04/09/2019    Allen Jacobs, DPM

Using DPM Degree Outside of Podiatry (Leonard A. Levy, DPM, MPH)

Several years ago, podiatric students from
California took the USMLE examination. In point
of fact, the podiatry students performed horribly
in the examination. The results of this testing
was to test the current status of general medical
education in the podiatry schools. I suspect that
medical students would fail the podiatry national
boards.

If the objective of podiatry school is to prepare
students to pass the USMLE examination, a
restructuring of the current state of education
within the podiatric colleges would be required.
This would involve more than simply adding
coursework in three areas. Clerkships and
rotations would also have to change. Students and
residents would have to be actively participating
in patient care in non-podiatry
clerkships/rotations rather than simply being
present and following various sub specialists
around the hospital without having true total
patient responsibilities.

Building a home requires the work of many
specialists such as electricians, plumbers,
bricklayers, concrete pours, and so forth. All
are required for a successful construction
effort. Plumbers are not tested in electrical
engineering, nor are bricklayers tested in
carpentry. All however are required. All are
equally needed for success.

If the purpose of podiatry school is to train
someone prepared to pass the USMLE examination,
then a change in the clinical and didactic
curriculum will be required. However, I would
still maintain the purpose is to prepare
individuals who can successfully bring podiatry
services to the public.

In many ways, the podiatric educational system
should be adopted by medicine and not to reverse.
All of us realize that after 20 years of
practice, perhaps less than that, the average
specialist recalls and utilizes very little of
the general medical education which they have
had. If an individual knows they are preparing
for a career in dermatology, urology, psychiatry,
cardiology, then in a perfect world the education
of that individual from day one would be
instructed in such a manner as to maximize
education in those areas of medicine most
relevant to the practice of that particular
specialty.

I believe that I treat colleges do that
successfully. The suggestion that we deemphasize
areas such as bio mechanics takes from our
schools the basis upon which we function: to
allow individuals to ambulate with the absence of
pain and disability so far as we will be able to
do so. This requires an in-depth knowledge of
kinesiology and biomechanics. Do you withdraw
such coursework is to remove the most important
building block upon which our profession offers
services to the public.

Allen Jacobs, DPM, St. Louis, MO

There are no more messages in this thread.