Respect from patients/other health care practicioners

[JEWmongous]

Hi, for all of those who are during their rotations, in residency, or practicing (dpm grad i believe) I am wondering the amount of respect you receive from patients and other health care practioners? I am looking into the field of podiatry and it seems to be a really good area of medicine. I know the schools have somewhat lower admission standards when compared to MD or DO schools. Do other physicians or med students look down upon pods for this or any other reasons? Anyone faced discrimination? How about orthopedic surgeons or ones that have a foot and ankle fellowship? I'm sure it matters more of your ability to do work and the type of person you are.
I know the importance of pods (I went to one a lot for lacrosse and soccer injuries) but it seems like most of the public looks down on "foot doctors." I for one, did not realize that pods do a good amount of surgery and foot/ankle trauma without well researching the area. I think people assume pods just trim nails, debride clauses and the like. I am not trolling in any way but I'm curious to how you guys are treated and respected. My pod helped me so much in one visit and took away a TON of pain. I respect the profession and definitely looking into attending a pod college.

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[Podman]

Hi, for all of those who are during their rotations, in residency, or practicing (dpm grad i believe) I am wondering the amount of respect you receive from patients and other health care practioners? I am looking into the field of podiatry and it seems to be a really good area of medicine. I know the schools have somewhat lower admission standards when compared to MD or DO schools. Do other physicians or med students look down upon pods for this or any other reasons? Anyone faced discrimination? How about orthopedic surgeons or ones that have a foot and ankle fellowship? I'm sure it matters more of your ability to do work and the type of person you are.
I know the importance of pods (I went to one a lot for lacrosse and soccer injuries) but it seems like most of the public looks down on "foot doctors." I for one, did not realize that pods do a good amount of surgery and foot/ankle trauma without well researching the area. I think people assume pods just trim nails, debride clauses and the like. I am not trolling in any way but I'm curious to how you guys are treated and respected. My pod helped me so much in one visit and took away a TON of pain. I respect the profession and definitely looking into attending a pod college.

Hey there, I'm just a third year student but from my personal experience in the VA hospital and the cleveland clinic, I can honestly say that I received nothing but respect from my MD students colleagues. Granted, not many people know exactly what the podiatric profession is all about but they certainly respect you provided that you are able to deliver on your clinic rotation. I have friends from the Case Western Reserve medical school and quite a few of them at first did not know that we have surgical residencies. I think what makes us different from the MD/DO students is that we are relatively anonymous to most of them. However, once they see you in clinic and demonstrate sound competence, you earn the respect of your peers.

From the experiences of my family and friends in the field of podiatry, I see nothing but respect as well - not just from their patients but from peers and colleagues. Remember, respect is something earned and never granted and also at the end of the day, if you are performing an honest service for a patient, treat your patient like your own family, and are willing to cooperatively work and learn from those around you, then you will do very well in this profession.

 

[Dr_Feelgood]

Agreed. Some of the trolls that post on SDN are either pre-med idiots or don't really know much about medicine.

Nothing but respect is what I have received. The occasional why feet but I always tell them why butts or women's parts? That usually shuts them up.

 

[JEWmongous]

Thanks for the replies! I hope dpmgrad is out there too so I can hear a response from a practicing pod. It is a pain for the dumb pre-meds to come in this forum and bash those in pod school or interested in the career. It is the pre meds who bash on the DO's so much too even though they are equals to MD's. You would think they would be smarter. I used to have my heart and soul set on allopathic med school (when I was a college freshman) but I grew wiser, researched other fields, and think that podiatric medicine is a good fit for me. My girlfriend and some friends think its odd to be interested in being a podiatrist but I believe they, like most of the public, do not know enough about the profession. I explain to them what the field consists of nowadays and they are suprised. No one seems to equal podiatry with a doctor specialized in care of the foot and ankle, which includes surgery as well. My friends may assume I want to be a glorified pedicurist which is the problem with the marketing of the profession. Hopefully the new doctors coming out of the 2 and 3 year pod medicine & surgical residencies can change some of this. Thanks again guys.

 

[doclm]

Thanks for the replies! I hope dpmgrad is out there too so I can hear a response from a practicing pod. It is a pain for the dumb pre-meds to come in this forum and bash those in pod school or interested in the career. It is the pre meds who bash on the DO's so much too even though they are equals to MD's. You would think they would be smarter. I used to have my heart and soul set on allopathic med school (when I was a college freshman) but I grew wiser, researched other fields, and think that podiatric medicine is a good fit for me. My girlfriend and some friends think its odd to be interested in being a podiatrist but I believe they, like most of the public, do not know enough about the profession. I explain to them what the field consists of nowadays and they are suprised. No one seems to equal podiatry with a doctor specialized in care of the foot and ankle, which includes surgery as well. My friends may assume I want to be a glorified pedicurist which is the problem with the marketing of the profession. Hopefully the new doctors coming out of the 2 and 3 year pod medicine & surgical residencies can change some of this. Thanks again guys.

I was in the same boat as you are. Committed Pre-med who wouldn't consider anything less than going to be the most successful MD out there. However, after being set back a couple years for horrible Verbal Reasoning scores on my MCAT, I had a chance to work with MD's and determine what I want out of life. I believe you are using good sense in considering the best fit for you. Believe me, the MD route is hardly the best fit for most people. The $$$ is great, but the hours suck. Personally, I would be happy only making about 100K even per year if: I had more time with my family, had more of an independent schedule, and could live with less stress overall in my life.

You have to keep in mind that a lot of Pre-med and Med students are only looking at how much they can succeed in one thing. While many don't realize the costs or responsibilities of such roles until they hit residency and understand what the rest of their years entail.

Good Luck with everything

 

[jonwill]

Hi, for all of those who are during their rotations, in residency, or practicing (dpm grad i believe) I am wondering the amount of respect you receive from patients and other health care practioners? I am looking into the field of podiatry and it seems to be a really good area of medicine. I know the schools have somewhat lower admission standards when compared to MD or DO schools. Do other physicians or med students look down upon pods for this or any other reasons? Anyone faced discrimination? How about orthopedic surgeons or ones that have a foot and ankle fellowship? I'm sure it matters more of your ability to do work and the type of person you are.
I know the importance of pods (I went to one a lot for lacrosse and soccer injuries) but it seems like most of the public looks down on "foot doctors." I for one, did not realize that pods do a good amount of surgery and foot/ankle trauma without well researching the area. I think people assume pods just trim nails, debride clauses and the like. I am not trolling in any way but I'm curious to how you guys are treated and respected. My pod helped me so much in one visit and took away a TON of pain. I respect the profession and definitely looking into attending a pod college.

I've been spending the year rotating at major hospitals all over the nation. I and the docs I've been with have been treated with great respect. You will quickly realize that no one is capable of doing what we do. We are constantly being approached and consulted by other physicians. This is a great specialty!

 

[dpmgrad]

Hi, for all of those who are during their rotations, in residency, or practicing (dpm grad i believe) I am wondering the amount of respect you receive from patients and other health care practioners? I am looking into the field of podiatry and it seems to be a really good area of medicine. I know the schools have somewhat lower admission standards when compared to MD or DO schools. Do other physicians or med students look down upon pods for this or any other reasons? Anyone faced discrimination? How about orthopedic surgeons or ones that have a foot and ankle fellowship? I'm sure it matters more of your ability to do work and the type of person you are.
I know the importance of pods (I went to one a lot for lacrosse and soccer injuries) but it seems like most of the public looks down on "foot doctors." I for one, did not realize that pods do a good amount of surgery and foot/ankle trauma without well researching the area. I think people assume pods just trim nails, debride clauses and the like. I am not trolling in any way but I'm curious to how you guys are treated and respected. My pod helped me so much in one visit and took away a TON of pain. I respect the profession and definitely looking into attending a pod college.

Throughout my clinical rotations as a student and as a resident, I have been treated with respect by most people. However, I have run into some of those individuals that are not familiar or misinformed about the Podiatry profession. After educating these people about the Podiatry profession, it is really nice to see how much more respect that they have for the Podiatry profession. Of course, there will always be some individuals that look down on Podiatry no matter what you do. So, I just don't get too hanged up on those individuals. By going into the Podiatry profession, I think that one need to realize that educating the public and other health care profession about the Podiatry profession is part of the job.

As for Orthopedic Surgeons, some will respect us and other will not respect us. I have been fortunate in that there is a good relationship between Podiatry and Orthopedic Surgery at my hospital. In some residency programs (such as Grant Medical Center in Columbus, OH, Mt Sinai Medical Center in New York, Swedish Medical Center in Seattle, and UPMC - Southside in Pittsburgh, PA), the Podiatry residents are also trained by Foot and Ankle Orthopedic Surgeons.

 

[flypod]

Food for thought:

You say "pods are trained by orthopedic surgeons"

How many times here have people said pods have more foot exposure and know F/As better than MD-orthos?

Why arent the pods training the MD orthos in feet?

 

[Podman]

Food for thought:

You say "pods are trained by orthopedic surgeons"

How many times here have people said pods have more foot exposure and know F/As better than MD-orthos?

Why arent the pods training the MD orthos in feet?

No one here is saying they know more foot and ankle than FA orthos. Those debates end up taking us in circles and yield nothing - they have great training and we have excellent training as well...We trust and rely on many excellent orthopoedic surgeons for our residency training, so its not a matter of who is better than the other...

According to the Journal of the Foot and Ankle surgery, some DPMs at residency programs do in fact train foot and ankle orthos. As a matter of fact, there was an article on this in the March/April issue of this year.

 

[dpmgrad]

Food for thought:

You say "pods are trained by orthopedic surgeons"

How many times here have people said pods have more foot exposure and know F/As better than MD-orthos?

The training that DPMs get from Ortho surgeons further diversifies the DPM's residency training. The approach that a Foot and Ankle Orthopod takes for a particular issue may be different from a DPM.

Why arent the pods training the MD orthos in feet?

Actually, there are DPMs that are part of Ortho groups and are involved in teaching MD/DO orthos in the Ortho residency programs.

Judging from your last few postings, you seem to be rather bitter about the Podiatry profession. If this is the case, I recommend you to consider the MD/DO route instead.

 

[flypod]

why cant someone constructively look at a profession? i think that anyone who'd just dive right in without asking the penetrating questions is an idiot. podiatry school costs hundreds of thousands and takes years of your life. why not examine all aspects from A-Z. if you were going spend that kind of time and money on a house for example, you'd ask your realtor all sorts of questions now wouldnt you?

I just dont understand why there is an attitude like "if you like us, join us. if you ask any critically constructive questions that are valid, get out!"

 

[jonwill]

Food for thought:

Why arent the pods training the MD orthos in feet?

Because the majority of ortho doesn't do feet at all. Instead, they leave it to the specialists, the DPM's.

Others disagree but I believe that, for various reasons, foot and ankle ortho is a dying breed. They are already a rarity.

 

[flypod]

.. if there was hundreds and hundreds of thousands per practitioner, you better believe that the mds would be all over it.

 

[jonwill]

.. if there was hundreds and hundreds of thousands per practitioner, you better believe that the mds would be all over it.

Not following ya

 

[jonwill]

why cant someone constructively look at a profession? i think that anyone who'd just dive right in without asking the penetrating questions is an idiot. podiatry school costs hundreds of thousands and takes years of your life. why not examine all aspects from A-Z. if you were going spend that kind of time and money on a house for example, you'd ask your realtor all sorts of questions now wouldnt you?

I just dont understand why there is an attitude like "if you like us, join us. if you ask any critically constructive questions that are valid, get out!"

At the same time, you have to realize that we know a lot more about the profession than you do. I think a lot of us are sick of having others ask questions, us giving perfectly reasonable and truthful answers, and then the person that asked the question (assumedly because they don't know the answer) disputing it!!!

 

[flypod]

got it.

 

[cool_vkb]

got it.

brother! i support u 100%. Even i used to ask a lot of questions like this. ofcourse man, its a descion of a life time and v have to invest so much money in this. But there are two things which i did and after that all my questions were resolved. i wud recommend u also do so. it might be helpfull.

1) Shadow a DPM as soon as you can. And plzz dont shadow a DPM who has graduted 15yrs ago. there has been significant revolution in this field and u will be suprised when u will speak to a 1970 graduate and a 1998 graduate. They have different attitude and ofcourse different training. A new graduate may be able to answer all ur questions and u will get a first hand look of what kind of patients they see and how is the practice. If u have time and resources then shadow like 2-3 DPMs in different fields. I shadowed a DPM who used to work exclusively on Nursing homes and home visits- his views were totally different from the other pod whom i shadowed , he was working in Pod group practice and mainly in surgery related patients and their after surgey care management, while the other was solo practice. they all were very good people and may god bless them. but they all gave their different perspective on the same profession which helped me gather the answers to all my questions.

2) Before posting, just do a search on this forum. believe me nearly all the questions u ask or we ask, have already been asked and answered properly. So the regualr members can get tired seeing same questions asked all the time.

hope this helps.

 

[JEWmongous]

Thanks for the replies (minus the nonchalant trolling by flypod). I'm sure that most of the people that bash pods don't know enough about the profession in the first place. Those who are in medicine may equate podiatry and its average low 20 MCAT scores with med school rejects. Probably many of us on here considered MD/DO (or Dental too) at one point because we didn't know other medical fields out there existed. That was the case with me and I realize how nieve I once was. I think I read on here a poll of Americans thought that pods are MD's with training of foot and ankle. The problem seems to lie with the marketing of the profession. Others may think pods are glorified pedicurists (sp). I think this adds to the low number of applicants and not the greatest GPA and test scores but I could be wrong. Explaining the profession to the uninformed seems key.

Also, I never thought pods did surgeries until looking on SDN and it definitely suprised me. I even went to pods for ingrown toenails a few times but it never crossed my mind.

However, it is an appealing field to me because it combines primary care, some surgery, derm, sports medicine, limb salvage etc. The variety seems great and you can work with many types of people. Is this one of the things that you guys in pod school or have graduated pod school like about the profession??? What are the things you like about podiatry and what are things that you do not like or not fond of? Thanks

 

[flypod]

Most people do respect pods from what I've seen. Orthos have beef from WHAT I HAVE SEEN. They see pods as inferior.

 

[capo]

Most people do respect pods from what I've seen. Orthos have beef from WHAT I HAVE SEEN. They see pods as inferior.

Whoa, defending the pod profession! I truly have seen the light!

 

[JEWmongous]

Hey Flypod, stop wasting your time and ours on this forum. I wanted real answers from people who are students or graduated not people who have not even taken any pre-med classes. Thanks. Actually keep posting so you get banned and the we don't have to listen to your bs anymore.

 

[AZPOD Rocks]

why cant someone constructively look at a profession? i think that anyone who'd just dive right in without asking the penetrating questions is an idiot. podiatry school costs hundreds of thousands and takes years of your life. why not examine all aspects from A-Z. if you were going spend that kind of time and money on a house for example, you'd ask your realtor all sorts of questions now wouldnt you?

I just dont understand why there is an attitude like "if you like us, join us. if you ask any critically constructive questions that are valid, get out!"

Flypod,

This thread was started by someone asking a "penetrating question." If you reread the first post, you will notice how tactfully and sincerely the question was asked.

The past few posts I have read of yours (minus the one you just posted which seems to support podiatry) have asked questions in an insinuating and derogatory way. This is not the way to do it if you are sincere. Please, ask the questions which you need to ask but do so in a respectful way which does not offend those who frequent this forum.

You are asking for us to answer "penetrating questions" and to "constructively look at the profession" with you. We are willing to do that. Are you willing to be respectful of us and ask your questions and make your statements like JEWmongous did for this thread?

AZPOD Rocks

 

[capo]

why cant someone constructively look at a profession? i think that anyone who'd just dive right in without asking the penetrating questions is an idiot. podiatry school costs hundreds of thousands and takes years of your life. why not examine all aspects from A-Z. if you were going spend that kind of time and money on a house for example, you'd ask your realtor all sorts of questions now wouldnt you?

I just dont understand why there is an attitude like "if you like us, join us. if you ask any critically constructive questions that are valid, get out!"

Seriously, look at your questions objectively. None and I repeat none, are really constructive but rather designed soley to put down the profession -- subjectively on your part. Now if you could honestly evaluate yourself you'd admit this. If you're this wild and undisciplined to ask questions yet react adversely when you don't get answers you WANT to hear, then how in the world will you deal with patients or adcomms asking you pointed questions?

You seem to be able to dish out insults but are faint of heart when someone challenges YOUR opinions. Now go ahead and answer: "Ok, buddy" or some other witty comeback you seem so adept at using.

 

[Dr_Feelgood]

Most people do respect pods from what I've seen. Orthos have beef from WHAT I HAVE SEEN. They see pods as inferior.

Same thing here. Respect or leave.

Just an FYI Dr. Grossman out of the St Vincent teaches the orthopods foot and ankle surgery. I wonder if the whisper "This guy is below us why are we here?"

 

[IlizaRob]

Seriously, look at your questions objectively. None and I repeat none, are really constructive but rather designed soley to put down the profession -- subjectively on your part. Now if you could honestly evaluate yourself you'd admit this. If you're this wild and undisciplined to ask questions yet react adversely when you don't get answers you WANT to hear, then how in the world will you deal with patients or adcomms asking you pointed questions?

You seem to be able to dish out insults but are faint of heart when someone challenges YOUR opinions. Now go ahead and answer: "Ok, buddy" or some other witty comeback you seem so adept at using.

I think everyone should lay off flypod a little. As long as he doesnt try to pass off his opinions as fact (which he has done on a few occasions) there is nothing wrong with asking questions that confront some of the negative aspects of the profession. He just needs to repect the opinions of those who answer, thats all. DPMgrad does a nice job addressing his concerns with respect. We all should do the same.

 

[capo]

I think everyone should lay off flypod a little. As long as he doesnt try to pass off his opinions as fact (which he has done on a few occasions) there is nothing wrong with asking questions that confront some of the negative aspects of the profession. He just needs to repect the opinions of those who answer, thats all. DPMgrad does a nice job addressing his concerns with respect. We all should do the same.

Iliza, put very well. I do agree I've been goaded myself into some stupid comments and replies, as per his goal.

 

[Dr_Feelgood]

I think everyone should lay off flypod a little. As long as he doesnt try to pass off his opinions as fact (which he has done on a few occasions) there is nothing wrong with asking questions that confront some of the negative aspects of the profession. He just needs to repect the opinions of those who answer, thats all. DPMgrad does a nice job addressing his concerns with respect. We all should do the same.

Just b/c you've got a lover from Phoenix doesn't mean that he is not trolling. I'm more than happy to answer his questions and debate issues, but I'm not going to play the "Is podiatry a good career? Your wrong pods are chancers and hate child and puppies" game.

 

[IlizaRob]

Just b/c you've got a lover from Phoenix doesn't mean that he is not trolling. I'm more than happy to answer his questions and debate issues, but I'm not going to play the "Is podiatry a good career? Your wrong pods are chancers and hate child and puppies" game.

He's not a troll, ok? I know for a fact that he personally interviewed the thousands of pods that practice in Phoenix. He knows what he's talking about.

 

[cool_vkb]

He's not a troll, ok? I know for a fact that he personally interviewed the thousands of pods that practice in Phoenix. He knows what he's talking about.

So, he may have a PhD in Shadowing. what difference does it make. On the ground the fact is he is acting weird. See here's the thing, either he shadowed the most unsuccesfull pods or he see Podiatrys from the eyes of an MD. i mean comparing MD and DPM in the same boat and expecting same practice scope. in all his posts he tries to compare us with MDs. hello! we are DPMs we have our own school. it is called as podiatric medicne school. So we ahve our own system. we do work with MDs very closely but we have our own system. I think this guy is not accepting this fact. he wants to view DPM in contast to MD and getting all this problems. Just look this as an independent profession. dont compare!

 

[flypod]

Not to play devil's advocate here but I have heard there has been movements multiple times over the years to have a DPM/MD or DPM/DO degree like the DDS/MD.

??

 

[IlizaRob]

Not to play devil's advocate here but I have heard there has been movements multiple times over the years to have a DPM/MD or DPM/DO degree like the DDS/MD.

??

So whats your question?

 

[jonwill]

Not to play devil's advocate here but I have heard there has been movements multiple times over the years to have a DPM/MD or DPM/DO degree like the DDS/MD.

??

NOVA Southeastern in Florida (a DO school) actually has one. It will be a miserable failure because it is pretty much pointless.

 

[flypod]

Interesting because the DDS/MD degree for oral surgeons has been a fairly good sucess.

 

[krabmas]

Interesting because the DDS/MD degree for oral surgeons has been a fairly good sucess.

the DDS/MD is mostly (not always) for maxilofascial surgeons which helps them with hospital privliges and some other stuff. the DPM alone gets hospital privliges so we do not need the MD.

And all those people that want to do their own H & Ps? Why? let medicine do it. I understand wanting to have the right just in case but usually especially with our high risk patients why not let medicine do the H & P for surgery?

 

[IlizaRob]

the DDS/MD is mostly (not always) for maxilofascial surgeons which helps them with hospital privliges and some other stuff. the DPM alone gets hospital privliges so we do not need the MD.

And all those people that want to do their own H & Ps? Why? let medicine do it. I understand wanting to have the right just in case but usually especially with our high risk patients why not let medicine do the H & P for surgery?

Krab, I dont think that anyone will argue to let medicine do the H&Ps on high risk patients. Any medical specialty would do that. But it would be annoying to try to find someone to do the H&P on a perfectly healthy patient in for elective surgery. It would also save time for all parties involved.

 

[Podman]

Krab, I dont think that anyone will argue to let medicine do the H&Ps on high risk patients. Any medical specialty would do that. But it would be annoying to try to find someone to do the H&P on a perfectly healthy patient in for elective surgery. It would also save time for all parties involved.

Time and money, Ilizarob. I definately agree with you on that post!

 

[doclm]

Krab, I dont think that anyone will argue to let medicine do the H&Ps on high risk patients. Any medical specialty would do that. But it would be annoying to try to find someone to do the H&P on a perfectly healthy patient in for elective surgery. It would also save time for all parties involved.

I was in the understanding that we can do our own H&P's in certain instances. I mean thats why we learn how to do this in school right? We supposively do this to determine if the risks of surgery are too high with some patients.

Just a question for some experienced students or DPM grad(s):

How often do we use the knowledge of reading ECG's? I understand that we use these primarily for surgeries that involve general anesthetics, so wouldn't there be a CRNA or Anes-doc there to monitor this? Is there instances where we would independently be responsible to understand whats gonig on with a patients cardiovascular? Just Curious, I really enjoy and understand cardiophys and would like to know if I could ever use this knowledge in the future.

How about listening for heart murmurs or arrhythmia's with patients? Is this only done while doing a full H&P? I am sure that you DMU students would do much better at this having the full mock arrhythmia machine/patient. I was able to put on those computerized stethoscope's and listen while the interviewer mixed the rhythms up.

 

[jonwill]

Interesting because the DDS/MD degree for oral surgeons has been a fairly good sucess.

You are right but that degree serves a purpose, as krabmas stated. It is also a widely accepted degree. There are two slots in the world right now for the DO/DPM degree. Here is the summary as I understand it:
- 4 years DPM program
- 3 years DO program (complex 1 and 2)
- 1 year DO internship (comlex 3)

Then you have a DO/DPM. Now, you either have to find a podiatric surgical residency that will take you after being out for 4 years or find a DO residency that will accept this DO/DPM degree (that they have probably never heard of) and let you do a residency in something else. And I have no idea where this degree stands on accredidation. Not to mention the fact that any degree (MD, DO, or DPM) qualifies you to do nothing except receive further training. In other words, just because you have a DO/DPM doesn't mean you could reconstruct a knee because you did not do an ortho residency. Just because you have a DO/DPM degree would not allow you to treat a rash on someones hand while in your podiatry office because you did not do a residency in FP or derm.

If I have mis-stated something, please let me know! It just doesn't make sense to me!

 

[IlizaRob]

I was in the understanding that we can do our own H&P's in certain instances. I mean thats why we learn how to do this in school right? We supposively do this to determine if the risks of surgery are too high with some patients.
.

It depends on the hospital. Some allow DPMs to admit patients while others dont.

 

[OOK]

You are right but that degree serves a purpose, as krabmas stated. It is also a widely accepted degree. There are two slots in the world right now for the DO/DPM degree. Here is the summary as I understand it:
- 4 years DPM program
- 3 years DO program (complex 1 and 2)
- 1 year DO internship (comlex 3)

Then you have a DO/DPM. Now, you either have to find a podiatric surgical residency that will take you after being out for 4 years or find a DO residency that will accept this DO/DPM degree (that they have probably never heard of) and let you do a residency in something else. And I have no idea where this degree stands on accredidation. Not to mention the fact that any degree (MD, DO, or DPM) qualifies you to do nothing except receive further training. In other words, just because you have a DO/DPM doesn't mean you could reconstruct a knee because you did not do an ortho residency. Just because you have a DO/DPM degree would not allow you to treat a rash on someones hand while in your podiatry office because you did not do a residency in FP or derm.

If I have mis-stated something, please let me know! It just doesn't make sense to me!

DO/DPM and MD/DPM are only good if someone wants to do primary podiatric care. after that it is just good for someone own knowledge. However, the individual can decide to pursue an MD or DO residency.

 

[krabmas]

DO/DPM and MD/DPM are only good if someone wants to do primary podiatric care. after that it is just good for someone own knowledge. However, the individual can decide to pursue an MD or DO residency.

I do not think that the 4 years of med school or DO school will benifit the DPM. We have already had those 4 years or something comparably similar.

The benefit to getting the MD or DO would be the opening of the doors to MD and DO residencies. I can see this benifitting someone who wants to learn more internal medicine to further their general podiatric medicine knowledge. There are a few other areas where I can see this being beneficial such as plastic surgery and vascular surgery, pathology, oncology and maybe even peds. Almost any other specialty will put you into a different specialty as a practitioner and no longer a pod.

As a podiatrist you will have the option to become the podiatric specialist i what ever you choose (or not specialize at all). If you do choose to specialize it would be beneficial to learn as much as you can about that area. MD residencies and fellowships may be helpful in that area but not necessary. DPMs can already do MD foot and ankle fellowships in some places (not just abroad).

 

[Dr_Feelgood]

Agreed DPM/MD(DO) is too similar and why not just go become a foot and ankle orthopod.

Dental schools general have a similar approach but there are enough differences between the DDS and MD(DO) programs to justify the double degree. Also, not having a required post-grad training I feel helps push more DDS to the programs that and there are a 100 DDS students to every 1 pod (I made that stat up so don't quote/curse, it is just an estimate)

 

[dawg44]

Agreed DPM/MD(DO) is too similar and why not just go become a foot and ankle orthopod.

)

I agree, someone that would do that sounds like they are trying to back their way in.

 

[Dr_Feelgood]

A very expensive and stupid back door, but this is made for pods that wanted to be orthos put couldn't cut the mustard. (my opinion b/c I know that the DPM/DO at Barry is a pathologist)

 

[dawg44]

Because the majority of ortho doesn't do feet at all. Instead, they leave it to the specialists, the DPM's.

Others disagree but I believe that, for various reasons, foot and ankle ortho is a dying breed. They are already a rarity.

If its dying, its a magnificent death because a DPM can't touch the offers a F&A orthopod is going to get.

 

[Dr_Feelgood]

I agree. Business wise why hire a F&A ortho when you have to pay him twice as much???

 

[dawg44]

I agree. Business wise why hire a F&A ortho when you have to pay him twice as much???

Billing, Call, Marketing, Referrals lots of reasons. The proof is in the offers in my trash can and voicemail.

 

[Dr_Feelgood]

So your practice markets you instead of general marketing/referrals???

I will agree with call that is the biggest drawback for any ortho group. But that being said those pods that are in ortho groups get screwed b/c they are always on call.

I'm sure dpmgrad only had one offer and had to sleep under a bridge before that first paycheck. Come on dawg, most grads have numerous offers out of residency.

 

[Podman]

If its dying, its a magnificent death because a DPM can't touch the offers a F&A orthopod is going to get.

i don't think you can compare the F&A orthopod offer to a DPM's offer because they are two different specialties. Even if the employer is an orthopoedic group, the DPM's offer is always less for various reasons: mainly the fact that we can't take general calls, obviously less reimbursment per procedure, etc.

However, I have read that many F&A orthopod fellowships go unfilled, maybe you can explain this to me further - but generally the spine, knee, hip ones don't have that problem.

 

[IlizaRob]

Billing, Call, Marketing, Referrals lots of reasons. The proof is in the offers in my trash can and voicemail.

Tell you what dawg, you accept the job for 450K, then Ill go into work everyday posing as you. You pay me 250K and the rest is yours. All you need to do is take all the general ortho call.