Podiatry tried to become too surgical with way too many pods for the actual demand (as evidenced by the garbage job market).
HOT TAKE: Shut down the dozens of garbage Doctor of Pedicure Medicine programs where residents quadruple scrub a 2 hour toe amp. Obviously the greedy schools will never change their laughably low admissions standards. Allow pods to practice non surgical without a residency… they should probably just be called chiropodists but whatever. The gatekeeping can happen at the residency level, since the bottom tier students will get left without a residency, which is appropriate.
Yes podiatry did try to become way too surgical. Although who would willing choose a career in chiropody over being an RN or PA these days?
When one is overqualified and underpaid for most of the jobs available….what is the point of the cost, length and surgical nature of our training? For all to log the number of surgical cases they do in residency and then act like residents have two paths and can choose a non surgical career path after residency is a ridiculous waste of resources.
College students have not stopped being teachers and started going into nursing because there is some forum bad mouthing teaching. They are following the money and jobs.
Every time admissions drops podiatry schools blame internet forums. They have been doing it as long as the internet has existed. I get it…….the schools are so desperate and accept anyone, thus anyone that does research or is potentially scared away from podiatry by learning the truth about this profession is less dollars in their pocket. Applications going up or down has nothing to do with this forum, but maybe 2 or 3 less going to a particular school might. If podiatry was more desirable and had more qualified applicants than seats, this forum would be a non issue. It is actually laughable they are so desperate they blame it for their problems. I guess those at the top need something to tell their boards as the cause of enrollment shortfalls.
Podiatry has always depended on plan B medical school applicants. They are obviously choosing something else as their plan B or they already had a plan B all along and it was not podiatry.
Podiatry needs to accept they have decided to be a surgical specialty by mandatory 3 year residencies. There is no going back now. To have an appropriate job market for this decision we need to graduate 150-200 students maximum per year.
I will go on record and recommend podiatry as a good career, regardless of whatever board or other issues exist, when we have enrollment under 200 at the schools, and highly recommend podiatry as a career when we have under 150.
Vision 2040......Shrink Podiatry into Prosperity!
150 total slots per year for student enrollment.
