AACPM and CPME Respond to Need for Additional Residency Positions

[Bunionectomy]

Below is the letter published on APME yesterday. Please see the ones in red. Hopefully those >100 programs that approved for expansion would step up and expand their programs...

April 1, 2013

Addressing the podiatric residency shortage
A shortage of podiatric residency positions has resulted in qualified graduates of podiatric medical colleges not matching with residencies. This situation is unacceptable to APMA and CPME, and we are working closely with every member of the profession to satisfy training needs. Here is what has been done since 2005, when CPME and the American Association of Colleges of Podiatric Medicine (AACPM) first recognized the potential for a residency shortage:
The council began strictly enforcing the maximum enrollment at each college in 2005 and implemented a moratorium on new colleges of podiatric medicine and increases in enrollment in existing colleges in 2007. The maximum aggregate entry class size is 680 students.
During its 2008 and 2009 meetings, CPME and its Residency Review Committee conducted planning sessions to explore new methods to increase the number of positions in CPME-approved residencies and attract applications from first-time sponsoring institutions.
In September 2008, APMA established a residency telephone helpline, advertised on its website and in its publications, to assist institutions, prospective program directors, and faculty with residency development and expansion. Since September 2008, more than 150 individuals have contacted the helpline regarding establishing new programs.
AACPM distributed “Developing a Podiatric Residency Training Program” kits to more than 200 interested podiatric physicians and hospital administrators.
E-mails were sent to all CASPR program directors whose programs have the resources necessary to support additional residents, encouraging them to apply to CPME for an increase in positions.
Sample materials were placed on the CPME website to serve as guides for developing programs.
APMA provides significant funding for the residency genesis facilitation initiative at AACPM and communicates about the initiative frequently in its publications, on its website, and at in-person meetings. APMA regularly encourages its members to get involved as faculty at existing programs or help develop new residency programs. Learn more about the residency genesis facilitation initiative in an article from Edwin Wolf, DPM, residency genesis facilitator, available on AACPM’s website.
In 2009, CPME authorized 171 new positions in already approved programs. Forty-eight of those positions were accepted by sponsoring institutions.
In 2010–11, CPME authorized 155 new positions in approved programs. Thirty-four positions were accepted by sponsoring institutions.
In February 2013, CPME authorized 108 new positions in approved programs. To date, six positions have been accepted by sponsoring institutions.
CPME urges each institution to seriously consider accepting the authorization to increase residency positions so that, in concert with the ongoing efforts of APMA and AACPM, a residency position will be available for each podiatric medical college graduate. Remember, institutions that accept the authorization to increase positions need not submit CPME 345, Application for Increase in Positions, or the $500 application fee.
APMA, CPME, and AACPM also urge anyone interested in submitting an application for a new program to do so. AACPM can help in the application process, and the council is expediting review of these applications. There is still time to have a program approved by July!

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[MaxillofacialMN]

:
The council began strictly enforcing the maximum enrollment at each college in 2005 and implemented a moratorium on new colleges of podiatric medicine and increases in enrollment in existing colleges in 2007. !

Did someone forget about Western....??? Lol


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[dyk343]

Did someone forget about Western....??? Lol


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Exactly what I was thinking. Considering they left that out completely... how credible is the rest of the statement?

 

[zmansman17]

I was hoping for good news. Instead, I found this.

 

[Mofti]

This article does not make much sense to me...

So they knew about the residency shortage since 2005, and they haven't been able to solve the problem yet? Why go ahead and change all residency programs to 3 years? Why approve to add another school in 2007?

It seems like they have known about this and have avoided the situation for the past 8 years. The APMA has had 8 years to fix this solution and they FAILED. Instead, they worked on trying to get full scope of practice for podiatrist and making sure they all become surgeons, when most of your patients whom you will be dealing with won't require surgery.

On top of all this, they seem to be pointing the finger at residency programs for not expanding their programs on how many students they are allowed to accept.

Now everything i said doesn't matter anymore... EVERYONE (schools, physicians, APMA, CPME, ect) need to come together and figure out a solution how to fix the mess they have been avoiding for the past 8 years.

 

[MaxillofacialMN]

Also, not to be a dick, but this is a terribly written letter. Grammar is poor, and whoever wrote it needs to learn how to use a comma....

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[EK18]

I agree with Max and the others, it's not a very reassuring letter. Could you link the original source so we can see it for ourselves?

 

[footankledpm]

This is just sad! Pointing fingers instead of apologizing and coming up with a solution for 115+ students who do not have residencies (It is not 104; many programs withdrew from match the day before and some programs on the scramble took less than what they were suppose to). Unfortunately, something very bad is awaiting this profession as many students with no positions are talking to lawyers for civil actions against these organizations who now even admit that they knew about the shortage, and still there have been more programs closed than opened since 2007! At least get someone educated who knows English to write these useless and hopeless letters with no grammar mistakes.
I have not yet seen one supportive statement from APMA or CPME regarding the mess thay have caused! 115 students cant fall sleep at nights and do not know which directions their lives is heading to; meanwhile, these kind of letters get published... If MDs or DOs were facing this, would they be treated this way as well or their organizations would already come up with a solution?

 

[hotdawg]

The letter is on the apma news www.apma.org

On the present etalk site I believe it is Dr. Gottlieb? Who raised concerns about students suing schools because law students are doing just that. But in NYC a judge ruled against students who sued the NY school of Law (you can Google it). While they lost, it did bring mass media attention to the issue, turned away many promising grads and embarrased the profession.


So... If that is what it comes down to, G-d help us all...oy

 

[EK18]

Did someone forget about Western....??? Lol


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I think Western submitted their application for accreditation in 2007, so the moratorium may have been a response to that.

 

[AmArIe]

The letter is on the apma news www.apma.org

On the present etalk site I believe it is Dr. Gottlieb? Who raised concerns about students suing schools because law students are doing just that. But in NYC a judge ruled against students who sued the NY school of Law (you can Google it). While they lost, it did bring mass media attention to the issue, turned away many promising grads and embarrased the profession.


So... If that is what it comes down to, G-d help us all...oy

the thing is that law students don't need post grad training to be able to get work pods do so its not the same situation i think. Plus with that awfully written letter they basically admit that the knew there was a shortage and were not so forthcoming with that information.

 

[zmansman17]

The letter is on the apma news www.apma.org

On the present etalk site I believe it is Dr. Gottlieb? Who raised concerns about students suing schools because law students are doing just that. But in NYC a judge ruled against students who sued the NY school of Law (you can Google it). While they lost, it did bring mass media attention to the issue, turned away many promising grads and embarrased the profession.


So... If that is what it comes down to, G-d help us all...oy

What happened with law schools though, was complete collusion between the schools and US News and World report. Schools admitted to fudging employment and salary data to bolster their rankings for US News and World report, which weighed those metrics most heavily. So basically, students entered the programs with certain expectations (based on incorrect data) about employment and salary statistics, which were folly.

This would seem to be a marked difference between law and podiatry because law students were essentially lied to outright.

If law students failed to win the case for reimbursement, I doubt podiatry has a case unless there is some caveat (for example, it was produced that a school had, in writing, claimed that each student was entitled to a residency, and signed by the dean).

 

[robopod97]

Sounds correct. Schools opened because CPME documents permitted them to open. Any legal challenge would have sided on the part of the new program. Took time to modify documents leading to moratorium on schools and increases in enrollment. This has been well publisized but the for some reason it has not sunk in to the clueless that continue to point at the new schools.

 

[hotdawg]

From the podiatry post.com (always curious what practicing pods have to say):

March Podiatry Post 2013, Cover Stories, Podiatry Residency Shortage

Podiatry: Where Nothing is anybodys fault even the Residency crisis
Tue, Mar 19, 2013

It was with depressing relization that I read the APMA's statement on the Podiatry residency shortage. *They ask "This is not the time for finger pointing." *Let us remove from this the knowledge that this was obvious to anyone this would occur six months ago. *The only people to have formulated any kind of a plan appears to be CPME. *The APMA decided it was in the best interests of students to inform them the day before the match, that one hundred and four of them will not match. *THE DAY BEFORE!
Then they state, no finger pointing. *When are we allowed to finger point? *Can you imagine, if a murder suspect asked that we postpone the autopsy of his victim because, now is not the time to point fingers. *When is the time, I checked virtually the entire APMA Board was re elected. *No changes or resignations at any school. *Nothing. *One hundred and four graduates are about to graduate without being able to practice, but it is nobody's fault? Oh, I know why it is nobody's fault because none of the students will be able to afford an APMA memberships, so they will never vote. *Thus nobody has to worry about them.
What has just happened is a screw up of legendary proporations that have left the most vulnerable Podiatrists out in the cold, and nobody cares, who screwed up. *Just like giving the seal of acceptence to a company that got a letter from the FDA. *They lost ACFAS in the same year, *I wonder what happened to the president of that year. *I bet he is embarrased to show his face. *Wait I found him:
https://twitter.com/APMAtweets/status/313377547922575360/photo/1
Go to the APMA's twitter feed, this is the day before the Match day and crisis moves to DefCon 5. *Nary a mention of the impending crisis. *But they do encourage you to see their ad in the Politico, or the video of them square dancing. *It is become quite clear that the APMA is a leaderless organation unconcerned about the major crisis of Podiatry. *There is square dancing to do, corporate sponsors to entertain. * *People are probably reacting why are you so angry about what is going on at the APMA. *I am not angry, I am embarrased. *Why? because somebody has to be.

 

[MaxillofacialMN]

I'm seriously waiting for someone to bust out the angel fire site. Surely they have something to say about the residency shortage......

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[hotdawg]

I'm seriously waiting for someone to bust out the angel fire site. Surely they have something to say about the residency shortage......

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The meme says it best: "aint nobody got time for that" lmao

 

[Snowman211]

maybe all these posts here will run off 100+ prospective students, helping solve the residency crisis.

 

[zmansman17]

maybe all these posts here will run off 100+ prospective students, helping solve the residency crisis.

I doubt it. Look at chiro. Even if that happens, it just lowers the bar for admission, but the same amount of students will still matriculate. Now-a-days, a 2.75 gpa with no GRE score and no O. chem and you can land yourself in chiro. Why? Because the schools are desperate to fill seats.

 

[PatchAdamsFan]

I doubt it. Look at chiro. Even if that happens, it just lowers the bar for admission, but the same amount of students will still matriculate. Now-a-days, a 2.75 gpa with no GRE score and no O. chem and you can land yourself in chiro. Why? Because the schools are desperate to fill seats.

To be fair, podiatry has embarrassingly low admissions standards as well (perhaps not to that extent), and they are also wanting to fill spots.