10/30/2024    Paul Kesselman, DPM

No DPMs Need Apply (Rod Tomczak, DPM, MD, EdD)

I have to partially disagree with Dr. Tomczak.
There is no question that the MD degree may get
doors open that another doctorate degree may not.
I also know at least 2 MDs who either decided not
to pursue residency programs or who quit their
surgical residency in midstream to pursue
other areas of interest, such as medical IT, etc.
This area is growing by the day as physicians with
clinical experience and those in medical school
see how difficult clinical practice is.

However I know many DPMs who, for one reason or
another, pursued work outside the clinical arena in
the pharmaceutical industry, orthopedic equipment
or orthotics and prosthetics industries, and some
even the teaching profession, at one level or
another. Other DPMs are working for insurance
companies as investigators, others as compliance
officers either for health systems of third-party
payers.

All without exception have done financially quite
well for themselves, and I dare say, many have made
more money in those industries than if they stuck
it out as clinical podiatrists.

So while I would have to agree that the MD degree
may initially get your foot in the door, there are
many podiatrists who have gone on to succeed and
done quite well for themselves in non-clinical
roles in other fields.

There is no doubt a need for DPMs to have access to
take the USMLE exam (as has been previously noted).
That may get you the MD degree, but if you want to
have the MD license to practice, that is another
matter. Dr. Tomczak likely will agree that you will
still need to do a minimum of a one year MD
residency just to obtain that license (which really
won't get you too far in the clinical world).

It certainly is unfortunate if companies are that
myopic and do not bother to look to see what
practical experience the person applying has,
concentrating about the applicant's degree.
As a son of a Fortunate 500 HR executive, I can
tell you that your degree only gets you so far.
Your expertise and personality will take you much
further.

Yes getting your first job in any realm is
difficult and the right degree may get you in the
door for an interview, but there are far more
important factors, such as your ability to
communicate and work with others that will not only
get you that job, but will also enable you to climb
the ladder. You can and you should write your own
pedigree.

Paul Kesselman, DPM, Oceanside, NY

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