficult time finding a job, first of all, and if you do, you will get paid about 1/3 as much as the MD. (Your student loans are just as big as the MD/DO's though)

In my podiatry school class of about 70 people I know of at least 4 people that gave up podiatry and went back to medical school. I am sure there are some people from my class that are doing well though.

Just in closing, don't go to podiatry school unless you: love feet, or love biomechanics of the lower extremity, or have a father who will give you his practice. Seriously!

Good luck
 
Public health,
Good research on the VA website, however you have helped make my point. You posted 3 jobs in the USA for podiatrists at VA hospitals. The reason that there are so few opportunities is that for a podiatrist, the VA is a pretty good job. The competition for VA jobs is quite fierce and the jobs are hard to get.
The VA is an exception to my generalization that podiatrists get pain about 1/3 as much as MD's out of residency.

I looked at the VA careers website and notice that only one of the jobs (of three) are still available. I also put the job title "physician " in the search engine and came up with 152 jobs!

Again it proves my point that as an MD you can get a job anywhere for a decent salary, and as a podiatrist, it is extremely difficult to find a job.

As a podiatrist you essentially have to make your own job, meaning you have to buy a practice (usually greatly overpriced) or start up from scratch.

JConway, I hope you are doing well. Good luck with residency and I admire your dedication to the profession. It is truly an admirable profession but not one I would recommend to anyone.
 
I am currently a 2nd year DPM resident in a PM&S-36 program, and like jconway don't really check this site all that often. I'm just too busy doing the things I have to do.

It can be a great job, but you have to like what you do, just as with any other job. There are plenty of people with other degrees that are not realy happy doing what they do either. Everything has it's own upsides and downsides. For whatever reason people seem to be more intent on emphasizing the negatives.

There will be fewer job offers to peruse if you are doing any kind of search. Realize that it is just part of the nature of this situation. There are only about 15000 active podiatrists in the country. I have no idea how many active MD/DOs there are, but I can assure you it is many times more. Therefore I would expect to find many more offers available for MD/DOs. The other part of this equation comes from the employers side. Think about it. If you were looking to hire a DPM where yould you look. Do you think an ad in the local paper would be very productive? I would think an online ad might be better, but not hugely so. Most of the online ads are posted by the "huge" networks (i.e. VA, government positions, large HMOs). Those aren't really the best offers out there either. If I were looking to hire a new DPM, I would go to word of mouth, and ask my peers (residency directors, etc) for recommendations. This is more realistic, and more productive.

From talking to my classmates and other residents, a majority are seeing offers in the range of $70K base with a % for production over a certain amount. Most of those work out to >$110K with the bonuses. Those would be the kind of offers people are seeing 1st year out of residency.

I am sure that not all residents are getting those offers either. I am fairly sure there are some people out there that are having a tough time finding what they are looking for, but also think that some of these same people have some unrealistic expectations. Jobs won't just drop into your lap (for the most part). It does take some work, but the same is true for most other occupations as well.

Personally, I couldn't be much happier with my own situation, and I am glad that I did earn my DPM degree. From where I sit, the future looks pretty good.

Good luck to all, in whatever field you choose. If you find one that you enjoy, the work day won't really feel like work.

efs
 
Hey guys,
This is a reputable survey for physicians. These numbers are from the big medical groups. I think that the big discrepency for jobs is if you have training in surgery or not. Most pods that I have talked to say this is the case. Anyway I thought it was interesting. Please respond. Here is the link:

http://www.cejkasearch.com/compensation/amga_midlevel_compensation_survey.htm

AMGA MID-LEVEL COMPENATION
Mid-Level Provider Specialty
All
Eastern
Western
Southern
Northern

Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist
$127,262
$125,216
****
$140,914
$131,336

Dentistry
$128,975
$140,536
****
****
$112,634

Midwife
$84,744
$81,640
****
****
$85,814

Nurse Practitioner
$69,838
$72,254
$78,837
****
$68,100

Occupational Therapist
$61,718
****
****
****
$62,135

Optometrist
$98,482
$89,789
$100,174
$113,100
$102,000

Physical Therapist
$58,500
$46,695
$65,931
****
$61,157

Physician Assistant (Medical)
$71,140
$63,425
$75,550
$68,594
$73,786

Physician Assistant (Surgical)
$83,184
$71,788
$78,281
****
$92,798

Podiatrist (Medical)
$154,784
$130,934
$185,362
$168,563
$153,179

Podiatrist (Surgical)
$169,427
****
$167,098
$150,493
$190,590

Psychology (Ph.D.s Only)
$89,934
$74,879
$109,000
$101,000
$85,918


The 2004 AMGA Medical Group Compensation and Financial Survey is a nationally recognized compensation survey designed to assist various management levels in evaluating and comparing current physician compensation an productivity levels, trends, and relationships between compensation and productivity. The report and its data can assist in making compensation-related decisions for a medical group’s physicians, non-physician medical staff, and select administrative positions. This report can also be used in various ways to identify trends and measure a medical group’s own compensation and productivity as compared to other medical groups throughout the nation. We believe the data is representative of large multi-specialty group practices.

To order the full report, please contact the American Medical Group Association at 703-838-0033.

The American Medical Group Association, which has been conducting this survey since 1986, represents the interests of medical groups nationwide, including some of the nation's largest, most prestigious integrated healthcare delivery systems. AMGA advocates for the multispecialty group practice model of healthcare delivery and for the patients served by medical groups through innovation, and information sharing, benchmarking, and continuous striving to improve patient care. The members of AMGA deliver healthcare to more than 50 million patients in 42 states, including 15 capitated lives. The average AMGA member group has 260 physicians and 13 satellite locations. Headquartered in Alexandria, VA, AMGA is the strategic partner for medical groups providing a comprehensive package of benefits, including political advocacy, educational and networking programs and publications, benchmarking data services, and financial and operations assistance.

The American Medical Group Association
1422 Duke Street
Alexandria, VA 22314-3430
703-838-0033 phone
703-548-1890 fax
www.amga.org

For more information regarding physician compensation, please contact Vivian Luce at 1-800-678-7858
 
Physician Assistant (Medical)
$71,140
$63,425
$75,550
$68,594
$73,786

Physician Assistant (Surgical)
$83,184
$71,788
$78,281
****
$92,798


these are a little low. the following is based on a salary survey sent to every working pa in the country in 2003. I know over 200 pa's and none makes less than 80k. none in em or surgery make less than 100k.
Table 4.19:
Summary Measures of Total Annual Income from Primary Employer for Respondents Who Work at Least 32 Hours per Week at Primary Clinical Job*

Mean
$78,257
Standard deviation
$20,198
10th percentile
$57,823
25th percentile
$64,727
Median
$74,264
75th percentile
$87,113
90th percentile
$103,614

* does not include overtime, bonuses, or income from other part time or on- call positions
 
EMEDPA,


Was that the AAPA survey? I try to stay away from the proffesional organization's salary surveys because of potential bias. I think that P.A. salaries are in the range you posted especially E.M. and Surg.. As far as healthcare jobs go P.A. have one of the best return on their investment!


I have been debating dentistry, Podiatry, and P.A. for the last couple of years. It has been tough because they all three have great benefits. I do think that as far as income potential goes the edge goes to dentistry and podiatry. p.a. offers more variety in overall care. What area are you in? How long have the pods been in practice at your hospital. Are they solo or hospital employed? I ask because it has been hard to find info on podiatry.

Anyway I look forward to your response.

oncogene
 
yes, that was the aaapa survey and yes, most of the pa's I know work in specialties(em/ortho/surg).the em group I work for has >15 pa's and they all make >125k with the top guy making>200k with a lot of overtime.
the pods I know work for a large managed care hospital group and make 90-120k in the pacific northwest.
dentists and podiatrists on avg make more than a primary care pa but you need to ask yourself if you want to deal with just teeth or feet for the rest of your life while paying back huge loans and malpractice that probably bridge the difference in salary. there are down sides to being a pa too but the flexibility is such that you can leave a bad situation or specialty for another fairly quickly. for more info on pa's check out www.aapa.org for general info, www.appap.org for info on optional residencies and www.physicianassociate.com for an interactive forum covering all aspects of pa training and practice including specialty practice.
 
hey guys

see I think the most impt think to consider really is how much you want to work...

i'd have to guess that for time spent vs money earned...dentistry is the best bet of al medical fields(including all md's with the exception of plastics) the amount of malpractice they pay, office space they need, and the fact that they are typically paid cash; in my mind makes all the difference

in any field where you are dealing with a small business(ie..most medical offices/podiatry offices) the amount of work and responsibility reaches far beyond the medical aspects and into the logistics of running an office...here is where things get sticky....

the potential for podiatry/dentistry/and medical office is higher than that of a salaried PA...however..the guaranteed paycheck that salaried employees are paid comes basically worry-free..there is no one else relying on your paycheck besides yourself, and your family....when you run an office...if you dont show up to work..you are not generating income...so your employees dont get paid, your insurance doesnt get paid, your electric doesnt get paid..etc.......and of course..if you can't run a business and are not willing to work hard enough to do it...you will never generate any sort of income....but for all of these liabilites..you get your own autonomy..something you dont ever really get with a salaried position..although there are some instances where PA's open their own offices..but as of right now...in most major urban areas....I don't think that is the norm

like someone said before..a large amount(but certainly not all) of podiatry jobs are working in someone elses practice then..hopefully..buying them out...so..again..it comes down to what you want...and what you are willing to do for it....
anyways
just my 2 cents...
-j
p.s.
thanks for keeping it all civil everybody and thanks for the kind wishes gasdr


emedpa said:
yes, that was the aaapa survey and yes, most of the pa's I know work in specialties(em/ortho/surg).the em group I work for has >15 pa's and they all make >125k with the top guy making>200k with a lot of overtime.
the pods I know work for a large managed care hospital group and make 90-120k in the pacific northwest.
dentists and podiatrists on avg make more than a primary care pa but you need to ask yourself if you want to deal with just teeth or feet for the rest of your life while paying back huge loans and malpractice that probably bridge the difference in salary. there are down sides to being a pa too but the flexibility is such that you can leave a bad situation or specialty for another fairly quickly. for more info on pa's check out www.aapa.org for general info, www.appap.org for info on optional residencies and www.physicianassociate.com for an interactive forum covering all aspects of pa training and practice including specialty practice.
 
emedpa said:
dentists and podiatrists on avg make more than a primary care pa but you need to ask yourself if you want to deal with just teeth or feet for the rest of your life while paying back huge loans and malpractice that probably bridge the difference in salary.

You need to do some serious fact-checking if you think dental malpractice rates are even *close* to what physicians pay. I'm talking two orders of magnitude here, depending which specialties you compare to. The average private practice general dentist pulls down $173,000 a year for a 36 hour work week. We do just fine for ourselves. 😉
 
fair enough...there is still the question if they want to deal with just teeth for the rest of their career( no offense intended to any dentists)
 
emedpa said:
fair enough...there is still the question if they want to deal with just teeth for the rest of their career( no offense intended to any dentists)
Naw, none taken. We do more than people think, but we all know the stereotype is there.
 
aphistis,

I would like to point out that although Dentist pull down major money that 173,000 dollar fugure is from practitioners that have ownership. Also, the 36 hour work week with that salary will take some time to achieve. Salaried dentist make significantly less. I agree that dentistry has the best overall lifestyle and is extremely rewarding on all levels.

For me, I just can't decide what I want. I like podiatry because It is a hybrid between the lifestyle of dentistry and certain aspects of medicine. Both will take hard work and I don't expect to make huge money right away in either proffessions. They will both make at least 100,000 with dedication which is plenty(although the more the better) of money to have a very comfortable life. I have three dentist in my immediate family so the preasure is there for me to go that direction. I just don't know if I want to deal with the mouth. I know it sounds wierd considering my alternative(feet) : 😀 Any advice.

oncogene
 
No, that figure is the mean. While exceptions exist, owner dentists will tend to earn more, and salaried dentists will tend to earn less. While many graduates will associate for a few years to gain proficiency & experience, a substantial majority of dentists end up in ownership practices.

Like you said, though, it's up to you. Good luck whichever you decide.
 
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