Members do not see these Ads. Sign Up.

Hi,

I'm a mature student (UK) who is currently on the way to studying Podiatry (after a first degree), I have however been worried about a few issues:

You only get 2 tries at the clinical exam before being kicked off the course, what is the likelihood of examiner bias in this, and could anyone vouch for the difficulty (I have read comments on other websites that there are very high fail rates for these)?

I have been told that there is slow salary progression, is this true?

After looking at the NHS jobs website, there are barely any Podiatrist roles, compared to e.g. Physiotherapy, yet I have been told there is a huge shortage. Could anyone explain if the job prospects for podiatry are dire?

What is the difficulty level of the course, as compared to e.g. Medicine?

Is there job security within the profession, and what is to stop a foot health practitioner (who has done a course as opposed to a degree) from doing the same job?

I have had another offer from an employer which will pay me £25k starting, (rising to 40k after 4 years), would it be financially worth it to study podiatry as opposed to accepting this offer (disregarding notions such as passion for the job etc.)?

 

bump

 

hi

fail rates are very high in 2nd and 3rd yr of the programme due to the clinical exam. The exam itself is bias , as each student is assessed on different patients and the assessment is undertook by different assessors.

thus some students have it much harder than others and the examiners interpretation of the students ability will vary depending on the assessor ; experience , standards and pre conceived opinions of the student .

The examiner's are a close group of colleagues that will have been working with you from the beginning of the course and possibly have pre formed opinions of you as a person and your ability before exam starts.

The course itself is very difficult and will require a lot of intense studying to pass for even the brightest of students . In terms of jobs I've heard mixed reviews , some people say it's extremely difficult and others seem to find NHS employment without to much problem.

Most NHS podiatrists have decent work /family lifestyles and enjoy their jobs a lot are also fit and healthy , I personally know other health and social care professionals that don't enjoy their jobs, are stressed out their face and old before their time.

 

Thanks a lot mate.

What would you say was the most difficult part of the clinical exam, if you don't mind me asking?

 

The most difficult part of clinical exam is applying theory to case its hard to lean a in-depth level of medical knowledge then relate it to the patient sat in front of the you , when you have two experienced podiatrists grilling you with on the spot questions.

 

cheers:)

Do the clinical exams get harder every year, or is it the same style each time?

 

1st year clinic exam was really easy, making some padding and strapping based on a case study on your classmates foot. 2nd and 3rd year clinical exams follow the same format with more being expected in level 3

 

thanks, I was just wondering if it changed in difficulty causing more to fail which is why I asked :).

 

From my experience they failed a lot in 2nd and 3rd year 1st sitting and was the main reason people had to leave the programme .