07/17/2025    John S. Steinberg, DPM

Educational Fallout and Uncomfortable Truths (Rod Tomczak, DPM, MD, EdD)

Ah the beauty and the challenge of open authorship
forums such as PM News. Congratulations to Barry
Block and his now 22,465 daily subscribers…BUT
with this media comes responsibility and a duty
for honesty.

We need to STOP publishing extremist statements
and misinformation. We don’t want to hear it
anymore. The notes of alarm that use terms such as
‘shrapnel, blast radius, and grenades’ seem
determined to misrepresent the truth and create
negativity about this great profession. I suggest
that rather than seeking to frighten readers about
podiatry for some unknown cause, we should instead
put our efforts into productive communication.

My son will apply to podiatric medical school this
fall. He will be the 4th generation of Steinberg
DPMs. My grandfather graduated from NYCPM in 1931.
My brother, father and 3 cousins are all
podiatrists…and guess what…we all have made a
great living and enjoyed a rewarding profession
that helps people every day. That seems to be the
prevailing sentiment with about every podiatrist
that I speak with around the country.

Sure, not all podiatrists are rich and put in
total ankle replacements for a living. However,
this profession has never been in a better
position for success. We have advanced our
education and scope of practice…we are on staff at
major academic medical centers…graduates from my
residency and many, many others get offers of
starting salaries that begin at $250k and range up
to over $400k.

Let’s all please stop using half-truths and
misinformation to scare our profession and those
who may want to join us. Instead, I’m going to
continue to devote my attention and energy to help
further elevate the meaning and prestige of the
DPM degree. Maybe others could join and direct
your energy this same direction?

John S. Steinberg, DPM, Washington, DC

Other messages in this thread:

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07/16/2025    Lawrence Oloff, DPM

Educational Fallout and Uncomfortable Truths (Rod Tomczak, DPM, MD, EdD)

Rod, thank you for your continued devotion to
podiatric medicine, but I do have some concerns
about your statements. First off is your
information about the number of [podiatry]
schools. When you stated there are "25 or 30" ,
actually there are 11, and one of these schools is
a public institution. While I agree with your
premise on the number schools, I think it is
important to be accurate about what you state.
Also, my understanding is that CPME only has the
ability to decide whether or not a school meets
their criteria. I do not believe it has the
ability to tell a school to open or not. I would
like to hear from a higher authority on whether my
information is correct. If it is, then how do you
influence a private entity from opening a school
if we have no jurisdiction over that decision?

I always wondered whether all these posts are
social media or whether they are accessible online
by the public. Maybe someone can answer that. Your
information you keep posting is interesting but
its extensiveness and persistence sometimes feels
like a diatribe against podiatry. If this is all
passion, then I would rather have you take all
this energy and apply it in a more constructive
venue, maybe as a voice to CPME and AACPM? You
would be a valuable resource to them.

Your opinions feel a bit like a Yelp review. Yelp
often serves as a platform where negative stuff
prevails. I remember passing by a neighborhood
restaurant in San Francisco that had opened a year
ago. Although always busy, the restaurant
announced its closing. There was a note on the
window stating how the few negative reviews
unfortunately resulted in them closing down.
Posted on the window were a number of patrons
thanking them and pleading with them not to close.

Your latest post starts off with the crisis in
enrollment. Instead of focusing on the poor
quality of students like you did, I would like to
hear more about recruitment. More students
applications would solve these issues. I am
interested in what APMA has started concerning
this. More is needed. Podiatry remains an unknown
entity to the high schools, colleges, and health
science career advisors.

Lawrence Oloff, DPM, Burlingame, CA