08/02/2013 Jeanne M. Arnold, DPM
Unmatched Residency Placements Currently Stand at 86
Once again the 'leadership' of this profession
has proven itself to be as spineless as ever.
Sweep the problem under the rug, hope nobody
notices, then hide when they do. When the
residency crisis first surfaced, there was a
flurry of activity and some hope that the
unmatched graduates could be accommodated into
programs so they could obtain licenses and become
practicing podiatrists. A few slots became
available, but then nothing.
Most of us work-a-day, in the trenches
podiatrists are pretty much helpless to do
anything. Back to business as usual for those who
can change things. Meanwhile, there are 86 people
whose future is becoming more and more dismal,
who may never practice as fully-licensed
podiatrists and quite realistically may never be
able to pay back the loans incurred for their
education. They are asking good questions about
what happened and why, but no one is answering.
To me, all this ignoring translates into one
thing--no one in the ivory towers of podiatry
really cares what happens to the 86. It seems to
me the podiatric leadership are all collectively
waiting for them to just go away. Guess if you
wait long enough, they will.
I said this once before and I'll say it again,
the time has come to hit APMA, CPME, the colleges
and everyone else in the alphabet soup of
podiatry in the only place they understand--the
pocketbook. I believe the 86 unmatched grads
should get together and file a class-action
lawsuit. 86 graduates x $150K (low ball average
loan liability) = $12.9M. An impressive number,
even more so when you add on attorney fees and
perhaps punitive damages. Something that may
actually get someone's attention and allow these
people to get on with their lives, in podiatry or
not.
Jeanne M. Arnold, DPM, Coeur d'Alene, ID,
jarnolddpm3@frontier.com
08/01/2013 Unmatched Podiatric Graduate
Unmatched Residency Placements Currently Stand at 86
I completely agree with the comments my colleague
who is in the same dilemma as me made about
enforcing the 3-year residency program. I joined
podiatry school to become a podiatrist, not an
MD. I did not intend to do much surgery, although
I believe I can be very good at it after having
spent much time in the OR for the last 2 years.
Why were these changes made in the field of
podiatry in order to be in par with orthopedic
surgeons? There are multiple fields in allopathic
medicine that do no require surgical options, so
why can't graduates have a choice to do what they
like. If I had known this BS would occur, and
that I would be saddled with thousands of dollars
in debt, I would have gladly accepted admission
to MD school, but I chose podiatry because I
wanted to specialize and did not want an intense
workload like some other doctors.
Who gives right to these administrators to just
play with students lives and futures. I am a very
able candidate and I deserve a residency spot,
and so do many my colleagues. I have been working
under a DPM for 8 months now. All I have done has
impressed my attendee, and even the orthopedic
surgeons, but because of this man-made residency
crisis, I fell through the cracks and am left
pondering my future. I have not got a good
night's sleep in months.
The leaders at APMA and CPME have no idea the
pain and hard-ship this MAN-MADE residency crisis
has caused me, my unmatched colleagues, and their
families. All I have to say is that I hope these
leaders can get a good night's sleep every night,
thinking that their actions have caused such
suffering for so many good people that deserve
better.
I am going to continue to find a work and accrue
clinical experience and hang tough in this time
of hardship. Even if I do get a residency, I will
never forget what these leaders did to us. Shame
on them and shame on anyone who supports them.
This is a crime, an absolute crime.
Unmatched Podiatric Graduate
08/01/2013 Unmatched Podiatric Graduate
Unmatched Residency Placements Currently Stand at 86
I am also one of the unmatched graduates from the
class of 2013 who has been waiting since March to
see what happens with this long brewing and self
created debacle. Nearly everyday, I have been
reading the posts that have poured into PM News
to gather any bit of information that could have
helped me. Needless to say, there was a lot
of "finger pointing", "now is not the time to
blame anyone" and "we must work together."
I applaud programs who have taken an extra
resident, two, or three in the meantime. However,
this is only the tip of the iceberg. The vast
majority of those without a program are still
unmatched and waiting for answers. Here is my
take on some of the issues that have been
discussed:
CPME: Caps are not being enforced: I have seen
this firsthand in both my institution and other
colleges. The fact of the matter is that we
started with a record class size in my year, and
then lost more than 25% of those matriculants.
What does that say about my college and some
others? To me it suggests that they are so
obsessed with chasing the dollar bill, that they
would admit someone while fully well knowing that
he or she may not be able to finish the
curriculum. And let's not forget that the record
class sizes were taken when knowledge of a
possible shortage was in plain view of college
officials.
APMLE: Dr. Edwin Wolf wrote sometime ago that
part of the reason this crisis exists is "An
unusually high Boards Part II pass rate." So am I
correct in assuming that our boards were designed
for us to fail? Was there an expectation that
enough of us would fail so as to stabilize class
sizes? I agree with my co-student who wrote that
the test does not test minimal competency, and is
a poorly written hodgepodge of minutia that
serves little to no purpose in clinical
practice. How can we even compare this test as
being alike to the USMLE/COMLEX?
APMA: Dr. Gastwirth's salary is publicly known,
and I have seen him at multiple meetings. But has
he ever once taken the stage to take
responsibility and voice concern of the residency
shortage? How can we be taken seriously as a
profession when our own leaders are so myopic?
Might I add in here that podiatry is not
recognized by ACGME as a medical specialty, and
one can only wonder why...
CPME: While I understand that their role is to
monitor and enforce standards related to
residency training, the survey that they released
was a half-hearted attempt at validating their
own existence and meekly asking if they alphabet
soup of residencies should be brought back. And
as far as the release of information goes, should
the public not be allowed to know some of the
pertinent information regarding residency
development? Why is this information guarded like
gold at Fort Knox?
It is the public who will eventually apply,
matriculate, and graduate the colleges. And why
has there not been a public disclosure to
applicants that there is an ongoing shortage of
residencies is beyond me...buyer beware.
I urge all of those involved in the profession to
ask yourselves if we really have made progress by
mandating the current guidelines that have been
set. Or in the name of progress, have we labeled
some as sacrificial lambs who have been doomed to
slaughter? And my last point: If the colleges are
truly not-for-profit institutions, then give the
unmatched graduates their money back, as we paid
for a service, and it was not delivered.
Unmatched Podiatric Graduate (KSCPM1)
07/31/2013 H. David Gottlieb, DPM
Unmatched Residency Placements Currently Stand at 86
The biggest lesion I've learned from the hard
knocks I've gotten in life is that I have no
control over what happens to me. What I do have
control over is how I react to those events in my
life. How I react not only defines my character
and who I am but I have managed to change my
reaction to events over time to my ultimate
benefit.
Negative events used to drag me down mentally,
emotionally and physically. Now I look for a way
to make a positive change to the situation. It
may be small, but it makes a difference. The
unmatched graduates have every right to feel
hurt, abandoned, mistreated, and so on. They have
had a 'bad thing' happen to them that was largely
out of their control. It's understandable to be
depressed. But I believe that they are best
served by taking positive steps to change their
plight.
Out of curiosity, I did a quick check for
podiatric licensure requirements recently. I went
to the Federation of Podiatric Medical Boards
site http://www.fpmb.org/ . They maintain a
registry of licensure requirements throughout the
USA.
I found out that there are 6 states or
territories that do NOT require a residency for
licensure.
That means 6 states or territories that the
unmatched graduates can go to, get licensed, and
then work for someone, make contacts, make money,
gain experience, and so on for multiple positive
experiences in podiatry while they get ready to
apply for residency again. Or not. They may find
themselves in a situation and location [Hawaii
anyone?] that they like so much that they decide
to stay and open their own office. Or, they can
hunker down, feel sorry for themselves, mope
around, and not gain positive experiences over
the next year.
It's their choice. No one else's'.
Why none of the doomsayers haven't done this
research [or, for that matter, the people who
wail about how unfair life is for these kids] and
presented this possibility I don't know and I
don't care. But the information is there, they
can find it. They can decide for themselves if
they want to be positive in direction or negative.
H. David Gottlieb, DPM, Baltimore, MD,
hdavidgottliebdpm@gmail.com
07/31/2013 Unmatched Podiatric Graduate
Unmatched Residency Placements Currently Stand at 86
Podiatry is turning into a complete joke. As
students, we have been told that Vision 2015
will make us “equivalent” to our MD
counterparts. It is the biggest BS that I have
ever heard in my entire life. We are not
equivalent because we do not act like future
professional doctors.
The APMA is a joke for coming into our schools
and telling our students that they hope “the
students that don’t match will stop applying one
day.” Our board exams lack transparency. The
students will never know their raw scores or how
they really performed on an exam. The exam does
not follow the content published by the APMLE.
Furthermore, the exam is written with emphasis
on non-relevant materials. I challenge the APMLE
to fully release the last three exams with the
raw scores.
Most self-respecting doctors will agree that the
exam is a poorly written exam that does not
measure competency. When did podiatry become a
cult? Why must all students become surgeons?
Some students have no intention of performing
surgery. I followed a family member into
podiatry because I wanted to treat patients
conservatively like him.
Furthermore, a 3 years surgical residency will
not make a student a great surgeon. A fellow
student told me that his surgery professor who
graduated with a 3 years residency and a
fellowship but took 5 hours to perform a
bunionectomy. Furthermore, this surgeon
practiced the “Swiss cheese” technique on
patients. This clearly shows the 3 years
residency does not make a great surgeon. It does
not replace experience.
I am tired of the older generations (that
couldn’t get into medical schools) trying to
make changes for us. We are the future of
podiatry. Please retire and leave us alone. We
are happy with being podiatrists. Some of us are
happy with routine care. Some of us are not
interested in surgery. Bring back the medicine
track.
Give us a choice or pay for our student loans!
If we default, we will destroy the reputation of
the profession. There is nothing wrong with
being a routine care podiatrist.
Unmatched Podiatric Graduate
07/30/2013 Unmatched Podiatric Graduate
Unmatched Residency Placements Currently Stand at 86
I am one of the DPM graduates who did not place
into residency. While many before me have
written about the causes of the residency
crisis, no one seems to have proposed any
solutions beyond vague assertions to the affect
that we need more residencies. Furthermore, no
one seems to have a good answer to the question
of what is to become of my colleagues and
myself. I am writing today to propose a solution
that I believe many will find acceptable.
I would characterize the residency "job market,"
so to speak, by two salient features. Firstly,
there are nine colleges of podiatric medicine
that maintain enrollment at a certain level.
Secondly, graduates of those colleges must go on
to a three-year surgical residency in order to
pursue gainful employment within the United
States. These two features have consequently
given rise to a structural deficit of entry
level training positions.
Until now, most commenters have advocated that
one or both of those two features needs to
change, i.e., too many schools enrolling too
many students, or alternative training programs
to the three-year residency that would still
lead to licensure. But what if nothing can be
changed? Under this premise, colleges of
podiatry will continue to produce an escalating
number of unemployable graduates for the
foreseeable future. This is why I describe it as
a structural rather than a cyclical deficit.
What I advocate is that a mechanism should exist
whereby those of us who came up empty-handed in
this year's match could be guaranteed residency
placement next year. One could stipulate that we
pass our board exams and make a good faith
effort to stay active within podiatry, as well
as provisions others would deem necessary.
However, as long as we can be certain that we
will not remain in an indefinite state of
purgatory, it would be an enormous step forward.
Otherwise, my colleagues and I can only hope to
continue going through the same expensive and
time-consuming residency application process
year after year, and it is only rational for us
to wonder when to stop throwing good money after
bad.
For obvious reasons, many current students would
oppose this proposition, though those that do
not place next year will quickly see its merit.
Also, residency directors will be reluctant to
sacrifice their autonomy in choosing residents.
Honestly, I hate to further impose on a group of
people who already are doing the best they can
with this situation. This is why I emphasize
that we would be required to stay current in
podiatry to be considered. Directors would then
be able to rest assured that they are hiring
eminently qualified residents who have an
additional year of experience on top of their
medical training.
There are several reasons why this would be
advantageous for podiatry as a whole. The first
is that it's simply the equitable thing to do.
It is better for many graduates to spend one
year doing an internship or a preceptorship
before going on to residency than for a few
graduates to spend years wondering if they will
ever progress simply because they did not place
in their first attempt. The suffering would be
evenly distributed.
Furthermore, Dr. Ribotsky has on numerous
episodes of Meet the Masters raised the specter
of lawsuits. While the purpose of this letter is
not to threaten legal action, it does not
require a great deal of imagination to figure
out that eventually a critical mass of angry,
unemployed, and indebted graduates with nothing
left to lose will come forward and sue the
schools. If they are successful, it could mean
entire medical universities--not just the
colleges of podiatry, but their affiliated
universities--would close their doors.
Even if the schools successfully defend against
any legal action, they still would be put in the
awkward position of admitting on the public
record that their students should have been
smart enough to know that they might not have
any prospects after completing their degree. In
either event, such an occurrence would be a
spectacular embarrassment for a profession that
has struggled for decades to gain legitimacy in
the healthcare community.
Even if no lawsuits materialize, the growing
number of unmatched graduates will eventually
take their medical training to work somewhere in
healthcare, if not as MDs or DOs, then as PAs,
nurses, or administrators. When they do, they
will not have kind things to say about podiatry.
There are already enough people like that out
there without the colleges of podiatry producing
more of them on a yearly basis.
However, if my colleagues and I can be
guaranteed residencies after one additional year
of continued study and dedicated work, all of
these concerns vanish. No one would be able to
sue because no one would be able to claim any
damages. Our professional reputation will be
bolstered by our willingness to address the
crisis as fairly as possible. It's the right
thing for podiatry, and it's the right thing for
us unmatched graduates. If this makes me sound
entitled, I apologize, but I deeply believe that
we are entitled to more than lives of indentured
servitude.
Unmatched Podiatric Graduate
07/24/2013 Robert Kornfeld, DPM
Unmatched Residency Placements Currently Stand at 86 (Unmatched Podiatric Graduate)
I am quite amazed at unmatched podiatry
graduate's "polite restraint" when, in
fact ,there is certainly cause for outright
rage. Instead of going on medication to deal
with the stress of being "left out in the cold",
this thoughtful and centered DPM should be in a
residency program. Am I surprised that
administrators have turned their back on this
and all of the other unmatched DPMs? Absolutely
not. I have been in podiatry my entire life (my
father was a 1950 graduate of NYCPM).
I am a 1980 graduate of NYCPM. My experience in
podiatry has been excellent personally (because
I refused to settle for anything less), however,
I have never felt that podiatry was a solid
profession. We have always had major issues with
in-fighting, back-stabbing and insecurity. In
many cases, insecurity has led to demonizing
some of the pioneers in this profession. Buck-
passing has also been malignant in podiatry.
Now, we are faced with the unforgivable act of
graduating DPMs who cannot get residency
training and therefore cannot practice. Their
diplomas are useless.
I personally offered to create a training
program for these grads and was completely
ignored by the profession as well as the elite
podiatry "politicians". The only responses I
received (other than from some of the interested
unmatched grads) were very negative with no name
given. Anytime I receive an email from a
podiatrist with no name, I am aware that this is
a person who uses fear as his compass. I do not.
I am outspoken about many of the ills I see in
this profession as well as the paradigm that I
practice in. I am always open and honest.
So in view of the situation that exists, coupled
with the fact that I made a very generous offer
which went ignored, I will no longer support any
organization that I believe does not have the
best interests of the profession in mind. I am
tired of witnessing self-serving politics.
Robert Kornfeld, DPM, Manhasset, NY,
Holfoot153@aol.com
07/23/2013 Unmatched Podiatry Graduate
Unmatched Residency Placements Currently Stand at 86
I am one of the original 104 students who did not
get a residency position. I was an average
student whom did well on his externships and
never imagined to be in such a position today.
This has made me to come to conclusion that
obtaining a residency position includes 20%
skills, 50% connection and 30% luck. Since March
20th, my life has been a disaster. I have not
been able to celebrate my graduation and any of
my achievements, and I have started taking anti-
depressant medications and have lost motivation
to do anything.
Initially, the faculty at my school were really
supportive and were giving me hope, however,
since the day I stepped out of school, I have not
even been able to get a hold of anyone. I went to
6 different podiatry school interviews when I
applied to them and got accepted to all 6. That
day everyone from the dean to many part time
faculty staff were available and spent hours
selling me their school, but as soon as I
finished paying tuition, I became a stranger to
them.
I was told on the interview day by the dean that
attending his school will bring me exclusive
advantages due to their strong alumni and
multiple residency program affiliations as I will
be able to get a better education, get into my
top choice residency program and have excellent
future job opportunities. I am so disappointed
and disgusted by this profession today that I
have no choice but to share this sad experience
with you. It seems like the school staff have
forgotten that it is because of students like me
they have a job!
I have read in different blogs from the students
who are experiencing the same problem that sadly
most of them are getting the same treatment from
their schools. Fortunately, there are still some
thoughtful people in our profession like Temple
dean, Dr. Mattiacci, who has been very supportive
and has done much to place his students in
residency by trying to open new residency
programs and talking to different directors for
placement of his students. Also congrats to
Scholl University for placing 8 students in
residency during scramble with their strong
faculty connections and affiliations.
All these schools and CPME were well aware of
this shortage. If CPME required each school to
open 10 spots in their state and had them figure
out a way to overcome the shortage, we would
never face such crisis! Instead, CPME approved a
new school and did not stop any of the other ones
from enrolling more students. Midwestern
University should be an example for most of the
podiatry schools out there as it has not been
around for a long time, and as of today it has
established 3 different residency programs for 5
spots for the classes of less than 30 students.
They have had 100% residency placement for their
eligible students since they have been
established.
I do not know what will happen to me and other
students with no residency positions. I wanted to
work for someone in this profession to keep
myself busy, learn and be able to pay my rent,
but I think I am better off working in a fast
food restaurant with the salary and zero benefits
that I was offered by people in podiatry. All I
can say is that this will not get any better, and
we will face more crisis every year which will
cause this great profession to die down as people
will be scared to pursue their education in a
field with no spots for post-graduate training
for even eligible and average students. I would
like to see by then which one of these schools is
still surviving and is advertising what it has to
offer.
I will be happy to hear other people’s
standpoints, and I am open to any suggestions. At
this point, I would like to recommend all
prospective students to do major research before
selecting a podiatry school and do not get
tricked by the sweet talk they receive at the
interview date. The truth is that most of these
schools have very close tuition fee, scholarship
offers and board exam pass rate. Get all the
statistics about number of externship months
being offered to the students, match and scramble
day placements and number of related residency
programs to that school.
Unmatched Podiatry Graduate
07/04/2013 Jon Purdy, DPM
Unmatched Residency Placements Currently Stand at 86
With all of the fundraising that is going on for
students and other podiatric campaigns, why have
I not seen one for this “crisis?” It seems to me
that if there are more students than there are
residency spots there should be something
named “The Residency Education Fund,” Why are the
schools and the APMA not working diligently with
the CPME in the formation of a campaign to
encourage podiatrists to become residency
directors?
Why don’t these entities have a “program” whereby
they have dedicated people able to match
hospitals with potential residency directors and
facilitate the establishment of residency
programs? The way it looks to me, there should be
a program that:
· Has the APMA set up a program to join willing
directors with hospitals to work through the
process of applying for and establishing a
podiatric residency program.
· Encourage schools to put monies toward
residency directors and/or resident salaries.
· Has the APMA campaign for contributions to fund
residency directors or to supplement resident
salaries.
· Has the CPME form “regional” facilitators that
they train in CPME requirements. These
individuals could facilitate the formation of
residency programs if they themselves do not want
to be the director. They could personally assist
the program set up and help evaluate and guide
the hospital and director on the requirements.
Ultimately the CPME would perform the final
approval process and thereby not over burdening
the CPME resources.
My suspicion is that there are hospitals and
podiatrists that would love to have a podiatric
residency program but they just don’t know how to
get it accomplished, or feel it would be too
burdensome to do so. With a “program” that has
facilitators to make the process clear and
stepwise, I think you would see many jumping on
board and fast-tracking the creation of residency
spots.
Jon Purdy, DPM, New Iberia, LA,
jpurdy@mindspring.com
07/02/2013 Philip W. Seeber, DPM
Unmatched Residency Placements Currently Stand at 86
Schools are taking too many students for the
number of residency programs. As a past residency
director, I recall the same selfish self-serving
attitude in the '90s. There was a short of hand-
shake agreement back then between the schools
that they would not take over a certain number of
students for the ratio of training programs
available Iowa was one of the few schools that I
know that stuck to this.
Basically, the schools are stealing from the
students and like any thief they should be
penalized, if not closed. Knowing that they will
be 100 places short for programs is
unconscionable. They were 100 short this year,
they are going to be 100 short next year or maybe
200 short next year. And what about the year
after that?
The CPME who is approved by the U.S. Federal
Government to act as a regulatory body is not
working. How hard is to ask the schools not to
add more students than programs available? And
for goodness sake, don’t open any more schools.
When residency programs in medicine are over-
filled there are alternative programs but not so
in podiatry. Also, there is only the number of
programs as there is actual need. If you look at
the statistics you can hardly find a town in the
U.S. that is not served by a podiatrist. So where
is the need? The schools and the CPME should be
legally accountable for their actions.
At this point, I am making sure that the elected
lawmakers are advised of what’s going on. The
schools and CPME cannot continue approving more
schools and having more students than there are
training programs available.
Philip W. Seeber, DPM, Rockford, IL,
drseeber@yahoo.com
