02/19/2025    Ross B. Feinman, DPM

American Foot Care Nurses (James DiResta, DPM, MPH)

I have been practicing for over 22 years; I have
seen the ups and downs of the profession as well
as the residency programs. I have been fortunate
enough to be involved with podiatric students
through the various programs at multiple
hospitals, I have worked with some very talented
residents through the years as well as students!
In previous years, students were hungry for
knowledge, enjoyed the banter of being “pimped”,
they knew it was for educational purposes, not a
personal vendetta against them. They also came
prepared for the case, knew the basics and seemed
interested.

Unfortunately, many students now want to be done
by 5 PM, not show up, or have to take their dog to
the vet. The idea of this as a lifelong profession
seems to have become lost in the fog as many
students today seem to be more interested in
dinner time than actual learning. It seems
inexcusable for a student to come into a bunion
procedure and not be prepared for the case, to not
know the anatomy of the foot or toxic doses of
anesthetic is a commonality that I have run into
all the time!

Hence, no one is saying they won’t be good
practitioners, but maybe surgery is not for
everyone, and we need to look at a 2 tier type of
residencies like in the past, one for basic
forefoot, office-based podiatry and the others for
surgery. Many of the candidates have been told you
can’t get certified, make a living etc. without a
3-year surgical residency and for whatever reasons
they have been scared off by the 3-year standard.
Is it possible that the governing board needs to
review this and change for the future of the
profession.

Ross B. Feinman, DPM, Walled Lake, MI

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