Is shadowing a podiatrist a must?
Last edited:
Shadowing a must?
- Thread starter bunion123
- Start date
Its not a must to get in .... but like unitix said, if you want to be doing this for the rest of your life then you should go shadow one. You don't want to be one of those students who realizes they can't stand feet after a year and drops out with an extra $40K in student loan debt and one year of your life lost.
- Joined
- Feb 22, 2007
- Messages
- 737
- Reaction score
- 725
You musn't do anything you don't wish to do. However, you are required to shadow a podiatrist and submit a letter of recommendation from a podiatrist to apply to podiatry school.
3
347932
Yes it is.
I haven't seen this requirement written down anywhere. please show me where if you can.
Just want to know if I can recieve an acceptance without having done so.
- Joined
- Jan 9, 2010
- Messages
- 608
- Reaction score
- 1
Seriously? You can't take a few hours out of your life to shadow a pod?
Honestly, if you end up applying without shadowing a pod, I hope you get rejections from every school.
Seriously? You can't take a few hours out of your life to shadow a pod?
Honestly, if you end up applying without shadowing a pod, I hope you get rejections from every school.
Ill be sure to forward you my acceptance letter
Last edited:
umm, yeah, make sure you do shadow, and at that, more than just one day, and a few different. i am not joking. it makes a lot of difference if you are going. (its kinda important to know why you are going where you are going and that you might actually like, or atleast find it to be palateable)
and i thought you needed a letter of rec from a Pod. Even if you are accepted, (i know this for only temple-personal exp), its only a conditional offer, contingent on receiving the letters.
also, with your stats, why didnt you want to go to DO, or allo? or do you just have a foot fetish?
and i thought you needed a letter of rec from a Pod. Even if you are accepted, (i know this for only temple-personal exp), its only a conditional offer, contingent on receiving the letters.
also, with your stats, why didnt you want to go to DO, or allo? or do you just have a foot fetish?
btw, on your location, it says not where you think
does that mean you are not in an igloo in Antarctica?
- Joined
- Sep 1, 2010
- Messages
- 412
- Reaction score
- 7
I have a feeling if you were to go and spend 20k on a car tomorrow, you'd probably go test drive it at the very least, in addition to all the research.
Why are you so ready to jump into boat-loads of debt for something you haven't even seen up close?
Test drive, man.
Why are you so ready to jump into boat-loads of debt for something you haven't even seen up close?
Test drive, man.
3
347932
Damn it!! You found me out!!! Sheesh, is nothing sacred anymore???!!!
- Joined
- Jun 21, 2011
- Messages
- 367
- Reaction score
- 21
Podiatry is by no means a backup. I COULD go to medical school if I wanted, but I chose podiatry because of the lifestyle and my interest in that field. Be careful with what you say because our might overlord Kidsfeet could one day be someone you interview with!
- Joined
- Jan 9, 2010
- Messages
- 608
- Reaction score
- 1
I did apply to MD and DO
Ive only gotten rejections so far and still have to hear back from 6 schools (all of which i would gladly go to since they are in NY.) However, this late in the game im looking to use POD as a backup. Can't afford to spend a year of my life enhancing my resume for just a possibility.
a POD shares the office with the Urologist that ive shadowed. Guess ill just go there for a few days
you win Frantic
Good luck getting help here.
3
347932
I am no overlord of the mights! I am a measly peasant in might's clothing!
- Joined
- Jun 21, 2011
- Messages
- 367
- Reaction score
- 21
The y button gets stuck! It would be cool if you or any other mods/graduated doctors could perhaps share your experiences? For one, I always see you on here and am very interested in picking your brain.
So its not a backup for YOU. Doesn't mean it can't be a backup for me. judging by the overall grades and mcat of Pod students it IS a backup for most people. I know all the people who were interested in Pods from the beginning despise people like me and my comments. Bottom line is, if i get accepted without shadowing you guys would just be pissed off because it confirms your fears about Podiatry schools and how they'll take what ever students they can get
3
347932
Pick away! What would you like to know?
- Joined
- Apr 2, 2011
- Messages
- 90
- Reaction score
- 0
Yes shadowing is a must. I can see no other way to get a LOR of substance from a DPM... unless you have the "hook up". I would definitely advise you to spend a few hours of your schedule to shadow. Some schools like to ask you about your shadowing experience during interviews. Please take everyone's advice and SHADOW!
- Joined
- Jun 21, 2011
- Messages
- 367
- Reaction score
- 21
Haha Kidsfeet, where did you attend? What were your experiences each year? What good/bad/interesting things should future podiatry students be on the lookout for? I've only had 1 interview and was exposed to a small student panel for approximately 30 minutes, but because they are representatives of the school, they won't always highlight the negatives.
3
347932
All very good questions.
I attended TUSPM and was in it's first graduating class. I've seen a lot of changes there, and I don't want to offend anyone, but looking from the outside in, there are issues. When I was there, I would consider it the golden period the school had. My surgical mentors were the likes of Downey, Mlodzienski, Malay, Muscarella, Pontious, Bauer, and the medicine department had Walters, LaMont, McGuire (who is still there)...etc. Once Temple took over, many were forced to leave due to their affiliation with non Temple institutions, and that has been the struggle ever since. Academia is a difficult life. The pay is low, there is a lot of pressure to produce, both clnically and research wise, so it's not easy or attractive. There was a recent article in the New York Times or Washington Post about the struggles of any academic institutions to attract the best and brightest of the young crop, and most of them are going to adjunct staff who work independently in the community. This affords a much lower cost to the institutions (no benefits, tenure...etc), and also assures that the professors are the real deal, as they are practicing what they preach daily and need to keep up on things to feed their families, not to just relay information. TUSPM should take a hard look at that model. They also need a changing of the guard with their administration in my eyes. The young bring in the new and fresh. Still a great school, mostly because of the location. Philly is a Mecca for our profession. No question about that!
The first two years of school were really a blur for me (not like that, silly). It was the first time I was away from home and was apart from my girlfriend (now wife and mother of our three kids) so life was a little rough. I studied all the time, so the days really flew by. I also found a really solid group of friends to study with, and you could always find us in the little study room/carels in the student apartment complex. I ate more Lorenzo's pizza than I could care to remember that first year. After the 1st year, I found it easier to study as I really found a good method that worked for me really well, and also found that it took less session time to retain large amounts of information, so life settled a little. By my third year, my finacee moved to Philly to go to graduate school, we were together and I really started to settle into a solid study routine and clinic work. I can honestly say that my time at TUSPM was really a whirlwind. Lots of stress, lots of fun (Blizzard of the Century!), and exhausting. Little did I know, that the REAL work was yet to come. Mike Downey once told me that school was the easy part. Damn if he wasn't right on target.
As far as what students should focus on, students today are making the same mistake they did when I was coming up. Get the training. That is key. Doesn't matter where. Most talk about that they HAVE to go here, or they HAVE to go there. Your training will define your career. Get it anywhere you can. Also, forget about the big fancy cases. They are nightmares to deal with pre and post operatives and the financial return is no where near worth the headaches. Many do these big fancy cases and the patient ends up with Home Depot in their foot, then these docs lecture and every resident/student in the audience ohhhhs and ahhhs. Honestly, I'll pass. Show me a perfectly done bunion...now THAT gets me. It's intricate, it's small and if you start succeeding with those procedures, you won't want to do anything else. Patients are happy, they recover quickly, and best of all, they come back! There are a couple programs nationwide that teach their residents all about CORA and fancy tibial transpositions, blah, blah, blah, but you know what the residents complain about? They graduate and can't do a simple bunion. They didn't see enough. They aren't comfortable doing the bread and butter surgery. Get the basics down. Seriously. You do one, maybe two, Charcot Recons, I'm SURE you can figure it out on your own. You screw up one Austin badly, you are in deep doodoo.
Students also get so up in arms about school loyalty. No one is really questioning YOU about your choice to attend. School spirit is good. But bring to your wallet when you graduate if you can. The bickering that goes on this site about which school this and which school that is really senseless. Professional school is about teaching you what you need to know to make you a professional. That's it. ALL the schools give you the tools. It's up to YOU and only you. Once you get out of school and into residency, no one will care where you went. This is especially true once you get into practice. No one cares where you went to school. If you are an ethical practicioner, that will speak volumes more than where you went to school.
My own personal opinion about practice is that the solo practice is all but gone. I was in a two doc practice and life was HARD. Pod supergroups is where it's at. It's very rare for a DPM to be hired by an Ortho group and spend their whole career with that group and become an owner/partner. It happens, but it's rare. Are you that one that will get that opportunity? Maybe, and if you smell it, go for it, but my view is we have to stick together. That's the only way we'll progress. I've changed my song about this recently as some very close colleagues have shown me the light in this regard. It's got nothing to do with riding coattails and everything to do with longevity.
Last edited:
- Joined
- Jun 21, 2011
- Messages
- 367
- Reaction score
- 21
I appreciate that very much Kidsfeet. Right now, I'm in the position where hopefully I land multiple acceptances and have my pick. But I definitely agree with you in that it's what you get out of your education (training) that is tantamount. While I've heard many amazing things about how the podiatric profession will explode, I'm a bit concerned about these supergroups, especially for newly graduating podiatrists. What do most podiatrists do the first 2-5 years after they graduate? Is there a very large actual demand for podiatrists in practicing medical groups?
Thanks,
KW
Thanks,
KW
Kidsfeet, you mentioned after the 1st year, you found it easier to study as you really found a good study method that worked really well for you and that you also found it took less session time to retain large amounts of information.
Could you expound? What did you learn about studying during those 2 years that you wish you knew from the get go?
Could you expound? What did you learn about studying during those 2 years that you wish you knew from the get go?
3
347932
There will always be a demand for intelligent, well trained, hard working professionals. There will always be docs looking to make their group bigger or getting ready to retire and pass the torch on to someone. You just have to look for the perfect fit.
For me it took 10 years. Hopefully for you, not so long. I worked in a couple of horrible situations, mostly because I was waiting for a green card, and some people abused their positions over me because of it. It didn't kill me, and made me much stronger, but a little jaded and cynical.
3
347932
After awhile you get a feel for what is important and what isn't. It also became a matter for me of studying for an extra 5 hours to get those extra 2 questions right vs. just guessing. Wasn't worth it.
I can't really explain it either. It just clicked. Your brain is like a muscle, I guess. The more you train it to learn, the faster it learns and the more it can absorb. It's amazing how much we actually memorize if you think about it.
- Joined
- Sep 1, 2010
- Messages
- 412
- Reaction score
- 7
This post basically summarizes the entirety of studying.
The difference between failing and passing is what...4-5 hours?
The difference between B/C, maybe another 10 or so.
A/B? Another several on top of that.
As I spent night after night away from my wife, I've decided with a bit of hesitancy to focus more on being a happy family and providing a bit more emotionally for her, rather than not having a life and making all As.
Is it nice to look at a score report and see "Your grade - 39/40; Average - 33/40"?
Well duh.
It's nicer to lay on the couch with my woman and watch the Spurs play, though.
I'll take the 4-5% drop in productivity for the 20-50% increase in a family life.
Also, I think what you're saying about the waterfall of information and just sort of adapting to it is incredibly accurate. I recall the beginning of first semester, thinking "Oh, GOD! I only have 3 days to study for that exam!!" Now 2 days is fine, 3 days is almost guaranteed A.
Additionally, though I've gotten in the habit of pulling more and more all-nighters, I can't stress enough the importance of sleep in the learning process. I can't count the number of times I've gone to sleep after studying so long I'm numb and depressed at how little I've retained, then been surprised the next morning when I look at a N. meningitides notecard and think without having to try, "oh yeah, gram neg, catalase positive, diplococci, LOS, army/dorm rooms, Conjugate vaccine".
It's especially important for the things that aren't as conceptual, the rote memorization stuff.
When you have to memorize the names, etiology, epidemiology, causative agents, life cycle, etc. of a pathogenic organism, you've got to repeatedly test yourself, and rest in between. The sleep does more for organizing memory and learned material than you ever could awake.
- Joined
- Feb 22, 2007
- Messages
- 737
- Reaction score
- 725
I was in your boat too. I had 3.33 gpa 3.2 sgpa and 32 mcat. No md school gave me an interview. I lm sure if i kept applying year after year eventually id get in, but honestly i wanted a job where i work with my hands. That is where the podiatric surgical practice appealed to me. However you have to understand that a lot of what we do also involves diabetic foot risk assessment/management, corns n calluses, ingrown nails, and wound care... all stuff that every pod works with on top of the glorified surgical oppprtunities. Every year there are students who drop out of pod school not because of its curriculum but because they feel that podiatry was actually not right for them. That is the reason why adcoms wish their applicants shadow a pod... so that they know what they're getting themselves into.
If you get into pod school without shadowing a pod then congratulations to you, i only hope you wont waste your time and money because it is only an investment that you're making for the rest of your life.
Btw if you bothered to look more carefully at the requirements on the application page of any podiatry school's website, you will see that the letter of rec from a pod is still required.
Last edited:
Guess i didnt look closely enough. I think i feel the same way that whats appealing to me is the podiatric surgical practice. However It is in nmy best interest to shadow a pod to see if im willing to put up with the other stuff for the surgeries i may get to do occasionally. anyway getting hooked up with some podiatrists now so hopefully I will like it.
Last edited:
