04/22/2026 Rod Tomczak, DPM, MD, EdD
AI and the Future of Podiatry
I attended the Ohio Foot and Ankle Association
virtual seminar on Saturday April 18. Michael
Brody, DPM gave a fantastic talk about how AI will
fit into podiatry in the very near future and how
it is 93% accurate as AI interprets what we tell
it and that number will jump to 95% by the end of
the year. I thought the presentation was very
interesting and included some of the platforms he
thought were accurate.
At the conclusion of the meeting, I checked my
email and found a piece forwarded to me by Barry
Block from “Anonymous.” Anonymous quoted some information
from AI platforms about the future of podiatry and
it did mention what part osteopathy plays in it. I
thought I would follow up on the email with some
AI platform investigating two questions, I would
ask the AI platforms, “Is podiatry itself in a
crisis mode?” and secondly, “Is the future of
podiatric education in crisis?” So, I will report
to loyal PM News what Perplexity and Chat GPT
have to say about these two questions.
Perplexity says, “Yes—in many places, podiatry is
facing a real workforce and access crisis,
especially in rural areas and health systems with
heavy diabetes-related demand. Reports and
professional commentary point to recruiting
shortages, burnout, rising patient loads, and gaps
in coverage as the main pressure points.”
How serious is it?
“In the U.S., the signals are more mixed but still
concerning: private practices and clinics report
difficulty hiring, and podiatry leaders have
described a recruitment crisis and an
“existential” threat to the profession’s
sustainability.”
And the bottom line
“So the answer is yes, but unevenly: podiatry is
not universally collapsing, yet many systems are
under enough strain that “crisis” is a fair
description in workforce and access terms.”
Are podiatry schools facing an enrollment crisis?
“Yes — podiatry schools appear to be facing an
enrollment crisis, with multiple reports showing a
sustained decline in applicants and matriculated
students over the past several years. One source
describes the situation as a “serious decline” and
notes that the applicant pool fell from 1,006 in
2020 to 716 in 2022, then remained below prior
levels in later years.”
What the data shows
“The trend is not just anecdotal. A review article
in 2023 found that applications to U.S. podiatric
medical schools had been steadily declining over
the prior decade. A 2025 piece citing AACPM data
reported 839 applicants in 2024, down from 1,006
in 2020, and 399 matriculated students in 2024,
down from 564 in 2020.”
Why it matters
“Lower enrollment can create a staffing and
workforce problem later, because fewer students
today means fewer podiatrists entering practice in
a few years. Commentators also warn that schools
may face financial pressure if they cannot fill
seats, and practices may struggle to recruit
associates”.
Why applicants may be down
“The reasons appear to be multifactorial. One
review points to broader demographic and
professional factors, including a declining U.S.
birth rate, licensing concerns, inconsistent
salary information, and internal disagreement
within the profession. In other words, the issue
seems real, but it is also being driven by a mix
of market, perception, and structural factors
rather than one single cause.”
According to Chat GPT… Is podiatry in a crisis
mode?
Short answer: no, podiatry is not in a uniform
“crisis mode”—but parts of the field are clearly
under strain, and it depends heavily on what you
mean by “crisis.”
Here’s a grounded way to look at it:
1) The workforce: not collapsing, but tight and
uneven
• there are roughly 15,000+ practicing podiatrists
in the U.S.
• Total employment is relatively small ('9,700
counted in federal data), and growth is projected
at only '2% over the next decade
That combination matters:
• Growth is slow on paper
• But supply is also limited, so many markets
still feel understaffed
?? Translation: not a collapse—more like a
constrained, niche workforce
2) Demand is actually increasing
Several forces are pushing demand upward:
• Aging population
• Rising diabetes and obesity ? more foot
complications
• Expansion of wound care and limb preservation
programs
Hospitals and groups often report:
• Difficulty hiring podiatrists
• Long recruitment timelines
• High competition for trained surgical DPMs
?? So from a pure “need” standpoint, demand is
strong, not collapsing
3) Where the “crisis” perception comes from
This is the important part—because the concern
you’re hearing isn’t imaginary.
A. Geographic maldistribution
• Rural and smaller markets ? true shortages
• Major metro areas ? more competition / perceived
saturation
?? Both can exist at the same time.
B. Training bottlenecks (historically and still
relevant)
• Residency spots have not always scaled with
graduates
• Surgical training quality and case volume can
vary
?? This creates anxiety among students and early-
career podiatrists.
C. Professional identity / scope tension
• Ongoing comparison with MD/DO orthopedics
•Variability in hospital privileges and
integration
?? Not a workforce crisis—but a professional
positioning issue
D. Practice economics & burnout
Common complaints (mirroring other specialties):
• Administrative burden
• Reimbursement pressure
• Staffing issues in private practice
4)
The paradox of podiatry right now
This is the key insight:
• Demand = rising
• Supply = limited
• Growth rate = officially low
• Experience = highly variable depending on
location and practice model
So you get two very different narratives:
• “There aren’t enough podiatrists”
• “The field is saturated and struggling”
?? Both can be true depending on context.
Bottom line
Podiatry is not in systemic collapse, but it is in
a transitional, somewhat stressed state:
• ? Strong clinical demand
• ? Stable-to-good income (median '$152K)
• ? Ongoing need for foot/ankle specialists
But:
• ? Uneven job markets
• ? Training and scope debates
• ? Practice pressure similar to the rest of
medicine
Is podiatric education in a crisis mode…according
to Chat GPT
Short answer: there are real warning signs—but
calling it a full “crisis” depends on what you
mean. It’s more accurate to say podiatric
education is under structural strain, especially
on the front end (student pipeline), rather than
collapsing outright.
?? 1. The biggest issue: declining applicants
This is the clearest and most widely documented
problem.
• Applications to U.S. podiatric schools have
declined over the past decade
• In some recent cycles, applicant numbers dropped
sharply (e.g., '716 applicants for '700 seats in
2022)
• Even in 2024–25, only '839 applicants applied
nationwide, with '525 matriculants
?? Translation:
Schools are increasingly filling seats rather than
selecting from a deep pool, which raises concerns
about:
• academic competitiveness
• long-term perception of the profession
• financial viability of some schools
????? 2. Workforce paradox: shortage of podiatrists
Ironically, this isn’t because podiatry isn’t
needed.
• Demand for podiatrists is projected to grow '28–
29% by 2030
• Supply is expected to lag behind demand
significantly
?? So the issue is not demand—it’s pipeline
failure.
?? 3. Educational system stress signals
Several secondary warning signs show strain:
• Reports of unfilled seats in schools and concern
about financial sustainability
• Ongoing need for post-match residency filling
processes, indicating imbalance between applicants
and positions (though less severe than
historically)
• Persistent discussion within the field about:
o inconsistent income data
o scope-of-practice concerns
o internal fragmentation (boards, certification
politics)
?? 4. But it’s NOT a total collapse
There are stabilizing factors:
• Residency positions now generally exist for most
graduates (unlike the crisis era '2010–2015)
• Enrollment still produces '500+ new students per
year
• Demand for foot/ankle care is strong and growing
?? Bottom line
• Yes, there is a problem—mainly declining
interest and applicant volume
• No, it’s not an existential collapse—the
profession still has strong demand and
infrastructure
A fair characterization:
Podiatric education is in a “pipeline crisis,” not
a practice crisis.
If you want the blunt insider take
Many within the field worry about:
• reputation relative to MD/DO pathways
• ROI concerns (tuition vs income variability)
• messaging to pre-med students
Those—not the clinical need—are what’s driving the
current situation.
The other platforms say essentially the same
thing. What bothers me the most is the Chat GPT
assertion that schools are increasingly filling
seats rather than selecting from a deep pool,
which raises concerns about: academic
competitiveness, long-term perception of the
profession, and financial viability of some
schools. The lack of the deep pool worries me.
When we matriculated, there were applicants who
were rejected.
Rod Tomczak, DPM, MD, EdD, Columbus, OH
