Sorry for the delay in getting this out but I was away on vacation. Here goes......
I've been practicing/ teaching for the past 36 years. The past 7 have been with the VA, and these years have been the most fulfilling of my career. Much of my feelings are due to the VA that I'm affiliated with. It is associated with a major top tier medical school and is generally considered a " flagship" facility by the government and is reflected in its funding and the quality of the medical staff it attracts. With that kind of endorsement I would love to say that a VA career should be a choice for a graduating podiatric resident, but unfortunately I can't. In fact I strongly advise my residents to look else ware for employment.Our treatment by the varied medical Dept's. is wonderful. Our residents are expected to perform as any other PGY 1,2,3 resident. This is sometimes quite a challenge, but one that they look forward to confronting. So what's the problem? Well as always it's the government itself. Up until a few years ago all doctors were paid under the GS system. This is a 15 level system with 10 grades per level. Because of my years of experience and my service chief insisted that they pay me at the 15/10 pay grade. This is the highest pay grade available. Straight out of residency a pod will start at 13 something which translates into a $80K salary plus about $24K in locality pay. Please understand that at that time all MD/DO's hired out of residency were hired at 15/10. Why are we different? Well it seems podiatrists are and have been for years classified with optometrists and chiropractors, and other allied health. This is similar to the military who places us in the medical service corp rather than the medical corp. To further compound the issue MD/DO's are now paid based on the new Physicians and Dentists Pay Bill. which we were conveniently left out of. They are no longer on the GS system. Now a gross pay of around $104K may sound great to someone making $40-50K as a resident, but after taxes and loan repayments as well as basic cost of living, there isn't much left to live on. Just down the road from our hospital is a large HMO (my former employer), that starts three year foot and ankle trained pods at $218K plus a generous benefits package.
It is my opinion that until and unless the VA and Military reclassify podiatrists so that we are offered the same benefits and advancement as MD/Di's we as a profession should deny them our services. Don't sell yourselves short. Things will change, but will come slowly. As long as these agency's can fill there open slots they have no incentive to change.
I hope this helps any of you that are thinking of public service as a career. Feel free to PM me if you have any questions.
I've been practicing/ teaching for the past 36 years. The past 7 have been with the VA, and these years have been the most fulfilling of my career. Much of my feelings are due to the VA that I'm affiliated with. It is associated with a major top tier medical school and is generally considered a " flagship" facility by the government and is reflected in its funding and the quality of the medical staff it attracts. With that kind of endorsement I would love to say that a VA career should be a choice for a graduating podiatric resident, but unfortunately I can't. In fact I strongly advise my residents to look else ware for employment.Our treatment by the varied medical Dept's. is wonderful. Our residents are expected to perform as any other PGY 1,2,3 resident. This is sometimes quite a challenge, but one that they look forward to confronting. So what's the problem? Well as always it's the government itself. Up until a few years ago all doctors were paid under the GS system. This is a 15 level system with 10 grades per level. Because of my years of experience and my service chief insisted that they pay me at the 15/10 pay grade. This is the highest pay grade available. Straight out of residency a pod will start at 13 something which translates into a $80K salary plus about $24K in locality pay. Please understand that at that time all MD/DO's hired out of residency were hired at 15/10. Why are we different? Well it seems podiatrists are and have been for years classified with optometrists and chiropractors, and other allied health. This is similar to the military who places us in the medical service corp rather than the medical corp. To further compound the issue MD/DO's are now paid based on the new Physicians and Dentists Pay Bill. which we were conveniently left out of. They are no longer on the GS system. Now a gross pay of around $104K may sound great to someone making $40-50K as a resident, but after taxes and loan repayments as well as basic cost of living, there isn't much left to live on. Just down the road from our hospital is a large HMO (my former employer), that starts three year foot and ankle trained pods at $218K plus a generous benefits package.
It is my opinion that until and unless the VA and Military reclassify podiatrists so that we are offered the same benefits and advancement as MD/Di's we as a profession should deny them our services. Don't sell yourselves short. Things will change, but will come slowly. As long as these agency's can fill there open slots they have no incentive to change.
I hope this helps any of you that are thinking of public service as a career. Feel free to PM me if you have any questions.
