11/25/2025    Rod Tomczak, DPM, MD, EdD

De-Extinction (John S. Steinberg, DPM)

John, thank you from the bottom of my, everyone
else’s, presumed dark and nefarious heart. I will
shock you by telling you that we are very, very
close to feeling the same way about podiatry. The
profession has been wonderful to us, our families
and the public, especially those facing an
amputation because a wound was mismanaged or not
managed at all.

I was not exuberant about private practice for the
singular reason that I was alone. When an
exceptional case presented and the x-rays viewed,
I’d look at them and say, “Wow, look at this!” and
there was no one to share my excitement with. I
entered academia after less than seven years in
private practice to teach at Des Moines which was
one of the best decisions of my life. I looked
forward to every day as I did at Ohio State and
breaking a glass ceiling in Columbus and
furthering the profession in unchartered waters.

John, I am afraid that all the DO schools opening
will lure podiatry capable students away from our
DPM to a DO degree. This new generation is adamant
about the change in degree as shown in the PM News
survey (FACT). They want to be able or at least
have the capability to prescribe medications not
targeted solely to foot pathology. The idea is
hypnotic and seductive to the Z and Alpha
Generations, and we are losing potential DPMs as
witnessed by the dwindling enrollment in podiatry
schools (FACT). I asked my ophthalmologist,
Squints Jones, if he ever prescribed a systemic
medication for any of his patients. He said he
didn’t. When we talked a bit about the idea of a
plenary license for podiatrists, he agreed the new
initials would be nice, but he, himself could have
functioned as he had been for the last 30 years
with an MD license limited to the eye.

It looks that saving our profession is going to
require some forward thinking and pre-emptive
moves on our part. I fear status quo won’t make it
and as stubborn as podiatry is, we need to
compromise, a decision that doesn’t please anyone
100%. The ultimate question and answer seems very
basic to me. Would we rather have a podiatry
profession with different initials (DO) but
adhering to the noble ideals and goals of our
current initials (DPM)? That’s the compromise.
Should we give the next generation what they want
(DO degree and plenary license) to preserve what
we want (preserving podiatry).

Where we don’t agree is the salary issue. Your
numbers of $440,00 and $300,000 remunerations
differ greatly from the US Bureau of Labor
Statistics where the mean annual wage for
podiatrists was $162,000 in 2023 (FACT). I was
never brought up to judge a profession’s
desirability solely on what the compensation would
be. I’d like to think podiatrists inflate income
to other DPMs but never lie to the government.

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

Other messages in this thread:

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12/01/2025    H. David Gottlieb, DPM

De-Extinction (John S. Steinberg, DPM)

Beginning with the early years of PM News there
have been naysayers lamenting the demise of the
podiatric profession. At one time, I was one of
them. On this Thanksgiving evening, I am thankful
that all the gloom and doom has been for naught.

As Dr. John Steinberg, and others, have pointed
out our graduating residents work in every
practice setting there is: independent, group
single-specialty, multi-specialty, as part of
orthopedic practices, hospital, clinic, and others
as befit their training and desired setting. They
command high salaries, even those who opt for
nursing home centered care. They also chair
committees where they work and/or play. There are
podiatrists at the highest levels of healthcare
organizations and hospitals.

So I ask, who, exactly, ARE the stakeholders in
podiatry? Certainly all the alphabet-labeled
organizations hold a stake in our future, but
there are others too. The public has a stake in
the future of podiatry but they don't seem to have
a seat at the table of organized medicine, whether
allopathic [which is the medical/surgical style
that podiatry belongs to] or osteopathic. Health
insurance companies have a stake in the whole of
health care as that's where their profit comes
from. State and national governments also have a
stake in podiatry since we provide much needed
lower extremity care in all its forms to their
citizens.

Last and not at all the least, is the practicing
podiatrist who have a vested stake in the growth
and future success of podiatry. These, and ones I
may have left out, all have a stake in podiatry. I
believe that they all have a legitimate right to
shout out about our successes and even our
problems. They are the ones who live the issues we
discuss here and among our own groups and
associates.

H. David Gottlieb, DPM, Baltimore, MD