trauma podiatrist ????

[freshprincechir]

hello,

i am a 4th year student. I am considering doing my residency at a very busy trauma hospital. I was wondering if there are many job opportunities out there for "trauma podiatrists".
I know there are many programs that are much more relaxed and with easy-going schedule. I just wonder if it is going to be worthwhile for me to choose a very busy trauma program in terms of future career opportunities.

thank you

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[ldsrmdude]

I don't have much to add to what AB said. I don't think that it's all just animosity that keeps DPM's from getting more F&A trauma call, some of it is sheer convenience. If you're a hospital and have an ortho traumatologist on staff/on call, it is easier to just contact them for everything as opposed to splitting it up. There are several hospitals that have brought on traumatologists and have almost entirely shut podiatrists out of the trauma scene (which has significantly decreased the trauma numbers at a few well-known podiatry residencies).
Most podiatrists do end up doing some trauma, in the sense that patients don't always present to the ED when they break something. Of course, most open trauma, high velocity injuries, etc come through the ED. If you're interested in trauma, being in an ortho group that takes call at a hospital is probably the best way.
All that said, you need to decide if that's the type of program you want to go to. Lots of principles that are used in trauma cases are applicable in elective cases, so it wouldn't be like your training would never be used. But if you don't plan on doing a lot of trauma in practice, it might be worth it to find a program that focuses more on other things that you plan on seeing a lot of in practice (ie wound care, TAR, Charcot, deformity correction etc). Just some thoughts.

 

[AttackNME]

only a handful of pods in the country do trauma primarily, that is something usually covered by ortho, lots of politics involved... a lot of pods will get occasional fractures in their private practice such as met fx that needs orif, ankle, calc fractures, but even those are few.

 

[dyk343]

I know some podiatrists who do quite a bit of trauma but none are primarily trauma podiatrists.

It's how you market yourself. Also, you're much more likely to get it working in a smaller community than at a large academic hospital with an ortho residency. Being associated/an attending with a podiatry residency also gets trauma.

 

[g squared 23]

If you're interested in trauma, being in an ortho group that takes call at a hospital is probably the best way.

The best scenario 99% of DPMs interested in trauma can hope for is above.

The other scenario is that you take call at a hospital that has a prominent Podiatry program that has already established itself and gets significant trauma out of the ER. Although this is less ideal as it will probably include a great deal of public aid and/or patients the orthos in the area don't want.

Either way, you are not going to be a podiatric traumatologist. Justin Fleming is the closest thing, and 30-40% of his work is still elective. He has both of the above scenarios working for him.

 

[ExperiencedDPM]

Find another specialty, because the idea of a trauma podiatrist is unrealistic for the multiple reasons eloquently discussed above by ankle breaker and others. There simply isn't a NEED for a trauma podiatrist. Realistically there aren't that many isolated foot/ankle trauma cases that exist. Many of these patients who present with true foot/ankle trauma also present with other comorbidities, requiring someone with true trauma training. Yes, I take ER call and occasionally get a trauma from the ER, but it's not my entire specialty. As stated by others, your best bet is to be associated with an ortho group. I've lectured with Justin Fleming and he's in a unique situation. He's part of an ortho group that "owns" the hospital, meaning they have a very strong presence, and as a result Justin receives a lot of trauma. However, he also excels at his craft or else it would be sent elsewhere. If you want trauma, joint an ortho group or the military, but it's likely there the true need for a podiatric trauma specialist to exist is slim to none.