Discover Podiatry

Although a career in medicine crosses the minds of many students, podiatry is often not the first thing on their mind. I have never heard of a young child pretending to be a podiatrist while make-believing with their playmates. In fact, it was not until earlier this year that I finally discovered this "hidden gem" of the medical industry for myself.

Regardless of made you decide to explore the podiatric profession, there are many things that make this field of medicine extremely interesting and attractive. Whether you are simply looking at all of your options in the medical field, or have already decided to apply to a podiatry school, you may be surprised to find a very promising and exciting career in this expanding market of specialized physicians.

Here are some quick facts about podiatry:

• Podiatrists are required to attend 4 years of podiatric medical school followed by either a 24 or 36 month residency.
• Podiatrists recieve a D.P.M. degree (Doctor of Podiatric Medicine) and require licensing to practice in all 50 states.
• Podiatric physicians undergo a rigorous board certification process similar to that of MDs and DOs.
• Money.com and CNBC.com both rank podiatry as the 15th Highest Paying Job in the US. The US Department of Labor also lists it on their list of the 24 highest paying jobs.
• The APMA survey on physician salaries revealed an average income of $176,000 for podiatrists.
• The US Department of Labor expects the need for podiatrists to rise. However, podiatrists tend to have long careers so the rise in demand will be gradual.
• There are currently 9 podiatry schools in the US and the first podiatry school in Canada is currently being planned at the University of Alberta in Edmonton.
• Nearly 24 million (and growing) people in the US have diabetes so there is a need for growth and research in the field of podiatry.
• In the 2008-2009 application season for podiatric medical schools there were 872 applicants. 626 students matriculated as first year students. (http://www.aacpm.org/html/statistics/stats_applicants.asp)
• The average student accepted to podiatry school has an MCAT score of 21.7 and a GPA of 3.3 (with a Science GPA of 3.1).
• Unlike traditional medical schools (meaning MD or DO) where students train for 4 years (plus at least 3 years of residency) to enter any number of medical specialties, podiatry students are trained to diagnose and treat the feet and ankles. Podiatry does have its own set of speciaties, including sports medicine, reconstructive rear foot and ankle surgery, diabetic and wound care, podopaediatrics (the treatment of children's feet), and forensic podiatry, but each of these specialties relates directly to the foot and ankle.In my opinion, this is one of the aspects of podiatry that makes it so attractive.