Educational Requirement for a Podiatrist

For basic foot problems that require the expertise of a doctor (infected ingrown toenails, fungal toenail infections, hammertoes and bunions, to name a few) it can be difficult to know whether you should stick with your general practitioner or see a podiatrist. In order to make this decision, it’s useful to know what kind of training a podiatrist receives that a doctor in any other field of medicine does not.

Podiatrists begin their studies with an undergraduate degree that meets the requirements of most Medical Schools. These requirements include: 90 hours of pre-medical undergraduate study, a qualifying grade point average and a qualifying score on the Medical College Admission Test (MCATs). Most students who want to specialize in the field of podiatry attend one of the seven accredited podiatry colleges in the United States. These colleges, which have been reviewed by the Council on Podiatric Medical Education, offer a degree that follows the format standard to most medical schools. The degree requires 4 years to complete.

The first 2 years are dedicated to coursework (both coursework specific to podiatry and general medical coursework such as anatomy, pathology and pharmacology). The final two years of the degree are spent in rotations in hospitals and clinics. Students work across fields of medicine (neurology, dermatology, clinical skills, biomechanics) but focus on the lower extremity. Successful graduates of podiatry schools do not receive a M.D. but a Doctor of Podiatric Medicine (DPM). In order to complete their training, they spend the next 2 to 4 years as residents in hospitals where they receive advanced podiatric training and practice surgery techniques.

For minor foot injuries and infections, your regular doctor should be able to provide you with adequate care. An infected ingrown toenail, for example, can be easily treated without seeing a podiatrist. Chronic foot problems (if those ingrown toenails keep coming back…) may require a podiatrist’s expertise. Foot surgery will bring you to the podiatrist’s office, as will foot conditions that deal with problems in the bones or the underlying structure of the foot. Bunions, for example, are relatively common foot deformities that actually result from a much more complex underlying structural problem.

Here are a few other foot injuries and deformities you may want to get checked out by a podiatrist: hammertoe, claw toe, plantar fascitiis, high arches (cavus foot), flat feet, foot ulcers, bunions, chronic ingrown toenails, chronic fungal toenail infections, clubfoot, hallux valgus and fallen arches.

Foot length difference
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