Podiatrist
WANTED A BROADLY INTERESTING MEDICAL CAREER, NOT FOCUSED ON ONLY ONE MEDICAL ISSUE
As a child, he needed weekly doctors’ attention to cope with his allergies, which led him to appreciate how doctors could offer a wide range of treatments to make their patients feel better quickly. He wanted to be a doctor to help others in the same way.
FAMILY BACKGROUND
“GD” was born in the Philadelphia, PA area, the youngest – by 6 years – of two brothers. His father was a new car salesman; his mother was a homemaker who died when GD was in high school at age 15.
EARLY CHILDHOOD EXPERIENCE LEADS TO ADULT CAREER THOUGHTS
Growing up, GD had many childhood allergies, primarily to seasonal airborne pollens, requiring weekly doctors’ office visits for several years, during which GD admired how his medical care teams of physicians and nurses took care of him. So, GD decided that he would become a doctor when he grew up, to take care of sick patients, young and old, helping to make them feel better as quickly as possible.
GD appreciated that the constant medical care he received allowed him to remain active in sports, including football (from age 5), baseball and basketball through high school.
Looking back now from his adult perspective, GD is glad there were no electronic distractions (video games and iPhones) from schoolwork and sports during his childhood, just occasional board games of Monopoly and Parcheesi for rainy days. TV shows were only a few, all on a small screen with people and cartoons presented in black and white. Car seat belts, microwave ovens and home computers were yet to be invented and available to average folks.
EDUCATION
Always an all-around good student, GD enjoyed success studying what many fellow students thought were the most challenging courses: math and science. Following high school graduation (with honors), GD enrolled in college, where he continued his academic success while majoring in biology, pursuing his pre-med school curriculum focusing on a range of science courses GD knew he’d need for necessary background to succeed in medical school. One notable course was “organic chemistry” which GD “ace’d” though it had sometimes been a ‘trap door’ for aspiring physicians who hadn’t studied that subject sufficiently and unfortunately had to choose a different career path. But not GD, who studied extra hard to meet that academic challenge.
While GD was a ‘serious’ student, he also had time for a social life, meeting fellow students with varied backgrounds and interests and creating many lasting friendships outside his classrooms.
During the third year of college for all med school hopefuls, future applicants take the “MCAT” exam. When combined with a student’s college GPA, med schools have an objective basis to offer an admission to applicants they deem best qualified. The next step for any hopeful medical student is to choose the right fit for medical school among (in alphabetic order):
* Allopathic (traditional MDs)
* Osteopathic (then thought to be trained for more of a ‘holistic’ than science-based, medical approach to patient care)
* Podiatric (branch of medicine devoted to the diagnosis and medical treatment of disorders of the foot, ankle and lower extremities).
One factor for GD’s decision about which type of doctor he wanted to be was the length of the program required to earn a medical degree. The MD path was six years, which seemed both too expensive and too long a wait to start practicing medicine following 4 yrs of med school, a ‘residency’ and specialty training, all of which might take the new MD into his or her mid-30s age before settling into their self-chosen medical specialty practice.
Rather than having such a long wait to get started treating patients of his own, GD opted to enroll in a 4-year Doctorate program toward becoming a podiatrist, whose care is not limited to feet, as many in the public might assume. Successful graduates are Doctors of Podiatric Medicine (DPM).
ELECTING AMONG MULTIPLE MEDICAL SPECIALTIES
Like all aspiring physicians, GD’s medical school required his participation through a rotation of multiple medical specialties including surgery, infectious diseases, general medicine, pediatrics and sports medicine. GD already knew that he would prefer to offer a wider range of treatments than merely focusing on one aspect, for example: only foot care, for the length of his future, long career. Instead, he watched, practiced and learned from skilled mentors the entire range of podiatric care which fortunately, had expanded through heroic pressure from the preceding generation of podiatrists pushing for acceptance, no longer limited to shaving foot calluses but by now, included ankle and foot surgery, dermatology and sports medicine-related treatments – all for both children (pediatrics) and adults.
RECOGNITION OF EXPERTISE BEYOND STANDARD MEDICAL LICENSE
A physician (commonly called a “Doctor”) is not automatically licensed to practice either general medicine or a medical specialty upon graduation from a medical school. Being ‘licensed’ requires passing a test only open to graduates of accredited medical schools. Whether the doctor eventually chooses to be “certified” by the professional group (called a ‘Board’) within a specialty, is optional but if “Board Certification” is achieved, it’s a recognition by the doctor’s peer group that he / she has the experience and knowledge meeting the highest standards of that medical specialty. This may be done for professional pride and/or attracting new patients and/or building a resume to be hired by a large healthcare system.
For GD, the motivation to seek Board Certification was simple: He wanted to know that his knowledge and experience matched the best podiatrists in the entire U.S., perhaps in the world. So, following the mandatory 5 year waiting period for practicing podiatry to gain the required range of experience, GD submitted all the preliminary, required data to the podiatric surgery certification board: number of surgeries, related radiology films and narratives about patient progress working with all ages (pediatrics to geriatrics) with procedures involving a wide variety of care including amputations, bunions and fractures. Once accepted for potential Board Certification, the applicant must next pass a written exam, followed by an oral exam. If successful through all those steps, the applicant becomes a “Diplomate of the American Board of Podiatric Surgery” (ABPS). Earning additional qualifications results in becoming a “Fellow” of the ABPS.
GD’s timing was notable: he was then one of the youngest Board Certified foot surgeons in the U.S.! Other types of podiatric certification are available, including (alphabetically) dermatology, geriatrics, pediatrics, primary care and wound care.
TYPICAL RANGE OF WEEKLY PODIATRIC CARE
Within an average week, GD may be found diagnosing and treating both children and adults for diseases and injuries involving one or more of the following: surgery involving fractured bones or skin grafts, nail and skin care plus sports medicine-related issues.
In addition to his office practice, GD is unique among many physicians in that he still offers home visits to patients unable to travel to his office. Such patients may have no applicable insurance and an inability to make any cash payments, so GD often graciously accepts homemade cookies and pies while his true compensation is the emotional satisfaction of helping his patients avoid serious consequences from lack of podiatric care.
CAREER-RELATED OPPORTUNITIES FOR EXPERIENCED PRACTITIONERS
Editor’s note – Doctors, like experts in any career, have opportunities to use their expertise to help others while earning money (examples: teaching a long-term medical course or providing a one-time lecture or testifying in court as an expert witness able to provide an opinion beyond facts observed or volunteering their time for a charitable cause (example: a weekend day of caring for residents of a homeless shelter).
During his long professional career, GD has shared his expertise in several ways, some with and some without financial compensation. Examples include teaching and mentoring new podiatrists, providing an expert opinion to lawyers regarding alleged malpractice by other podiatrists and continuing care to patients whose insurance coverage was denied.
CURRENT CHALLENGES FOR ALL MEDICAL PROVIDERS
A fundamental issue for every physician is whether to associate yourself with others, ranging from a small medical partnership to employment by a large healthcare system or to be “your own boss.”
GD has heard stories of some doctor friends who sold their practice to a large health care system, which often limits the time the physician can spend with each patient and then may pressure the physician to refer the patient to other specialists within the same employer’s healthcare system.
To maintain control over his own career path, GD opted to work for himself, by himself, reserving the option to refer patients to other physician specialties if GD believed a fellow professional could offer a different viewpoint leading to a successful patient outcome, rather than GD hanging on to every patient to maximize his financial compensation.
GD looks forward every day to meeting new and long-standing patients, taking the necessary time to listen to their problems, diagnose their medical issues, propose proper treatment plans and provide appropriate care.
CAREER SATISFACTION
Taking care of young patients reminds GD of his childhood days when he was unable to play outside with his friends during heavy pollen season.
What brings GD his greatest career satisfaction is relieving his patients’ symptoms as promptly as possible to enable their return to normal activities. Such resolutions improve quality of life, for which patients are forever appreciative.
Helping every patient is important to GD but some special cases are most memorable, including surgery enabling children with ‘club feet’ to walk more normally and caring for a veteran of the 1950s Korean War battle of Chosin Reservoir, to deal with residuals of the elderly, former soldier’s chronic frostbite symptoms.
Starting from the perspective of an allergy-affected child, GD has achieved career satisfaction by listening to his patients and providing customized care toward prompt relief of their symptoms. It’s a journey he hopes to continue for a long time.
