what now?

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hey all,

reaching the final stretch of my 2nd year i discover i don't want to do surgery. now what? what else can I do with a DPM degree, or am i doomed?

also, so many of my fellow classmates leaving for allopathic or other schools or just pain dropping out is depressing..residency shortages, lack of respect from the medical community..can't make enough money to support themselves..so many different reasons they give...i thought podiatry was a great profession and i still do.
anyone else have the same problem? advice?

:sinking:

 

Yes: stop panicking.

What makes you think there's a lack of respect amongst the medical community from our profession?
If there is - what can you (as a practitioner) do to change that? (Clue: communicate with your local GPs, district & practice nurses, health visitors etc).

I've worked as a Podiatrist - mainly in the NHS - for over 15 years now and I can assure you that not only do the vast majority of Podiatrists NOT work as surgeons, there are an awful lot who don't want to either.
You can do a heck of a lot, in Private Practice or in the NHS: I work with paediatric and adult biomechanics, carry out nail surgery, high risk clinics, "routine" clinics, treat ulcers for people with diabetes, arthritis', neurovascular conditions etc.
We're also working on raising our profile with the local medical community but - despite the nice presentation we're developing - nothing beats writing and phoning the people themselves if you can't meet with them face-to-face.

You get out what you put in.
Also, what's this about "can't make enough money to support themselves"?
Well, if going into private practice you won't - not for the first few years anyway. It takes time to establish yourself and build up a reputation and clientele. Fortunately tax laws take this into account. Be prepared to work hard and possibly have a 2nd (paying) job until the practice takes off.
The NHS pays pretty well compared to an awful lot of professions - certainly enough to live on! And if you have chutzpah as well as a good business head and professionalism you can make a mint out of private practice.

I'm surprised by the negativity: I enjoy being a Podiatrist and find it a varied and rewarding profession. There's more to it than pure musculoskeletal work and surgery!

 

Charlie,

I think your post may not be that relevant for someone studying in the USA

Ian

 

Ian,
Damn! You're right - I should have looked more closely.

 

Podiatry is a great profession and your already whining?? Did you not do any research into this field? Surgery is but one component of Podiatry, don't you know that?? If your not happy, change direction. I would rather see winners remain in the profession.

Steven

 

i did research the profession! i wouldn't have signed up for this if I didn't know what i was getting into, lol. I was just venting my frustration i suppose. i still enjoy it.

at this stage of my career, it appears surgery is the focus. the other things that a pod gets to do are in addition to surgery, at least what I have seen.

and about the other students jumping ship-i don't want to follow them. i guess i was looking for a glimmer of hope in an otherwise bleak day with the constant beatdowns life gives every one once in awhile.


the more practical question would have been: for those practicing pods out there who do not do surgery, what did you focus on (wound care? biomechanics? sports med?) and how did you get involved? residency training? fellowship?

 

Dear podstudent 2,

I will give you as much constructive advice as I can. I am a podiatrist who has been practicing several years now.

As far as your dislike for surgery, yes there are practitioners who practice more conservatively and focus more on wound care, biomechanics, sports medicine.
For your residency training however, all USA programs- PMS-24,36- require you to perform surgical cases and complete them adequately. In fact, a large part of the residency program, revolves around the surgical patient. The pre-op, post-op, the in-house management and of course the countless hours you will stand, assisting the attending podiatrist and performing the surgery yourself.

So, like a mechanic you will perform procedures over and over again to hopefully perfect your technique during the completion of your program.
So, if you have a lack of desire for this type of “procedural, manual” type of work, then you may have trouble just completing the residency.

As far as finding work, newly graduated residents who have good surgical training have a distinct advantage as most jobs look for or want the more highly trained surgical resident in their practice. There are more available jobs for these graduating residents and they pay higher.

Finding a “conservative” practice to work for will be much harder and even those, they still expect you to do some procedures. You will probably be working in a lot of nursing homes and yes, you will be doing wound care there, but also performing a lot of debridement of nails, calluses.

As far as DPM vs. MD, DO degree. You cannot argue that a MD or DO degree affords this doctor many more opportunities for work and to get started. Simply, do a google search and you will find loads of jobs and opportunities for internists, anesthesiologists, radiologists, family care doctors whereas for podiatrists the listings will be few or non-existent in certain areas. Even in places like the VA or Kaiser in CA, you may only need 2-3 podiatrists per hospital whereas they may need 15 internists, 15 radiologists, etc.
My brother is a cardiologist who went to MD school the same time I went to podiatry school. I got to know a lot of his friends and when we all finished our residencies, all his friends compared to myself and my classmates found jobs faster and got higher compensation from the start.

Now, having said that a few of my classmates have really done well several years later and are earning just as well as the MDs, but there are also a few that couldn’t make it and are out of the field and it’s not because they were not good students or good doctors, but it’s because the business side of podiatric medicine is much tougher to break through than MDs, although they face similar burdens that all health care providers are going through because of healthcare reform, the declining economy, etc.

Podiatry is a great field, which I enjoy. Surgical procedures are a necessary part of foot and ankle care and there are simply some scenarios where you have to perform a procedure to successfully treat the foot and ankle problem. I do not feel you will be complete if you do not perform as least some of the basic or bread and butter type procedures that a podiatrist performs, however you can build a practice which focuses more on conservative care and simply refer surgery out to someone else. These types of practices do exist.

I do feel that it’s only your 2nd year, you may grow accustomed to performing surgery as you get more exposed and comfortable with it.
If you have any further questions, please PM me directly, I will be happy to answer them.

-docmoney


LABGUY- Do you attack everybody that posts on this site?? He is not whining, he is concerned about his future and needs to make an educated decision. Do you treat everybody as if they are 8 yr. old children??

It must be great to be you, you are in the perfect profession and there must be no other alternative to be a health care provider today in this world other than a podiatrist. You are a WINNER!!!!!

Why are you posting on the USA forum anyway??, go attack posters in your own country.

 

Podstudent2:

First, docmoney - well written. I only want to add a personal note, if I may.

I have been in practice over 30 years and have an almost 100% surgical practice. I love the surgery and I love being in the hospital.

It wasn't always something that I thought I would be good at. I recall the first time I saw a surgery video. It was a resection of a melanoma from a shoulder. I recall watching the initial incision. The next thing I recall was "waking up" with my head on the desk and the surgery almost complete!!!!

Who would have guessed my professional life would have turned out as it did from this rather embarrassing beginning.

Even those who feel they have poor hand - eye coordination. You will be surprised how quickly your surgical skills will develop once you begin training.

What I'd like to add is this; don't discount an incredibly satisfying, lucrative and respectful profession based on how you may feel after only your second year of school.

Steve