4th Year Podiatry Student about to be done. Ask me anything!

[OnePodRanger]

Hey guys,

Pretty much, I've completed my last rotation and basically, the last thing to do ever in podiatry school.

I want to leave this thread open for any questions that you guys have for me! If you want, you can private DM me for any personal questions if you're not comfortable of providing them in the forum.

Exams, studying, organizations, clinical rotations, matching, etc.

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[PirateKing]

Hey guys,

Pretty much, I've completed my last rotation and basically, the last thing to do ever in podiatry school.

I want to leave this thread open for any questions that you guys have for me! If you want, you can private DM me for any personal questions if you're not comfortable of providing them in the forum.

Exams, studying, organizations, clinical rotations, matching, etc.

Thanks for doing this! What was your experience like as a first year? And how did you study during school?

 

[kelef]

What school did you end up at? And how do you think it prepared you for boards and residencies?

 

[OnePodRanger]

Thanks for doing this! What was your experience like as a first year? And how did you study during school?

Personally, my first year was the hardest year because I had to get adjusted to the high volume workload in a short period of time between each exam and it can be pretty easy to get behind. However, every school does it differently in terms of their exam schedule. My school used to do multiple exams per week but now, exams are separated into block exams. Other than the high volume, first year wasn't that bad when I look back on it. Just be organized and have a certain study method that works for you and you should be fine!

Traditionally, I used to read the material, cold, and take the exam. That worked for me until the middle of the 1st semester and realized that looking at random slides wasn't going to cut it for me lol.

So, I actually started note taking via OneNote and make Anki decks for each exam. I highly recommend Anki if you're huge into flashcards and have it customize your schedule. Never switched up my study habits after that and it worked great! Again, make sure you have a study guide that works for YOU! I cannot stress this enough.

I have known classmates that made their own condensed study guide and just focus on that, instead of class notes. Sometimes, classmates share their study guides/resources to the entire class, which is awesome to see.

 

[OnePodRanger]

What school did you end up at? And how do you think it prepared you for boards and residencies?

DMU.

I personally thought DMU does an amazing job preparing us for boards and residency. Their academic curriculum, especially for Part 1, was designed to make sure you tackle the biggest chunks of that exam. LLA is right before Part 1 and I thanked them for doing that because my LLA was still fresh around that time. Also, Pharm, which is a decent chunk of the exam was taught well and emphasized a lot of board related drugs.

Honestly, if you do not pass either Part 1 or 2 and were taught by DMU faculty, it was kind on you because the student.... A) did not study enough or B) had a horrible study schedule.

In terms of residency, I think DMU students do GREAT academically and DECENT clinically. However, DMU changed a lot of their podiatry faculty, for the better. Many of them are willing to teach students and give them opportunities to get better with their hands.

 

[bobob13342213]

Is it easy to balance school clubs + extracurriculars during school? What are some of the other schools in your opinion that prepare students the best from a clinical standpoint?

 

[PirateKing]

Does class rank matter just as much as GPA? Or are they both looked at equally? Or does this depend entirely on the residency that is being applied to?

 

[Weirdy]

Does class rank matter just as much as GPA? Or are they both looked at equally? Or does this depend entirely on the residency that is being applied to?

Depends on the residency. You want a balance of good grades + work ethic + social skills.

Some programs hand pick based off of grades/rank and get shot in the foot when their picks become total duds.

I've met fantastic residents who were both top of their class and bottom of their class. Have met residents who were bottom ranked but very good in OR and clinic. Met residents who were 4.0 and have no business taking care of other humans.

Do well in school so you are armed with the knowledge to do well. During clerkships, we do not care about your grades. We care about how hard you work, how well you get along with and treat others, if you are teachable or willing to listen and improve on feedback, whether you are progressing from where you were versus now.

Grades/rank can be an indicator of a good student, but they can also be total duds and a nightmare to deal with in the OR/clinic.

 

[OnePodRanger]

Is it easy to balance school clubs + extracurriculars during school? What are some of the other schools in your opinion that prepare students the best from a clinical standpoint?

It depends on your activity level as a student. Personally, I care about being engaged at DMU and try to build up my resume. Therefore, it came easy to me when dealing with school clubs and extracurriculars. Honestly, you could sign up for all of the schools and don't have to do a single thing if you did not want to. Again, it depends on you of how involved you want to be during school but however, a lot of my classmates did just fine while doing extracurriculars.


From what I've seen so far while I was at on my externships, I thought the Temple students were extremely impressive with their clinical skills. If I had to be honest, I thought all of the students of whom I rotated with, ranging from NYCPM to Western, are capable of performing multiple procedures.

At the end of the day, it really depends on the individual. You are there to learn!!!!! I understand of trying to impress the residents and attendings but most of them, truly don't care about if you are unable to perform an injection. Ask them for help and they'll definitely show you of how to do it.

 

[OnePodRanger]

Does class rank matter just as much as GPA? Or are they both looked at equally? Or does this depend entirely on the residency that is being applied to?

It depends on the residency program. Every school academic curriculum is weighted differently from each other. For example, a 3.0 at one school could be mean a 3.3 at another school. This also holds true for ranks. No. 10 ranked at one school, who has a 4.0, could be the same at another school for a student that is ranked No. 2 (3.8). It all varies and honestly, there are programs that solely restrict themselves that rely on GPA and rank, get in the scramble, ALL THE TIME. The higher GPA/rank does not correlate with the quality of the applicant. They could be a smart cookie but are they are helpful, kind, hardworking, and most importantly...normal.

Most residency programs require a 3.0+ (rank is iffy at some places) that would get you the EXTERNSHIP but not the RESIDENCY spot. Just keep that in mind.

 

[footpainhealer]

How much did your final rotations make you come in? Were they off-service or podiatry at your school?

I'm a current 4th year who has to go in M-F 7-5 on this current rotation while I see friends from other schools living it up an going on trips, even though they are still on rotations somewhere last month and this month lol.

I hate that my school makes us rotate after interviews still while others have been chilling lmao

 

[Stella97]

Do you have an Anki set for Crozer or any other study sets for preparing for externships and part 2?

 

[MidnightSun32]

How much did your final rotations make you come in? Were they off-service or podiatry at your school?

I'm a current 4th year who has to go in M-F 7-5 on this current rotation while I see friends from other schools living it up an going on trips, even though they are still on rotations somewhere last month and this month lol.

I hate that my school makes us rotate after interviews still while others have been chilling lmao

That is rough! Hope you get time to relax soon

 

[OnePodRanger]

How much did your final rotations make you come in? Were they off-service or podiatry at your school?

I'm a current 4th year who has to go in M-F 7-5 on this current rotation while I see friends from other schools living it up an going on trips, even though they are still on rotations somewhere last month and this month lol.

I hate that my school makes us rotate after interviews still while others have been chilling lmao

My school actually gives us a lot of flexibility of how we deal with our schedule...kind of. Most of my classmates do private practice, medicine and vacation at the last 3 months but I choose to do them during winter time because I want enough time to study for boards and interviews and spend Christmas with my family. Unfortunately, I did my 3 month rotation for remaining months but it's whatever lol.

I feel your pain.

 

[footpainhealer]

My school actually gives us a lot of flexibility of how we deal with our schedule...kind of. Most of my classmates do private practice, medicine and vacation at the last 3 months but I choose to do them during winter time because I want enough time to study for boards and interviews and spend Christmas with my family. Unfortunately, I did my 3 month rotation for remaining months but it's whatever lol.

I feel your pain.

So you got a vacation month before boards, and have another one in May (since you mentioned this is your last rotation in pod school)?

Dang you guys are lucky. At my school, if we take December off (or any month for that matter), that's a vacation month, and we have to make up for it in May.

Did your school have you rotate in January, or was it off for interviews? Schools are different in regards to January for some reason. I think we all should just have it "off" since the first week is taken by boards, and the rest by interviews since they interviewed all month this year via zoom. lol

 

[Shiyuan]

Kind of reminiscing here... but I found Andrew Meyr's PRISM to be very helpful in externships and interview prep.

 

[OnePodRanger]

So you got a vacation month before boards, and have another one in May (since you mentioned this is your last rotation in pod school)?

Dang you guys are lucky. At my school, if we take December off (or any month for that matter), that's a vacation month, and we have to make up for it in May.

Did your school have you rotate in January, or was it off for interviews? Schools are different in regards to January for some reason. I think we all should just have it "off" since the first week is taken by boards, and the rest by interviews since they interviewed all month this year via zoom. lol

Again, it's that flexibility that our school provides for us to make our own schedule. However, if you have interviews, you are REQUIRED to leave your current rotation to attend your interviews but I have heard of programs that make students come back after they're done (lol okay).

I agree that rotations should not be held during January as well. It holds an equal playing field.

 

[thisisstupid11]

How important is research when it comes to applying for residencies in your experience, also when would you recommend starting getting involved in research if it is important?

 

[OnePodRanger]

How important is research when it comes to applying for residencies in your experience, also when would you recommend starting getting involved in research if it is important?

It's program dependent. However, probably about 85% of the programs would not care if you have any research under your belt.

For example, a program like Emory University are well-known to do heavy academics and research but there's a workhorse program like DMC that only cares about heavy trauma surgery.

If I had to give a certain answer....research is not needed. If you want research experience, I would start ASAP before starting fourth year because research publications take time and programs that want research publications want the complete picture.

 

[DexterMorganSK]

How important is research when it comes to applying for residencies in your experience, also when would you recommend starting getting involved in research if it is important?

I agree with the above. If you can handle the curriculum and do some type of publishable research, then go for it. Remember passing the boards and doing well in classes is always the priority. I value any research experience more than any SGA/club-related crap people get into. These are a waste of time.

 

[mingle_pringle]

What resources do you recommend 3rd years to use to help brush up with clinical skills/basics/etc?
I've heard a lot of PRISM and CROZER. Also Pocket Podiatrics (pdf, 3rd edition). Have them on hand!

Are there any others out there that you recommend?

 

[FutureDPM123]

What resources do you recommend 3rd years to use to help brush up with clinical skills/basics/etc?
I've heard a lot of PRISM and CROZER. Also Pocket Podiatrics (pdf, 3rd edition). Have them on hand!

Are there any others out there that you recommend?

That’s pretty much all you need. And then I’d suggest reading a chapter of each McGlamry surgical chapter over time

 

[mingle_pringle]

That’s pretty much all you need. And then I’d suggest reading a chapter of each McGlamry surgical chapter over time

Thanks! I've also heard about "Pimp Daddy" - could anyone elaborate on these rapid pimp questions? Is there a link?

 

[DexterMorganSK]

Thanks! I've also heard about "Pimp Daddy" - could anyone elaborate on these rapid pimp questions? Is there a link?

https://quizlet.com/416968795/pimp-daddy-flash-cards/

 

[FutureDPM123]

Thanks! I've also heard about "Pimp Daddy" - could anyone elaborate on these rapid pimp questions? Is there a link?

They’re ok, not really high yield

 

[wakaflocka88]

IMO, prism, crozier and the presby manual were the most helpful. And then I’d recommend reading chapters on the principles of AO and different hardware techniques (locking, neutralizing, buttress, locking screw concept etc) in any ortho textbook. Too many students, externs and even residents over the years have minimal knowledge of this stuff but yet want to do all this trauma stuff. The AO courses during residency is not sufficient. No harm in reading up on this stuff as a student because it’s easy pimp questions during your externships especially at programs more cut heavy.

 

[AttackNME]

IMO, prism, crozier and the presby manual were the most helpful. And then I’d recommend reading chapters on the principles of AO and different hardware techniques (locking, neutralizing, buttress, locking screw concept etc) in any ortho textbook. Too many students, externs and even residents over the years have minimal knowledge of this stuff but yet want to do all this trauma stuff. The AO courses during residency is not sufficient. No harm in reading up on this stuff as a student because it’s easy pimp questions during your externships especially at programs more cut heavy.

Several years ago when I did the AO course it was good, but it’s since now run by acfas. Not as good?

 

[wakaflocka88]

Several years ago when I did the AO course it was good, but it’s since now run by acfas. Not as good?

I mean we get to work on saw bones and bare basics of internal fixation but no where to the depth and level that it should be.

 

[AttackNME]

I mean we get to work on saw bones and bare basics of internal fixation but no where to the depth and level that it should be.

Can you elaborate?