So terribly disappointed.

[Sher9mm]

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Well, I went for my interview at TUSPM. You guys who have been reading my posts knew that I was extremely excited about all this and very optimistic. I do apologize to folks who I pinned as "whiners" since now I believe a great deal of the doom and gloom.

Although the students and staff were extremely nice, I was very disappointed at the facilities and honestly wondered "where does the $26k per year go to?" The computers and facilities (chairs, desks, models, etc) were very old. I felt like I had stepped into the late 1970s. The treatment rooms in the clinic were uncomfortably small and not well-ventilated. I thought "if this is the best, I would hate to see the worst."

I wanted to cry when residency pays were discussed. I *do* think I would make a great podiatrist and would enjoy helping patients, however, I *do not* believe the field offers adequate opportunities to help graduates eliminate debt. I realize some individuals may be wealthy coming into podiatry and not require a large student loan, however, I am not wealthy and would require a student loan of over $100k. Residencies which paid $15k-$25k were mentioned which would be very detrimental considering the amount of loan I would personally need. Non-surgical fields such as psychiatry have residencies in the $40Ks. After a two to three year podiatric residency in which I would be forced to take out more loans to live on, I would be looking at a loan balance of nearly $200k.

The doom and gloom continues.. after wanting to cry after visiting TUSPM, I emailed Barry University to cancel my interview and create an opportunity for another student. My email read:

"I would like to cancel my interview on Friday the 23rd. I toured Temple University's Podiatric Medicine program on Friday and after discussing the extremely low-residency pay ($15-25k) for podiatric graduates, I have decided not to pursue podiatry. Please cancel my application. Sorry for the inconvenience."

I received a very condescending email from their Director of Admissions (yes this man with a J.D. degree used horribly grammar and incorrectly spelled "opposed"):

"I am sorry that you interest in Podiatric Medicine hinged on how much money you would make in your residency as apposed to practicing medicine. Pay for residencies differ in areas of the country so that what is the average pay at Temple differs greatly in some post graduate programs in Miami and elsewhere We are sorry that you will not have the opportunity to interview here at Barry University ,and we wish you much success in a career that is non-medical in nature."

I have volunteered for YEARS in rehab so to assume that I am greedy was very unprofessional. I am not greedy, however, I cannot see myself being happy in 6 or 7 years knowing I have a large student loan hovering above my head.

I have applied to a Post-Bacc program here in Virginia to occupy myself for the next year while I decide what the heck I am going to do. I thought I had this all planned out. 🙁

I am a very disgruntled young lady today, yes indeed.

 

[box29]

Sorry to hear about your experience. I think you should have interviewed or applied to Scholl College. Their facilities at Rosalind Franklin U./The Chicago Medical School are absolutely TOP NOTCH! Everything is NEW! I think you would have been impressed! As for residency pay...I have seen the list of available residencies since I was finishing my second year and getting ready to apply for externships. They also included information about the residencies and I really did not see anything at $15K. Programs on the east coast pay significantly more since cost of living is higher. I have seen PGY-1 starting at $45,000 and going to $56,000. As for the midwest, I have seen them around $29,000 - $34,000 for PGY-1 going to around $45,000 for PGY-2 or 3.

As a resident, you won't get great pay anywhere for the hours you will work. This goes for medicine as well. I understand the worry associated with pay but money is not everything. You can work a job that pays big bucks but if you aren't happy, more money is not going to fix that. Going into healthcare should never be about money but sadly some people place all the emphasis on that. Good luck!

 

[jessica123]

EGADS! if it was that bad visiting, imagine what it would be like after they got your government loan check cashed! i guess fancy talk is one thing and visual reality is another. i visited barry, they use a decrepid strip mall well off campus for a podiatry school. makes ya wonder where all the money goes. i went to a bartending school in a strip mall that was nicer.


good luck,
jes

 

[jconway]

Well, I went for my interview at TUSPM. You guys who have been reading my posts knew that I was extremely excited about all this and very optimistic. I do apologize to folks who I pinned as "whiners" since now I believe a great deal of the doom and gloom.

Although the students and staff were extremely nice, I was very disappointed at the facilities and honestly wondered "where does the $26k per year go to?" The computers and facilities (chairs, desks, models, etc) were very old. I felt like I had stepped into the late 1970s. The treatment rooms in the clinic were uncomfortably small and not well-ventilated. I thought "if this is the best, I would hate to see the worst."

I wanted to cry when residency pays were discussed. I *do* think I would make a great podiatrist and would enjoy helping patients, however, I *do not* believe the field offers adequate opportunities to help graduates eliminate debt. I realize some individuals may be wealthy coming into podiatry and not require a large student loan, however, I am not wealthy and would require a student loan of over $100k. Residencies which paid $15k-$25k were mentioned which would be very detrimental considering the amount of loan I would personally need. Non-surgical fields such as psychiatry have residencies in the $40Ks. After a two to three year podiatric residency in which I would be forced to take out more loans to live on, I would be looking at a loan balance of nearly $200k.

The doom and gloom continues.. after wanting to cry after visiting TUSPM, I emailed Barry University to cancel my interview and create an opportunity for another student. My email read:

"I would like to cancel my interview on Friday the 23rd. I toured Temple University's Podiatric Medicine program on Friday and after discussing the extremely low-residency pay ($15-25k) for podiatric graduates, I have decided not to pursue podiatry. Please cancel my application. Sorry for the inconvenience."

I received a very condescending email from their Director of Admissions (yes this man with a J.D. degree used horribly grammar and incorrectly spelled "opposed"):

"I am sorry that you interest in Podiatric Medicine hinged on how much money you would make in your residency as apposed to practicing medicine. Pay for residencies differ in areas of the country so that what is the average pay at Temple differs greatly in some post graduate programs in Miami and elsewhere We are sorry that you will not have the opportunity to interview here at Barry University ,and we wish you much success in a career that is non-medical in nature."

I have volunteered for YEARS in rehab so to assume that I am greedy was very unprofessional. I am not greedy, however, I cannot see myself being happy in 6 or 7 years knowing I have a large student loan hovering above my head.

I have applied to a Post-Bacc program here in Virginia to occupy myself for the next year while I decide what the heck I am going to do. I thought I had this all planned out. 🙁

I am a very disgruntled young lady today, yes indeed.

im sorry to hear about what happened to you
as far as i have heard..temple is supposed to e a really nice school
i heard they were located in the chinatown section of philly..and that the facilities were nice
as far as the residency thing goes...dude i havent ever heard of anyithing like that
the numbers u have heard were always closer to the numbers box quoted..ill look around for an official listing of residency payment and see if i cant find out what the deal is
i agree with box though...if you actually like the idea of going into podiatry...check out scholl and nycpm
i mena..i have always heard that temples facilites were better than the ny school...but as a current student at nycpm...i can tell you our facilites dwarf the conditions you have alluded to...
goodluck regardless..and ill get back to u on the residency thing

-j

 

[jconway]

here you go guys....
i dont know why they quoted such low numbers to you
upon a cursory exmaintion of the residencies posted..the lowest number i ofund was 20...with majority hovering in the30-40 range for first yrs..
the rates increase accordingly with yrs of training
here you go:

ftp://www.aacpm.org/CASPR/Directory/Charts + Tables/Program Summary Chart.pdf

hope this was helpful
-j

 

[jessica123]

here is how i understand things. correct me if i am wrong:

to get on hmo and ppo plans, you need to get on staff at a hospital- to get on staff at a hospital you need a PSR-24. if you do not get a PSR- 24 then you will not get on staff and therefore plans, and you will not survive.

this begs the question? what percent of graduates get a PSR-24? and how can the rest possibly survive?

jes

 

[jconway]

here is how i understand things. correct me if i am wrong:

to get on hmo and ppo plans, you need to get on staff at a hospital- to get on staff at a hospital you need a PSR-24. if you do not get a PSR- 24 then you will not get on staff and therefore plans, and you will not survive.

this begs the question? what percent of graduates get a PSR-24? and how can the rest possibly survive?

jes

simply put...you are wrong

no amount of degrees/training/ will guarantee you to be on staff or insurance plans(sucks but its the way it is)...
(i believe)insurance plans sign ppl up based on how many ppl are already practicing in the area under their coverage..but im not 100% on this one

but you can def can get on staff at a hospital/get on plans with a psr-12...
usually you work for a pod...and they get you on under their corporation....or you apply on your own
i think the most impt thing is getting board certified (i think its acfas...or aboppsomething something) though....

p.s.
ask your father..he probably knows this stuff better than i do
-j

 

[ussdfiant]

Forget Chinatown and come join me on Broad Street! Seriously though, in 2001 I was exactly where you are. I went to the TUSPM interview (is David Martin still there) was accepted and was heading there in August of that year. I was working that summer and was researching podiatry on the internet (and speaking to pods in my area NOT associated with TUSPM) and decided that the market was waaaay too saturated in this area (meaning the East Coast) and I decided that being an MD would open up more options for me. That very month I joined SDN, filled out my AMCAS application and the rest is history. As much as it sucks finding out that something you've been looking forward to isn't what you thought it would be, better to find out now than after you've graduated and been practicing for a while (ask Toejam).

 

[Sher9mm]

The building looks modern from the outside and is across the street from the police admin building! I had no problems with safety as an issue. Trust me, the facilities are OLD on the inside. We were told that the residencies were MOSTLY between 15-25k... and that the ones above 30k were rare and competitive.

I have two friends in dentistry school. I'm going to explore that route.

Yes, David Martin is still there. He is a very nice fellow!

 

[Howard Roark]

😱 apply to medical school 😱

 

[jconway]

The building looks modern from the outside and is across the street from the police admin building! I had no problems with safety as an issue. Trust me, the facilities are OLD on the inside. We were told that the residencies were MOSTLY between 15-25k... and that the ones above 30k were rare and competitive.

I have two friends in dentistry school. I'm going to explore that route.

Yes, David Martin is still there. He is a very nice fellow!

well do what suits you....
and goodluck regardless
but as far as residencys go...you can see for yourself..the number are right there..straight from the aacpm...
i dont know why they would tell you that....but i think whoever did was mistaken...or stupid...
unless these numbers are just fabricated(which i dont really see as a possibility)
but either way...
goodluck
-j

 

[jessica123]

simply put...you are wrong

but you can def can get on staff at a hospital/get on plans with a psr-12...
usually you work for a pod...and they get you on under their corporation....or you apply on your own
i think the most impt thing is getting board certified (i think its acfas...or aboppsomething something) though....

-j

in florida you gotta have a PSR- 24. board certification means nothing here. the various boards are mostly frivilous and have confused the alopathic world to the point of total exclusion for podiatry. PSR-24 or you are fishbait.

jes

 

[jconway]

in florida you gotta have a PSR- 24. board certification means nothing here. the various boards are mostly frivilous and have confused the alopathic world to the point of total exclusion for podiatry. PSR-24 or you are fishbait.

jes

i think your confusing psr-24 with a 2 yr residency program(ie..a psr 12)
but you could double check here
http://www.aacpm.org/residencies/rp_state.asp

it says that fl requires a 1yr program(which is a psr 12)
but your dead on about the different boards...though now there are really only 2..the others are kind of fading fast

-j

 

[diabeticfootdr]

There are no such thing as 1 year residencies any more. Those that are left are mandated to convert by 2007. So all DPMs will complete a PM&S 24 or a PM&S 36 residency. Anyone entering into podiatric med school right now will be in the class of 2008, so don't even worry about the old system of alphabet soup that no one understood (PSR-12, 24, 24+, PPMR, POR, RPR).

There are currently more residency spots than students, so the programs that used to screw their resident by giving them $15,000, either have to increase their pay to become more competitive or scramble for residents.

I am a first year resident in NYC. My salary is 49,800/54,500/62,500 for 1st/2nd/3rd years. My friends in midwest residencies make between 30-40,000, but after taxes we all equal about the same in net pay.

Podiatry is not an easy field. It's a great field, but no one says it's easy. You have to work hard to get to where you're going. Just because you graduate w/ a DPM doesn't mean you'll get a silver spoon placed right in your mouth.

If you are ethical, and you treat patients right, you will build a name for yourself and gain a referal base from primary care providers.

 

[aphistis]

I have two friends in dentistry school. I'm going to explore that route.

Go for it; I can't recommend it enough! 😀

 

[jconway]

There are no such thing as 1 year residencies any more. Those that are left are mandated to convert by 2007. So all DPMs will complete a PM&S 24 or a PM&S 36 residency. Anyone entering into podiatric med school right now will be in the class of 2008, so don't even worry about the old system of alphabet soup that no one understood (PSR-12, 24, 24+, PPMR, POR, RPR).

There are currently more residency spots than students, so the programs that used to screw their resident by giving them $15,000, either have to increase their pay to become more competitive or scramble for residents.

I am a first year resident in NYC. My salary is 49,800/54,500/62,500 for 1st/2nd/3rd years. My friends in midwest residencies make between 30-40,000, but after taxes we all equal about the same in net pay.

Podiatry is not an easy field. It's a great field, but no one says it's easy. You have to work hard to get to where you're going. Just because you graduate w/ a DPM doesn't mean you'll get a silver spoon placed right in your mouth.

If you are ethical, and you treat patients right, you will build a name for yourself and gain a referal base from primary care providers.

my mistake..i thought psr-12 meant one year of podiatric medicine..and one yr of podiatric surgery
thanks for the correction

-j

 

[raspberry swirl]

I emailed Barry University to cancel my interview and create an opportunity for another student. My email read:

"I would like to cancel my interview on Friday the 23rd. I toured Temple University's Podiatric Medicine program on Friday and after discussing the extremely low-residency pay ($15-25k) for podiatric graduates, I have decided not to pursue podiatry. Please cancel my application. Sorry for the inconvenience."

i can't believe you actually had the guts to email someone something that rude. the director of admissions has nothing to do with your salary, or any other podiatrist's. its simply his job to help fill the school with qualified applicants, and if i had ever read any email like yours, i would not have even honored it with a reply. all you had to say was "due to personal reasons, i am no longer pursuing a career in podiatry and wish to withdraw my application. i apologize for the inconvenience". whether or not you're greedy or unprofessional is your business, but it certainly sounded like you were! you actually said outright- i'm not going to be a podiatrist because the pay stinks. think that if you want, but if you're going to say it, say it to someone who can do something about it. not to the admissions guy. geez.

i'm in my second year of medical school and i just took out my second $40,000 loan and i already have $1,000 worth of interest accrued. as a resident i'll be making 30,000. it will take me almost 15 yrs to pay off my loans. anyone who goes after a professional degree is looking at a decade of poverty. be a podiatrist because you want to be a podiatrist. dont be one if you dont.

 

[aphistis]

i can't believe you actually had the guts to email someone something that rude. the director of admissions has nothing to do with your salary, or any other podiatrist's. its simply his job to help fill the school with qualified applicants, and if i had ever read any email like yours, i would not have even honored it with a reply. all you had to say was "due to personal reasons, i am no longer pursuing a career in podiatry and wish to withdraw my application. i apologize for the inconvenience". whether or not you're greedy or unprofessional is your business, but it certainly sounded like you were! you actually said outright- i'm not going to be a podiatrist because the pay stinks. think that if you want, but if you're going to say it, say it to someone who can do something about it. not to the admissions guy. geez.

i'm in my second year of medical school and i just took out my second $40,000 loan and i already have $1,000 worth of interest accrued. as a resident i'll be making 30,000. it will take me almost 15 yrs to pay off my loans. anyone who goes after a professional degree is looking at a decade of poverty. be a podiatrist because you want to be a podiatrist. dont be one if you dont.

Speaking of rude...

Pretentious, too.

 

[jconway]

Speaking of rude...

Pretentious, too.

actually i agree with rasberry

althoug i understand why sherm9mm would feel that way..he probably should have checked it out first, and definatly shouldnt have included that kind of tone in his letter...but whatever....to each his own

but someone at temple should be made accountable for throwing around bad numbers..students turn to these ppls for the "real info" and its their job to supply them with it

i mean...that link i posted really proves that its wrong...and im only some student....profs should know better

-j

 

[ItsGavinC]

😱 apply to medical school 😱

Apply to dental school. Half the hours and 130% the income.

 

[ItsGavinC]

I have two friends in dentistry school. I'm going to explore that route.

Bingo. But only commit yourself if you love the profession. No amount of money can adjust for the feeling of doom and gloom at work each day.

 

[mike3kgt]

Apply to dental school. Half the hours and 130% the income.

Ssssssh.... we don't want to let the word out!

One plus - common theme among trial lawyers, "no teeth, no feet" whereas medicine = litigation city.

Haha, one side note. Go check out the Journal of the American Podiatric Medical Association for July/Aug. I have an article in there about scanning electron microscopy of onychomycosis... and yes, I am a dental student 🙂

-Mike

 

[jconway]

Ssssssh.... we don't want to let the word out!

One plus - common theme among trial lawyers, "no teeth, no feet" whereas medicine = litigation city.

Haha, one side note. Go check out the Journal of the American Podiatric Medical Association for July/Aug. I have an article in there about scanning electron microscopy of onychomycosis... and yes, I am a dental student 🙂

-Mike

cool..ill check it out