Do you have to LOVE feet to be a podiatrist?

[Podiatry_23]

Obviously I know you don't need to have a foot fetish to be a podiatrist but I went to a podiatrist to shadow and I watched him do some wound care on a toe amputation which was pretty bad and at first I thought, "wow that is gross" but after 5 minutes I was next to him looking at the wound a lot closer. Do any of you pre-podiatrist or podiatry students feel like this when you encounter something "gross" on the foot for the first time? Or have all of you been into feet from day 1?


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[marinepod]

First and foremost for me, I don't look at it from the prospective of liking feet or not. I view as a human being coming in with an issue and I will be there to help them feel better. This notion of feet are "gross" blows my mind and don't understand it! All bodyparts have the potential to be gross not just feet, for me it is the mouth!!!! During my time working in physical therapy, they were by far my favorite bodypart to work on and you would see results quickly depending on the issue. In addition, with being a prior United States Marine with my own foot issues, you only go as far as your feet will take you. So many people out there don't care of their feet and we will be there to help them feel better! During my shadowing, No, I didn't get grossed out at all by the smell or what I was looking at. It was actually the opposite of that. I was thinking about the person in that chair and how the podiatrist was there to help them.

 

[TimmyTurner]

No. It's a common question you encounter- "why feet?" I always explain that no one grows up saying "I want to be a Podiatrist and work with feet"- it's more that it is the only specialty I get to work with all body systems, just on one part of the human anatomy. Most other medical specialties work on all parts of the anatomy, but one body system (there are exceptions obviously). One part that is hugely overlooked- Low liability in podiatry. Which means low liability insurance. The number from PICA (the only medical malpractice company that is exclusive for Pods) says that the average malpractice case for DPM is once every twenty years. That's not an incidence of malpractice- that's just the charge. So if the average is once every twenty years, the bottom end of the spectrum is probably racking up a bunch while most don't encounter any.

Podiatry is also very procedural. Every appointment is hands on. Which means billing is a lot easier relative to specialties that don't necessarily require procedures. That's how physicians get paid- performing procedures, not ensuring or promoting health. Podiatrists are very well suited, revenue wise, for this model.

'Gross' is relative. I can pretty much witness anything without getting skeeved. But I practically feint just thinking of going to the dentist. Teeth are not my thing. Don't know why, they're just not. I think gross diabetic wounds are fascinating, gross as they may be.

So no. You don't have to love feet. You'll probably learn to love 'em though.

 

[ldsrmdude]

If you have a foot fetish, podiatry is not the field for you. You don't really get to deal with good looking feet (if there even is such a thing).

I don't love feet, but I enjoy what I do. Every profession has it's good and bad sides. Podiatry is no different. I get frustrated when my patients don't listen to what I say and end up losing a limb. It's really depressing when the patient you've been taking care of for months/years dies because of their diabetes.

You'll get used to looking at wounds/pus/ingrown toenails/etc. You may even find that you like the limb salvage side of the profession. I used to get "grossed out" by this sort of stuff, now it's just another day in the office.

 

[Nippyfan]

I agree with you to a certain extent.

Of course when a decision has been made to pursue medicine, one should be moved by an organic motivation to help others. Interacting with patients is the most important part of the job, hence the need for several hours of direct patient contact when applying to MD/DO/DPM programs to ensure that students at least have an idea of what they are getting into and a degree of altruism.

However, medical school is a huge commitment in terms of emotional, physical and financial strain, and as a result, one should not be vilified for sometimes thinking about the extrinsic motivations that you mentioned. If salaries for physicians were typically below $100K, as you suggested, of course fewer people would be interested in medicine, because there would be no possible way to pay back the $250-$300K loans that students have to take out in order to fund the schooling in the first place. It is already a financially disastrous decision, today, with salaries as they are. I think if a student has made it to the application point they are aware that one does not enter the field of medicine to become rich.

This is a very standard hierarchical model that we are discussing. As a job becomes more and more difficult, and/or in demand, the more compensation that person should expect to receive for fulfilling that job. A doctor's job holds an incredible amount of value in society, hence the upper middle class lifestyle that it affords.

Medical students virtually give up their twenties, study for hundreds of hours on end, and work tirelessly throughout their schooling and residency. If they make it as far as becoming an attending, I don't think it unreasonable to expect to at least be able to live comfortably.

I consider this very sad fact when I hear people saying how this and that is gross and how this and that is better than the other. I don't think those people are truly meant to be Doctors. Historically people became doctors because they wanted to help people, heal people and were fascinated how human body works. Nowadays, a lot of people turned it into a way to get prestige and income. It is truly sad. On SDN, there are so many conversations and arguments about MD, DO, Podiatry and such, trying to compare them. You can often read between the lines of a lot of pre-med student's posts that they think about prestige, recognition, income and reputation rather than patient care and the outcome of care. In most countries, healthcare providers get the lowest income compared to other careers, and people still went for medicine because it was their true calling.

I hear so many people say that podiatry or some other medical careers do not pay enough as compared to MD/DO doctors. I feel like if salaries for physicians would lower below 100-150K, more than half of the people would never even think about medicine.

I personally think that nobody should get discouraged from the medical field they choose. Everyone should choose a career where they will be a best fit, where they will enjoy it, where their true calling is, where they feel more comfortable and where they believe they can be an asset.

Our thinking should be about patients, their quality of care and outcome of that care. If someone is not ready to experience the gross part about medicine, they should go into a different field. No matter what specialty you are in medicine, be it podiatry, cardiology, family medicine, neurology, pediatrics, ER, surgery, dermatology or anything else, you should always be ready to experience anything. Primary focus is patient satisfaction.

From lots of volunteering and shadowing, I have seen that even oncologist/hematologists, neurologists and some other "nice" specialists are ready to do anything that is best for the patient. When I shadowed one really awesome young Neurology/Palliative care doctor, I have seen how he loves to help people and would go extra mile to meet the needs of the patient. 99% of the time he examined patient's feet as well. There was a lot of "gross" part involved, but I have never seen him even to show or mention that he doesn't like it. There is a lot to see: drunk patients sometimes, angry relatives, end of life situations and decision-making, vomiting in front of you, feeling responsible for someone's death or negative outcome of care, difficult and uncooperative patients and so on and so on. If a person is not ready to experience it all and feel rewarded because at the end its someone else's life getting saved or improved, then they should find another career.


I feel like a lot of pre-meds want to go to medicine to wear white coat, collect income to have nice houses and cars, to have recognition and respect among peers, have recognition from their family and do the most comfortable specialty as possible. Very sad.

 

[TheCzechShrek]

I've been asked "Oh so what, you have a foot fetish LOL" enough times that I think my best response is asking that if a fetish is required for your specialty, I'd be weary of your pediatrician. Typically stops that line of questioning pretty quickly.

The human body overall is pretty "gross", even your general physician will have to stick a finger in icky places now and then.

 

[Weirdy]

My girlfriend has pretty nice feet so that probably helped......


Jokes aside it was the opposite for me. I was more surprised at the fact that people coming in for help weren't embarrassed to have such a not so nicely seen part of their body exposed, simply because they just really wanted to feel better. After the first few I was actually really interested in seeing all the nasty stiff. Diabetic induced ulcers, burns scars and ingrowns. It was weird being able to think "wow if this was last week I would've probably thrown up"

I know I havn't seen the nastiest of the nasty yet but I think I was more grossed out from seeing an ingrown hair removal at an IM clinic than the pod cleaning up the diabetic ulcer.

It's an acquired taste no matter what filed you specialize in. At the end of the day you have to realize being able to empathize and care for the patient will override any of the grossness you ever dealt with. You just feel for them and want to help them. That was the shield against my squeamishness. Having a patient who actually follows through with your orders and wants to get better just amplifies that effect 10 fold.

 

[dr.phoot]

I agree with you to a certain extent.

Of course when a decision has been made to pursue medicine, one should be moved by an organic motivation to help others. Interacting with patients is the most important part of the job, hence the need for several hours of direct patient contact when applying to MD/DO/DPM programs to ensure that students at least have an idea of what they are getting into and a degree of altruism.

However, medical school is a huge commitment in terms of emotional, physical and financial strain, and as a result, one should not be vilified for sometimes thinking about the extrinsic motivations that you mentioned. If salaries for physicians were typically below $100K, as you suggested, of course fewer people would be interested in medicine, because there would be no possible way to pay back the $250-$300K loans that students have to take out in order to fund the schooling in the first place. It is already a financially disastrous decision, today, with salaries as they are. I think if a student has made it to the application point they are aware that one does not enter the field of medicine to become rich.

This is a very standard hierarchical model that we are discussing. As a job becomes more and more difficult, and/or in demand, the more compensation that person should expect to receive for fulfilling that job. A doctor's job holds an incredible amount of value in society, hence the upper middle class lifestyle that it affords.

Medical students virtually give up their twenties, study for hundreds of hours on end, and work tirelessly throughout their schooling and residency. If they make it as far as becoming an attending, I don't think it unreasonable to expect to at least be able to live comfortably.

Solid point. Funny that there are other degrees where the income will level off and be similar to medicine (after you subtract the loans and years to pay it back). Investment bankers do quite well. Engineering makes it into the 100s, PAs also makes it into the 100s as well.

I think another major positive that explains the large wave of students choosing medicine--besides the money--is job security! Say what you want, but there'll ALWAYS be sick people and diseases! Always! What this means is that doctors will ALWAYS be needed / in demand. What will happen to an engineer when a project gets shipped overseas?

So there's a major safety that comes with medicine that you'll not really get with anything else. Even law has gone down a bit. But there will ALWAYS be a need for doctors. ALWAYS. So in addition to good pay, there's also job security.

Money, job security, and respect!

Very few jobs offer all 3 of those. You either get one, two, or none at all.

 

[dr.phoot]

I consider this very sad fact when I hear people saying how this and that is gross and how this and that is better than the other. I don't think those people are truly meant to be Doctors. Historically people became doctors because they wanted to help people, heal people and were fascinated how human body works. Nowadays, a lot of people turned it into a way to get prestige and income. It is truly sad. On SDN, there are so many conversations and arguments about MD, DO, Podiatry and such, trying to compare them. You can often read between the lines of a lot of pre-med student's posts that they think about prestige, recognition, income and reputation rather than patient care and the outcome of care. In most countries, healthcare providers get the lowest income compared to other careers, and people still went for medicine because it was their true calling.

I hear so many people say that podiatry or some other medical careers do not pay enough as compared to MD/DO doctors. I feel like if salaries for physicians would lower below 100-150K, more than half of the people would never even think about medicine.

I personally think that nobody should get discouraged from the medical field they choose. Everyone should choose a career where they will be a best fit, where they will enjoy it, where their true calling is, where they feel more comfortable and where they believe they can be an asset.

Our thinking should be about patients, their quality of care and outcome of that care. If someone is not ready to experience the gross part about medicine, they should go into a different field. No matter what specialty you are in medicine, be it podiatry, cardiology, family medicine, neurology, pediatrics, ER, surgery, dermatology or anything else, you should always be ready to experience anything. Primary focus is patient satisfaction.

From lots of volunteering and shadowing, I have seen that even oncologist/hematologists, neurologists and some other "nice" specialists are ready to do anything that is best for the patient. When I shadowed one really awesome young Neurology/Palliative care doctor, I have seen how he loves to help people and would go extra mile to meet the needs of the patient. 99% of the time he examined patient's feet as well. There was a lot of "gross" part involved, but I have never seen him even to show or mention that he doesn't like it. There is a lot to see: drunk patients sometimes, angry relatives, end of life situations and decision-making, vomiting in front of you, feeling responsible for someone's death or negative outcome of care, difficult and uncooperative patients and so on and so on. If a person is not ready to experience it all and feel rewarded because at the end its someone else's life getting saved or improved, then they should find another career.


I feel like a lot of pre-meds want to go to medicine to wear white coat, collect income to have nice houses and cars, to have recognition and respect among peers, have recognition from their family and do the most comfortable specialty as possible. Very sad.

If you look at the rich list for Americans and even the world, I don't think there are any doctors in the top 10. Even in America, doctors aren't in the top 10.

medicine is a very safe career. In many cultures and societies, the doctors aren't the filthy rich ones. They're usually just slightly above average financially. They're not starving and they certainly don't have f***k-you money. That's the case here in America too. Just that standard of living is so high that your average janitor with a good company can also afford to drive a benz / bmw.

American docs look like they make a lot of money but that's compared to the general public.

Medicine is a route of job and financial security. Parents want what's best for their kids and essentially push them into medicine.

I don't often encounter people that are so deeply in love with their jobs. Most people just tolerate it and are professional when they are there so they do what's necessary to keep their jobs.

It's just the way it seems to be. This whole notion of "I want to help people..." is kind of funny to me. So many other ways of helping, isn't there?

 

[dr.phoot]

@Nippyfan , I believe PhDs spend more years in school & training than medical doctors. They don't get as well compensated though. (This is in regards to your comment about years of schooling, training, and compensation).

 

[dr.phoot]

If you have a foot fetish, podiatry is not the field for you. You don't really get to deal with good looking feet (if there even is such a thing).

I don't love feet, but I enjoy what I do. Every profession has it's good and bad sides. Podiatry is no different. I get frustrated when my patients don't listen to what I say and end up losing a limb. It's really depressing when the patient you've been taking care of for months/years dies because of their diabetes.

You'll get used to looking at wounds/pus/ingrown toenails/etc. You may even find that you like the limb salvage side of the profession. I used to get "grossed out" by this sort of stuff, now it's just another day in the office.

I've been asked "Oh so what, you have a foot fetish LOL" enough times that I think my best response is asking that if a fetish is required for your specialty, I'd be weary of your pediatrician. Typically stops that line of questioning pretty quickly.

The human body overall is pretty "gross", even your general physician will have to stick a finger in icky places now and then.

Not a foot fetish per se but I think this question is really crucial. And it's what anyone interested in podiatry should look to answer first before they even start asking about anything else like salary, mcat, gpa, etc

Say what you want but MD/DO can branch off into something else like rads, path, anes if they find out they don't like a certain body part. But with podiatry, dentistry, and optometry, you are forever trapped on that one particular part of the body. You would have to change careers entirely in order to work on something else.

You don't have to love it or have a fetish but you have to be able to handle it.

Feet just aren't very popular. There are cultures where hitting someone with your shoe is like the ultimate insult. Even in the bible Jesus washing feet was like the ultimate act of humbleness / service

 

[dr.phoot]

First and foremost for me, I don't look at it from the prospective of liking feet or not. I view as a human being coming in with an issue and I will be there to help them feel better. This notion of feet are "gross" blows my mind and don't understand it! All bodyparts have the potential to be gross not just feet, for me it is the mouth!!!! During my time working in physical therapy, they were by far my favorite bodypart to work on and you would see results quickly depending on the issue. In addition, with being a prior United States Marine with my own foot issues, you only go as far as your feet will take you. So many people out there don't care of their feet and we will be there to help them feel better! During my shadowing, No, I didn't get grossed out at all by the smell or what I was looking at. It was actually the opposite of that. I was thinking about the person in that chair and how the podiatrist was there to help them.

Interesting perspective.

I think it's a necessary evil to bring this question up. If I was interviewing a student for a seat, this question will carry a lot of weight because regardless of your grades, if you can't stand feet or you turn your hand at some extreme cases, then it's a potential problem. Your job will be all about feet. Even routine care & non-surgical cases. People disregard the doctor's advice all the time and when I was shadowing you could see who took care of their feet and who neglected them! They'll come back for follow ups and still wouldn't make any of the recommended changes. You can't turn your head to crusty feet that aren't moisturized; not to mention people who don't take hygiene serious and have an awful scent when they take of their shoes.

Sure, all other body parts have the potential to be gross but these other body parts are romanticized much more than feet. Think of boobs, teeth, eyes, and of course a55! They can all be gross but the media shows them more in the sexual light. Not many magazine covers put up feet pics. But get ready for beach body photos of celebrities this summer shower their a55, tits, and everything else. Your smile / good teeth is everything when it comes to first impressions, profile pics, etc. Your feet are most likely covered by a shoe.

Everything can be gross though, you're certainly right about that. But when it comes to physical attraction and sexual marketing, I don't really recall a celebrity getting big praises for his/her feet.

Always a55, boobs, teeth, face, smile, etc.

Tl; dr - everything is gross, yes. But we see much more of the "sexy" side to everything else and not enough of feet.

 

[Nowehjose]

Proctology, Urology... I followed a urologist and a patient came in with CHF, 2 Strokes, an amputated toe from diabetes and his major concern was his ability to achieve an erection... Do you have to love schlongs to be one? No. Matter of fact lady I followed was a lesbian with 2 adopted children.

 

[dr.phoot]

Proctology, Urology... I followed a urologist and a patient came in with CHF, 2 Strokes, an amputated toe from diabetes and his major concern was his ability to achieve an erection... Do you have to love schlongs to be one? No. Matter of fact lady I followed was a lesbian with 2 adopted children.

Lol.... Feet is a different beast though. It's not about liking it as much as it's about being able to stand it

 

[burritodoc]

It's an acquired taste

Is that so...

 

[Nowehjose]

If you do not think you will be able to do it after 30+ years don't? Plenty of great paying medical professions.

 

[dr.phoot]

If you do not think you will be able to do it after 30+ years don't? Plenty of great paying medical professions.

Part of the problem with what you're saying is, 30+ years us very far down the road and is difficult to say with a high degree of confidence that you'll still enjoy what you do. Bare in mind all the poetical changes the medical field could undergo.

How often do students head off to college thinking they'll do one thing then a few years in change their mind? So I don't think it's black and white

 

[Cranjis McBasketball]

Proctology, Urology... I followed a urologist and a patient came in with CHF, 2 Strokes, an amputated toe from diabetes and his major concern was his ability to achieve an erection... Do you have to love schlongs to be one? No. Matter of fact lady I followed was a lesbian with 2 adopted children.

Being a urologist probably turned her into a lesbian

 

[Incis0r]

I used to get "grossed out" by this sort of stuff, now it's just another day in the office.

How long did the transition take you?

 

[Nowehjose]

When I was in HS I wanted to be a nurse, so I went to a CC with a program. After completing a 1.5 yr of nursing school, I decided nursing was not for me. So, It took me 2 months of being a NA to find out I did not like it. I am doing a 90hr externship prior to August 1st to make sure I really want to do this. 300k is a lot of money.

 

[Cranjis McBasketball]

When I was in HS I wanted to be a nurse, so I went to a CC with a program. After completing a 1.5 yr of nursing school, I decided nursing was not for me. So, It took me 2 months of being a NA to find out I did not like it. I am doing a 90hr externship prior to August 1st to make sure I really want to do this. 300k is a lot of money.

You're doing that to make sure you wanna do pod? I thought you had an acceptance and everything and were ready to go?

 

[ldsrmdude]

How long did the transition take you?

Not long at all. Once I got around it on a relatively frequent basis, it stopped bothering me very quickly. Maybe it's once you learn some of the anatomy and you understand what's going on, it makes it more interesting and less gross

 

[Nowehjose]

You're doing that to make sure you wanna do pod? I thought you had an acceptance and everything and were ready to go?

I am 95% sure, already been doing my research for a year. Of course, I have a little doubt. I'm doing this to make sure I am 100% committed to it. Although I eliminated my interest in DO there is always financial doubt. An unlikely scenario, I get a 520 on my MCAT. No DPM school offers 1/2 tuition, but I could go to my schools MD program for basically free... Then do Ortho Foot and Ankle... Of course, we should all have doubt. My family is below the poverty line, so I will follow the money since 300k is a lot of money. I don't know about you guys, but I'd rather go to medical school for free.

Like I said, I am 95% sure, but I have been at this point for a few weeks. I like to be 100% certain with 300k.

 

[dr.phoot]

I am 95% sure, already been doing my research for a year. Of course, I have a little doubt. I'm doing this to make sure I am 100% committed to it. Although I eliminated my interest in DO there is always financial doubt. An unlikely scenario, I get a 520 on my MCAT. No DPM school offers 1/2 tuition, but I could go to my schools MD program for basically free... Then do Ortho Foot and Ankle... Of course, we should all have doubt. My family is below the poverty line, so I will follow the money since 300k is a lot of money. I don't know about you guys, but I'd rather go to medical school for free.

Like I said, I am 95% sure, but I have been at this point for a few weeks. I like to be 100% certain with 300k.

You get almost free tuition with good stats at Stony? That's interesting. They grant an MD degree iirc. Is there a particular program at that school or you fall under the URM category? (If you don't mind me asking)

Also how can you be 100% sure with these things? The closest you'll ever get without being one is to just shadow, you know? Sometimes you'll have to be in it to really know for sure?

And where are you getting $300k from? Which school is that? Lol (genuinely asking). I figured it'll usually fall in the 200s. Then if you ask to borrow more money you'll end up in the 300s

 

[Nowehjose]

You get almost free tuition with good stats at Stony? That's interesting. They grant an MD degree iirc. Is there a particular program at that school or you fall under the URM category? (If you don't mind me asking)

I don't know for sure, but my friend pays 15k a year with his scholarship. Obviously there is 2 months in between May 2 and August 1st for me to look it up if I got a 520... (I've been hitting around 510 on easier tests and 505 on practice AAMC). I doubt I got a 520, just hypothetical.


He has one of these scholarships. I will ask him more though.
Financial Aid Information | Stony Brook University School of Medicine

 

[Weirdy]

And where are you getting $300k from? Which school is that? Lol (genuinely asking). I figured it'll usually fall in the 200s. Then if you ask to borrow more money you'll end up in the 300s

Coming from someone who had to take out unsubsidized loans for a masters- debt accumulation can easily reach 300k+ after interest.

 

[dr.phoot]

Coming from someone who had to take out unsubsidized loans for a masters- debt accumulation can easily reach 300k+ after interest.

But that 300k+ is including your undergrad, grad, and then pod school.
Jose's still in undergrad right now. And sounds like he'll skip the grad program based on his post. So just undergrad and pod school.

 

[dorsiflexor]

. No DPM school offers 1/2 tuition, but I could go to my schools MD program for basically free... .

Scholl offers half tuition.