11/12/2025    Rod Tomczak, DPM, MD, EdD

Do Real Stakeholders Exist?

Every few years for the last 30 years or so the
idea of an MD or DO podiatrist has popped up in
the profession. There was considerable talk each
time pining about how wonderful that would be.
Barry Block, DPM has penned editorials in favor of
the change, and the profession has mostly voiced
the opinion that it would be a great
accomplishment, but it is a fictitious aspiration
never to be realized. That’s because no one will
pull the trigger. So let’s be satisfied wallowing
in our mire, complaining and wishing the status
quo wasn’t.

And here we are again, same location, but this
time we’re staring at a fulminating pneumonitis of
fervor by the APMA membership. However, the
leadership of APMA, Brooke Bisbee, DPM is worried
the “stakeholders” need to be consulted about an
offer by ACGME to look at our residencies. ACGME
has no authority over podiatry residencies at this
point. If anything, they are doing us a favor by
looking at our residencies. Yes, a favor. Pure and
simple. They are doing us a favor to let us know
how we measure up. As a matter of fact, I see no
educational history with our CPME, however, they
can and will evaluate our residencies. A rocks for
jocks course eval.

But a voice in the wilderness rose up above the
rest of the profession warning us that a simple,
informal, means nothing, friendly look see, by
ACGME has warned APMA that this unofficial check
would be the ultimate ruination of podiatric
residencies. As a result, ACGME’s offer has been
rebuked in favor of an in depth vetting by Dr.
Bisbee’s stakeholders of the unofficial proposal
by ACGME. A group of DPMs will evaluate ACGME to
see if they are worthy of looking at podiatry
residencies. ACGME better sign an NDA so they
don’t steal any of our proprietary educational
secrets.

Let’s be real. First, none of us reading this
essay in PM News, unless there is a unknown
Methuselah in our midst, is ever going to be alive
to see the extinction of the DPM degree. The idea
that somehow folks with a DPM degree without
submitting to all the hoops and hurdles the DOs
have surrendered to and receiving a plenary
license is ludicrous. There’s no swapping out a
DPM for anything else. People with DC, PA, and NP
degrees are doing just fine practicing a limited
form of podiatry without a DPM degree. We do have
the corner on complaining though. The door is open
to transition to a DO degree for the future, but
nobody will take those first steps. Can we walk
and whine at the same time?

Second, why won’t APMA and the concerned residency
directors respond to the concerns published in PM
News? What is it about our residencies that
worries Dr. Lombardi? At the APMA town hall he
voiced his opinion that an informal, meaning
nothing, look by ACGME at our residencies would
destroy everything about podiatry or podiatry
residencies. Tell us how this will happen? Do you
have a mole inside ACGME? This concerns me the
most. I am reluctant to use the word “should” as
an invitation for unsolicited advice, but perhaps
the ubiquitous, but unidentified stakeholders
should take a look at the residencies Dr. Lombardi
is concerned about. He brought up the topic, he
expressed distress about airing the laundry but
offered no solution.

If a mean nothing review by ACGME would bring down
the residency cap it means there is something we
ought to be embarrassed about. What could that be?
Remember, all podiatry residencies are supposed to
empower residents to perform replants,
transplants, implants and handle complaints after
3 years. Put into a tough position podiatric
officials go turtle or armadillo to fend off
curiosity by the dues paying stakeholders until
the threat goes away, usually by extinction.

If we are still on the Dr. Lombardi quote about
the cap, perhaps that refers to capitalization of
government funds to podiatrists to direct these
residencies. Of course cap could also refer to
fashionable stocking caps, but I doubt it. Cap can
also refer to an upper limit or maximum amount.
The former might refer to numbers of residents
while the later refers to money. Or maybe both. By
the looks at the graduation rates from the
podiatry schools, the number of students doesn’t
seem to be of much concern or should be for an
overage.

Or is there a concern that an informal look at
what we are offering students as accredited
residencies will turn into mockery and scorn of
all podiatric residencies bringing in government
inspection which could result in a discontinuance
or diminishing of numbers? Is that really Dr.
Lombardi’s clandestine and veiled fear? If that’s
the case, where is the swagger and swagger stick
that should be the tool of CPME? Is CPME just a
puppet of APMA? Perhaps ACGME could offer the new
officials of CPME an externship on residency
evaluation.

Podiatric residency directors are welcomed at the
post-graduate education committee meetings at any
hospital where there are government sponsored
residencies and fellowships approved by RRC. This
would be a great chance for podiatrists who did
their residencies at a podiatric surgery center to
see how MD and DO residencies operate without
airing our dirty laundry.

Third, those undefined ubiquitous stakeholders
really bother me. Will we garner opinions from Dr.
MacGill’s biased, invalid and unreliable survey?
Did Dr. Bisbee or Lombardi commission Dr. MacGill
to solicit the prejudiced opinions of the current
residency directors who are under that swagger
crop of CPME? Please define as soon as possible
which stakeholders you will be soliciting for
opinions concerning the ACGME offer? Evidently the
survey in PM News concerning the move to a DO
degree, of which ACGME approval of our residencies
would be an integral part, is not good enough.
Instead, let’s let the entire APMA membership have
a say if you feel the PM News survey and its
implications are not good enough. No one stopped
Dr. MacGill from distributing a survey which would
not get by any opinion poll’s scrutiny except
APMA’s and CPME’s.

Dr. Bisbee and Dr. DeHeer, APMA presidents have
been largely figureheads. Sure they can say they
are responsible for an .05% increase in routine
diabetic foot care only to be rescinded the next
year. You have the potential to make the biggest,
lasting and immensely important changes in the
history of podiatry. Suddenly there is a huge wave
rolling through the podiatry community with the
potential to change the profession forever. This
auspicious tsunami, brought on by the increase in
osteopathic medical schools has offered podiatry
the potential of changing the profession by
offering a plenary DO license (which the
membership clearly wants) and a two year podiatry
residency after a one-year general internship. If
you think this change is not in podiatry’s best
interest please tell the profession now, this
month, this year why it is not. The membership
sees it, but APMA has not responded to the wishes
of the PM NEWS survey. We have no other recourse
but to ask you why you feel this way, and you are
not responding. You have the potential of not
being a president who played musical chairs to
earn a plane ticket to address state meetings and
sing the same old song to the constituents.
Rather, you can become the change agents for those
mysterious stakeholders.

My biggest fear, and that of others not worried
about their affiliations and jobs, is that
podiatry will die a slow, miserable, writhing
death. Soon, college seniors will just opt for a
DO degree with no podiatry residencies available
for the graduates because we got caught looking at
the stars with our hands in our pockets whistling
the AOFAS anthem.

It’s rumored that Jim Brown, taking a tough love
approach once told Richard Pryor something like,
“Take me or the pipe.” Right now, podiatry is
taking the pipe and we will self-destruct because
doing nothing is an easier choice than working for
the next generation of podiatrists to have a DO
degree and a podiatry residency

Rod Tomczak, DPM, MD, EdD, Columbus, OH

Other messages in this thread:

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11/13/2025    Steven Spinner, DPM

Do Real Stakeholders Exist? (Rod Tomczak, DPM, MD, EdD)

Parity or Parody…A little boy is standing outside
a sandbox where the big kids are playing. He is
distressed and wants to play with the big kids but
they have not been paying attention to him for a
very long time. He thinks that if only they would
let him in the sandbox that he will become one of
the gang. As we all know, probably not true. He
will never become one of the “big kids”….and if he
should happen to be invited in, most likely he
will be assigned to the corner of the sand box.

At some point, after a lot of whining about his
predicament, he turns around and sees a really
nice sandbox where all of his friends are having a
grand old time. Maybe if he stopped whining about
wanting to be in the big kids sandbox he would
have gained an appreciation for what he already
had and found a new appreciation for his own
sandbox.

So let’s stop whining about needing to have our
residencies approved under the ACGME umbrella.
Does anyone out there really believe that this
will magically give us parity?

We have a great sandbox….it’s called the Council
on Podiatric Medical Education. I have been a
Program Director for 46 years and have lost count
of how many CPME inspections I have endured.
Anyone of my PD colleagues out there know what I
am talking about. Interestingly enough, my very
first inspection which occurred in the early 80’s
was performed singularly by Dr. Rodney Tomczak…you
may be familiar with his posts. I am not aware if
Dr. Tomczak has performed a program inspection
since then, but I am curious as to whether his
push for ACGME approval of podiatric residencies
is based on his previous experience.

To recap…and I apologize if my recollection is
faulty…it was more like a good old boy slap on the
back and let’s have a beer. My most recent
inspection, conducted by Oleg Petrov, Larry Oloff,
and other distinguished members of our profession,
was a comprehensive deep dive into every aspect of
my program. You need to compare the approval
standards for residencies between CPME and ACGME
to realize that we are not any less rigorous in
our standards.

You want parity? YOU go out and get it…you the
individual. Be the best at what you do…treat your
patients with dignity. Choose treatment protocols
that you would chose for your child or parent, not
the one that is being hawked by the drug or
equipment company. Get involved with your
profession and be proud of being a podiatrist.
Parity, being recognized as an equal, is not
conferred by a piece of paper from ACGME. It’s
conferred on you, the individual…and is hard won
by your dedication to being the best at what you
do….and showcasing those efforts to your medical
colleagues.

There is no Wizard of Oz….we already have a brain
and a heart….let’s find the courage to stand up
for the podiatric profession and stop the whining.

Steven Spinner, DPM, Plantation, FL

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11/13/2025    Charles M. Lombardi, DPM

Do Real Stakeholders Exist? ( Rod Tomczak, DPM, MD, EdD)

I am writing to address the recent disparaging
comments made by Dr. Rod Tomczak regarding me. His
experience in podiatry is outdated, as he has not
practiced in over 40 years and lost his license
due to “personal issues”. One must ask what his
relevance is. One must also ask if he has ulterior
motives like working for a non-designated board in
the hopes of making them become more relevant.

It is clear that Dr. Tomczak is out of touch with
the current state of podiatry, a field that has
evolved significantly in recent years. He lists
his MD degree like it means something when in fact
he cannot use it to see patients. His comments do
not reflect the advances and practices that
podiatrists are actively engaged in. We as a
profession have become independent with our own
institutions that are accepted in all of medicine.
What does he want all of us to have a fake MD
degree like he holds?

I take these comments seriously, and if Dr.
Tomczak continues to mention my name in a
disparaging context, I may be compelled to pursue
legal actions to protect my reputation and career.
He is welcome to come to the house of delegates to
discuss this is an open forum. He questions the
COTH poll of residency directors but does not
question the poll taken by PM News which is a
joke. What if the poll in PM News asked “do you
want to be an astronaut “ how many would respond
in the positive. Furthermore, who is responding to
the poll ---no one knows if they are even
podiatrists.

I urge Dr. Tomczak and others in our field to
engage in constructive dialogue rather than
resorting to personal attacks. The integrity of
our profession relies on mutual respect and
adherence to ethical standards. I hope this
response clarifies my position and encourages a
more respectful discourse moving forward.

Charles M. Lombardi, DPM, Bayside, NY