Originally Posted by microphage

I applied and went through the whole podiatry process..... I was granted an interview for 6 schools within 2 days of submitting my online app(just the app, nothing else). Let's see... I was wined, dined and hoteled in San Fran(Japan Town), huge scholarships in Des Moines... and treated to cafeteria food in North Chicago(with a decent scholarship).

Oh yeah, I'm here in the Caribbean with no scholarships and no wine but sometimes dined with the occasional white coat mixer that I sneak to for some free pizza. It all depends on what you wanna do.

Opinion: Podiatry seems like it's begging for students and they seem to get close to their quota but AUC also has a handful of podiatry students who left Pod schools to become an MD. Take it for what its worth...

Originally Posted by Jake101

hello, i am sort of confused. I was granted an interview with a podiatry school, but was already accepted to a few carrib schools. I am wondering if i should spend the time and money to go the interview or just stick with a M.D. from the carrib.

thanks guys

Originally Posted by DOCplucinski

There are different specialties one can specialize with podiatry including surgery and dermatology. Just thought I would throw that out there, not that I would do it.

Originally Posted by GeorgeMD2B

Podiatry and medicine are two different fields, in general medicine is a better field than podiatry. From what I know there seems to be an oversupply of podiatrists. If you were choosing between an Osteopathic Medical school and a Caribbean program that would be something different.

Originally Posted by azskeptic

there are DPM's trying desperately to get MD degrees since they find they are treated as para-professionals, not primary care providers and have to have an MD sign off for them in hospital surgical centers,etc. You'll end up with about as much debt and the inability to make enough to pay yourself out of debt.....

Originally Posted by Newlifedrj

Wow! Please Please Please! If you're completely misinformed, if you don't have the correct response, and if you don't know what the heck your talking about; DON'T POST!..Its simple...

Ok I'll bite.. TO clear up this complete misunderstanding; while there might be some DPM's that are trying to gain an MD, that does NOT mean that they are total incompetent idiots.. The DPM degree is RARELY degraded anymore by the medical community and general public by those who are informed about the podiatric profession.

Podiatrist go to MEDICAL SCHOOL, granted it is not an "In general" medical school, but one that allows you to specialize early on. IF an MD or DO wanted to have the same exact scope of practice as a DPM he/she would have to complete a residency in Orthopedic Surgery, THEN they would complete a Foot and Ankle fellowship.

Fact is that DPM's complete 4 years of Podiatric Medical School, then minimum 2-3 yrs of residency and thus they are granted the FULL ability to operate, treat (prescribe), and diagnose a patients lower limb illnesses.

DPM's make physician salary's, and they ARE just as much a doctor as an MD or DO with the exeption that DPM's can't treat the entire body, thus they can't take in "general" calls, and can't be consulted for upper limb associated problems Within a hospital..But they do have knowledge in the upper extremities, hence the basic science courses they undergo... They have extensive training in surgery as well, and HAVE EARNED the RIGHT to be called physicians by law (look it up..)

General Orthopedists Usually can't possibly mirror the knowledge that a DPM has about the lower extremities... As a DPM has over 4-5 years (after basic sciences) of CONCENTRATED lower extremity training. DPM's have the ability gain FULL licensure in ALL US states and are recognized outside of the US by many countries.

Here's what on *average a Podiatric Physician makes <--Click

As you can see their salary basically mirrors that of a general practitioner whether MD or DO.. Of course there are some who make way over 300k (I know of some), while statistically there are some who make less than 90k... It all depends.. Obviously the compensation of a Podiatric Surgeon in private practice will be MUCH greater than a non-surgical podiatric physician... Depends...

Podiatrists in MANY hospitals have the right to FULLY manage and treat a patient... If and only when the patient has an illness that pertains to the their lower limb area... Some hospitals even let DPM's admit their own patients! Podiatrist are classified as PHYSICIANS and will continue to strive...

I could go on and on.. Point being is STOP talking nonsense when you have NO IDEA about what your talking about.. The DPM degree is very respected and if you decide to become a podiatric physician then you WILL be making more than enough money in order for you to pay back your educational loans...

Please, just show respect to all aspects of the medical field.. Because it is unethical and childish to WRONGFULLY depict a profession as respected and as needed as podiatry.. Heck TONS of people DON'T even know that Podiatry is separate from MD's, and that they go to a completely different type of medical school.. You might have even gone to one when you were younger and you didn't even have a clue as to what the difference between them and MD's was.. Point No. 2 being is a physician is a physician..period... Much like a surgeon is a surgeon, it doesn't matter if the surgeon only operates on the hand or feet...

GET YOUR FACTS STRAIGHT! Please, for the sake of other medical professions..

Thank you!