Concerns with Podiatry Profession

[Darby_O'Gill]

I am seriously considering podiatry. But, I have a few concerns that a few of you might be able to clear up. I was a pre-dental student so I was comparing the two. With dentistry, and some medical professions, nobody can really trespass on your territory. For example, you wont go to your family doctor for a root canal. But if you break your ankle I'd say that most people would go to and MD without even thinking about it. With podiatry it seems that everything that you do can be done by an orthopedic surgeon, etc. So, do you guys expect podiatrists to ever be phased out by other more visible medical specialties? Thanks in advance.

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[oncogene]

I am seriously considering podiatry. But, I have a few concerns that a few of you might be able to clear up. I was a pre-dental student so I was comparing the two. With dentistry, and some medical professions, nobody can really trespass on your territory. For example, you wont go to your family doctor for a root canal. But if you break your ankle I'd say that most people would go to and MD without even thinking about it. With podiatry it seems that everything that you do can be done by an orthopedic surgeon, etc. So, do you guys expect podiatrists to ever be phased out by other more visible medical specialties? Thanks in advance.

Darby_O'Gill,

The reality of the situation is that yes most of the procedures that pods do can be done by MDs But, the majority of foot ailments are treated by pods and I believe that in the future pods will handle 100% of foot problems. I think that is the most exciting thing about podiatry. We as new podiatrist will have the opportunity to make the public aware of podiatry and help to develop it along the way. Since residency training is being improved and standardized, I think that in the near future podiatry will spend even more time in the O.R. and less time treating Patients for primary medical problems. Just my 2 cents.

 

[IlizaRob]

So, do you guys expect podiatrists to ever be phased out by other more visible medical specialties? Thanks in advance.

Absolutely not!! It is true that everything a podiatrist does can be picked up by another specialy depending on what the situation is. However, since a podiatrist can do dermatology, radiology, vascular surgery, diabetic management and orthopedic surgery if it involves the foot and ankle, it would make sense for someone to go see a podiatrist rather than jump around to various specialties. The truth is, unless they have done a foot and ankle fellowship, orthopedic surgeons dont have the extensive training in foot and ankle trauma and reconstruction that a podiatrist does (todays graduating podiatrist). Many dont want to touch that area and will refer on to a pod. We are finding now that more and more orthopedic groups are hiring on pods to handle all foot and ankle cases. They do this because 1, pods know what they are doing, and 2, they are much cheaper than a foot and ankle orthopedist. The only reason for a group not to do this would be because pods cant take a turn to be on call for general orthopedic cases. As residencies are becoming more standardized, there will be an increase in quality podiatric surgeons and I believe there will be an increase in demand.

 

[diabeticfootdr]

But if you break your ankle I'd say that most people would go to and MD without even thinking about it. With podiatry it seems that everything that you do can be done by an orthopedic surgeon, etc. So, do you guys expect podiatrists to ever be phased out by other more visible medical specialties? .

I met with some executives of a start up company making implants for foot and ankle surgery. They performed a market analysis to determine where to advertise their product. They told me their research showed that 60% of all foot and ankle surgeries in the US are performed by DPMs. I expect this number to rise as training standardizes.

LCR