RE: I Want to Work as a Podiatrist (Greg Aposperis, DPM)
From: Bryan C. Markinson, DPM
The dentist-oral surgeon model certainly has worked well. Some have stated that it is illegal for an oral surgeon to fill a cavity, suggesting that this is the main obstacle for an oral surgeon to actually fill cavities. Nothing could be farther from the truth. The simple fact is that the oral surgeon knows that the first cavity he fills is the end of his referral practice. That's it.
As far as podiatrists and podiatric surgeons goes, there are way too few podiatric surgeons making a living just doing surgery. A former president of ACFAS tells me that they estimate about 600 in the entire country are doing so. There are a far greater number of podiatrist-surgeons doing barely enough surgery to pay for their liability insurance.
Therefore, the podiatrist-podiatric surgeon model will never work on an equivalent level to dentistry. It could, however, develop into that if and only if we start treating each other with respect and fairness, so that non-surgeons of the future will be comfortable stating that they are not surgeons, and every Tom, Dick, Harry, and Sally podiatrist stops referring to themselves as reconstructive foot surgeons. I am not confident.
Bryan C. Markinson, DPM, NY, NY, Bryan.Markinson@mountsinai.org
RE: Unmatched Residency Placements Currently Stand at 80
From: Ron Raducanu, DPM
I wrote a blog about this which was largely ignored. What I proposed was that we re-instate the one-year residencies run by those in practice who can offer a "real" podiatry experience (including office and hospital work, as well as surgical exposure) and have it initially funded by the APMA. The APMA has a $10M "emergency fund", and I believe this would qualify.
Yes, graduates can practice in select states without a residency, but that's not really the point. Make these one-year "programs" only available to those who didn't match. This will give them the one year needed to attain a license and earn money in most states.
They got through the curriculum. They deserve to at least make a living, pay back their student loans, and feed their families, maybe even prosper beyond what some of us can imagine. Give them the chance at least.
Ron Raducanu, DPM, Philadelphia, PA, kidsfeet@gmail.com
