Podiatrist Salary Increase

[hematosis]

I'm not sure if you guy's are aware of this but I just read about this today. The VA Employees over 500 DPM's, ~1000 part time DPMs, & Residents and their pay schedule is quite low (ranging from 90-155k max). This means the experienced podiatrist are still making no more than ~155k. DPM's are currently scheduled for the same pay rate as Chiropractors. (http://www.va.gov/ohrm/pay/)

Meanwhile the Dentist (3-4 years of training with no post graduate residency w) folks are getting the same pay grade as the MD/DO.
If we can get the same pay grade as the physician and Dentists, more podiatrist will elect to stay within the VA which would be great for the Veteran's (reducing wait time and referral ) and it would bring a huge victory to our profession.

The orthopedic guys have already sent a letter to congress to stop the progression of this bill.

Please PM me for more details.

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[PatchAdamsFan]

Thanks for posting, students in all 9 schools were made aware of the VA provider equity act. Let's make it happen!

 

[prepodchi]

just signed the petition and tweeted about it! thanks for passing on the link

 

[FaisalResidency]

Its crazy how much Dentist income has skyrocketed.

 

[theconzumer]

Its crazy how much Dentist income has skyrocketed.

I find this weird since there is so much competition in the dental field, it seems nearly every plaza has a dentist.

 

[theconzumer]

Its crazy how much Dentist income has skyrocketed.

I find this weird considering the amount of competition dentists face, it seems there is a dentist at almost every plaza. How are they able to command such high salaries.

 

[dtrack22]

I find this weird considering the amount of competition dentists face, it seems there is a dentist at almost every plaza. How are they able to command such high salaries.

Easy. Dental insurance. They actually get paid for what they do.

 

[heybrother]

If they do 4 fillings they receive their full reimbursement for each tooth.

 

[Mad Jack]

I find this weird considering the amount of competition dentists face, it seems there is a dentist at almost every plaza. How are they able to command such high salaries.

There's actually been a lot of downward pressure on salaries, as many new dentists have so much debt they can't afford to start their own practice, so they end up working as associates in another dentist's office for 80-110k.

 

[738177]

There's actually been a lot of downward pressure on salaries, as many new dentists have so much debt they can't afford to start their own practice, so they end up working as associates in another dentist's office for 80-110k.

Not to mention, per semester tuition at some dental schools cost as much as yearly tuition at many pharma/optometry/pod schools.

 

[CardsFan92]

Not to mention, per semester tuition at some dental schools cost as much as yearly tuition at many pharma/optometry/pod schools.

This. Check out the multi page thread on the pre-dent forum titled something like "Do not go into dentistry"-- pretty scary stuff in there

 

[Weirdy]

Close friend graduated summer 2015. Says its hard to get your foot in the door private practice wise because a lot of the older dentists don't want to turn their practices over to new grads. They get paid pretty nice getting out of school but still face the same problems most professions do.

 

[Screwtape]

I'm pretty irrelevant here, but when you say the orthopods are trying to block this bill, are they trying to get podiatrists equal pay? Or the opposite? Either way, why would they hold such a stance? Why do they care what you are getting paid in a VA system-- Just so they can pay their own pod's less? Is it seriously 100% $$$? @hematosis or anyone

 

[ldsrmdude]

Yes, they're trying to block podiatrists "being on the same level" as allopathic or osteopathic physicians. Yes, it's about the money. No, it's not about improved patient care.

Here is a link to their letter:
https://www.abpmed.org/files/aaos-letter-to-the-us-senate.pdf

Edit to add that it's not so much that they care how much money podiatrists make in the VA system, it's also about making sure that we don't achieve their "status" as full-fledged physicians who can serve as Chief of Staff or Chief of Surgery. The same could be said of the military where podiatrists are in the Medical Service Corps instead of the Medical Corps where the other physicians are categorized. So yes, it's about the money (and ego).

 

[theconzumer]

Yes, they're trying to block podiatrists "being on the same level" as allopathic or osteopathic physicians. Yes, it's about the money. No, it's not about improved patient care.

Here is a link to their letter:
https://www.abpmed.org/files/aaos-letter-to-the-us-senate.pdf

What can we do to fight against this?

Their whole argument is based on the premise that they study longer so they are smarter, which isn't the case because we specialize from day 1.

 

[738177]

Yes, they're trying to block podiatrists "being on the same level" as allopathic or osteopathic physicians. Yes, it's about the money. No, it's not about improved patient care.

Here is a link to their letter:
https://www.abpmed.org/files/aaos-letter-to-the-us-senate.pdf

The "0 to 3 years of residency" part is worrying.
All current Podiatry students undergo 3 years of residency from my knowledge. It's almost as if they're not even aware of it or intentionally covering it up.

 

[ldsrmdude]

What can we do to fight against this?

Their whole argument is based on the premise that they study longer so they are smarter, which isn't the case because we specialize from day 1.

There is a petition out there that you can sign. Several organizations have sent "rebuttal" letters to the government to aid in this decision making process (ABPM, ABFAS, APMA, ACFAS, etc.). You can donate to APMAPAC, call your senator to support the HELLP Act, etc

 

[ldsrmdude]

The "0 to 3 years of residency" part is worrying.
All current Podiatry students undergo 3 years of residency from my knowledge. It's almost as if they're not even aware of it or intentionally covering it up.

Unfortunately the argument does hold some water because there are still quite a few podiatrists practicing who did not have any residency training. 2 year residencies were still around 5-10 years ago, so it will be probably 30+ years before you could say that all practicing podiatrists underwent 3 years of surgical residency.

 

[HappyHobPod]

"The distal lower extremity including the foot, ankle and leg is one of the most complex areas of the human musculoskeletal system."
I like where they are going with this.

 

[Robert De Niro]

There is a petition out there that you can sign. Several organizations have sent "rebuttal" letters to the government to aid in this decision making process (ABPM, ABFAS, APMA, ACFAS, etc.). You can donate to APMAPAC, call your senator to support the HELLP Act, etc

The petition can found by googling "veterans deserve better petition." Should be the first link that pops up.

 

[hematosis]

Vascular Surgeons, Dermatologist, Internists, etc, etc all don't care about how much Podiatrist make, what positions/titles they hold and are not sending letters to stop this bill. Unfortunately, it is only the orthopods that are trying to bully lawmakers by writing misleading letters and giving little care to the patients that will ultimately suffer if this bill does not get passed.

It would be such a huge victory if all Podiatrist came together to get this bill passed.

 

[Pronation]

The plural of podiatrist is podiatrists.

 

[Riea]

they're so triggered

 

[AttackNME]

Why was this bumped? Old thread with lots of updates since.. AOFAS and AAOS support VA provider equity act?