Nursing - Foot-care!

Hi All,

I have knowledge of a nurse advertising in a local paper around Kirkby Stephen in Cumbria, (I suppose I had better write UK.!).

She took qualifications 'to do with feet', satisfying the Royal College of Nursing if I remember rightly? This was about seven years ago! I haven't seen her advertise recently, however, and I didn't keep the ad. silly me! The Royal College considered her application to them, (If that was what it was as far as I can remember?).

She worked under her identity as an S.R.N. and used 'CHIROPODY' to describe her home service. I wonder how she would go down with the HPC. today? I certainly cannot see anything wrong with this, (And I've tried!!!! I was considering setting up myself! 2,000 population, could have been wrong?).

Regards,

Colin.

P.S. Nurse could well have all she can cope with and doesn't need to advertise now!!!

 

reply to Artizin

It has taken me several days to ponder the highly emotional and illfounded comments by Artzin. It makes me incredibly sad to realize that that sort of mentality exists. I have been a foot care health provider for the past 12 years. I work to the highest level of my legal scope of practice, which happens to be that of an RN. During my time as a foot care nurse I have volunteered at the homeless shelter, had free clinics at the senior center and the local church that has provides alternative care for HIV and Aids patients. I have orchestrated the collection of thousands of pairs of socks for the homeless. I have also taught foot care to health professionals, been a mentor to many nurses, presented at a dozen conferences and attended equally as many foot related conferences. I have foot care friends, including many podiatrists, all over the world. I use the best instruments money can buy and have individually sterilized packs for each client. I have an autoclave and use better infection control practices than than anyone other foot care provider I know. I use the best electric nail filing systems around, NOT the dremel, and would challange anyone to match my debridement techniques. I do not diagnose, prescribe or perform surgery and refer for anything out of my scope. Nurses were doing foot care long before the field of podiatry was invented. We are here to help and serve the people who are not being cared for, now that medicare has dropped routine foot care ( due to the billions of dollars of fraudulant claims I might add ) In case anyone has noticed there is an epidemic of diabetes and these patients who are not high risk, need proper foot care. There are not enough podiatrists to managing the increasing numbers of these patients. In fact there are not enough nurses either. That is why I think the Foot and Hand Carers profession is the way of the future. We need to work together folks!
Laura

 

I'll add my two-cents here as well.
Scripps & Laura did a great job but I thought I'd lend my support.
I'll admit that in Canada, things are getting more confusing. In Ontario, our Standards were retired and we have been left without the strict guidelines we once had. That is why there is a large movement by foot care nurses to develop best practice guidelines and educational requirements for what we do. We have in the past and will continue to work with the podiatrists/chiropodists to achieve these goals!!! Many podiatrists speak at our conferences to share their knowedge with us. They provide support and guidance and we function well as a team. There are good and bad in every profession but does that mean that the good should be stopped because of the few bad????? If that were the case, no one would ever be able to do anything! As nurses, we are held accountable for our actions and are regulated. Much better than the hand and foot nail carers that are being discussed on another thread and why create a new category like a pod assistant? With the vast knowedge and skill that podiatrists have, I am always troubled that they are so threatened by trained professionals assisting with the basics. Nursing has "lost" many roles that are being taken up by "new" professions - i.e. respiratory therapists, physio, etc. etc. etc. as the need for more specialized care and education are required to ensure the best possible care can be given to the patients/clients. If nurses fought over who got to put a bedpan under someone (I know, I know it's not the same but work with me here), we would be spending more time doing that than using our vast knowedge base to provide care to our patients. There is a role for everyone. We need to clarify these roles in a calm and rationale manner.
J

 

In general, I disliked to highlight the race card, because I am an optimistic type of individual (some people call it blind). I am a Black male and agree there is institutional racism in the podiatric system. Yet, I haven't let that stop me from doing things in podiatry that I wanted to do! Fortunately, I got a high power surgical residency program (the second Black person ever to get this program), so people can't really ignore me. Using my surgical training as a springboard, I have diversified my knowledge of biomechanics and sportsmedicine into a particular niche for myself, especially when I was in Vancouver. I was volunteer coaching and coordinating sportsmedicine care for sportsteams, which really built up my reputation as a sportsmedicine expert. I always tell podiatrists in Canada to find a niche for yourself and aggressively go for it! Explore things outside the podiatric norm (wound care associations, biomechanics organizations, sportsmedicine associations, etc) and use it to build yourself in the community. I believe the days of just doing nail cutting is gone! Just my two cents which I think comes back to the original posting (?)

 

It was always my understanding that podiatrists did way more than just cut toenails. Most I deal with want very little to do with it and choose to utilize their knowledge & skill to deal with the problems that are more suitable to their training. Again, it's back to the bedpans...nurses have the knowledge & skill to do more than bedpans & pass medications. We all need to work within our scopes of practice and use the knowledge we have learned in our training.
So many of us (health professionals) are frustrated by the in-fighting (as is obvious by the postings on this website). We need to start within our own organizations and associations to come together as a group to establish the roles of our members. No wonder there is so much fighting and arguments between professions and people feeling threatened. If we are not comfortable with what we are doing, of course we will want to push everyone else down. Messy, messy, messy. Not unique to any one profession, that's for sure!
Chins up and keep plugging along.
J

 

Dr Brooks

I’m not sure if this website (or any other) is an appropriate place to raise the issues you have in relation to your professional practice. I suspect most podiatrists world-wide have concerns at the introduction – and possible manipulation of – assistant grade practitioners or foot care nurses. It seems obvious that as the profession diversifies and specialises, we need to service somehow our core areas of practice and it may well be that assistant grade practitioners are the best way to do so, especially where the demographics don’t add up. But we need to keep a careful eye on territorial encroachment and the possible manipulation of staffing placements by governments/employers who desire the cheapest option in health delivery.

Whilst there is a case to be made on both sides, I regret to say I find your overtures of racism wholly undesirable in the current debate. Clearly you have issues with many colleagues – both podiatrists and others - but do you really think it is right and proper that allegations of a personal nature are raised in a public/professional forum? As entertaining as they may be, might I suggest a court of law as an alternative venue?

Sincerely

Mark Russell