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03/23/2026
RESPONSES/COMMENTS (THE FUTURE OF PODIATRY) - PART 1C
From: Gary S Smith, DPM
I think there is a big disconnect among podiatrists. I don't think, as a profession, we know who we are anymore. I think Dr. Jacobs, who is a great lecturer, lives in a bubble and does not grasp the reality of most podiatrists. I was at a Zoom CME a couple of weeks ago and the majority of the lectures were about surgical ankle trauma, Charcot repair, and MIS surgery that about 90% of podiatry doesn't do. I was at the Buffalo seminar last fall and there were no orthotic, diabetic shoe, or podiatry instruments vendors. Obviously, it is not profitable for them to be there. Are podiatrists not doing these things? Are the majority employees and have no say in the choice of vendors?
If we are representing ourselves as “just surgeons", why would anybody choose podiatry over orthopedics? It seems that when I started 35 years ago, people were proud to be podiatrists and now they seem ashamed. I just watched another TV show a week ago where a podiatrist was the butt of multiple jokes from the other characters for not being "a real doctor." This is the perception of us that young people are seeing. We can't change that if we don't unify the profession around an identity that we can all ascribe to.
Gary S Smith, DPM, Bradford, PA
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