Many students are looking for careers in healthcare, but aren’t sure what kind of medicine they want to practice. When I talk to most students they don’t even know what a podiatrist is. Podiatry school is a great professional career choice to consider. Most students looking for healthcare careers only think about allopathic or osteopathic medicine. Podiatry school is very similar, the only difference is the degree earned.
A podiatrist is a doctor of podiatric medicine (DPM). Having this degree certifies you to be a specialized physician of the foot and ankle. DPM’s strive on preventing, diagnosing, and treating conditions related with the foot ankle.
So what are the qualifications of a podiatrist?
Education for a podiatrist includes four years of undergraduate education and four years of graduate education at one of eight accredited podiatric medical colleges. They then have two to three years of hospital residency training. In most states podiatrists are defined as physicians by the federal government. DPMs do receive medical education and training comparable to medical doctors. Podiatrists have the choice to focus on many different specialties including: surgery, biomechanics, pediatrics, sports medicine, orthopedics, geriatrics, or primary care. Podiatrists usually treat sprains, strains, fractures, biomechanical deformities, and problems or conditions dealing with the lower extremities.
A podiatrist has so many different avenues to explore; it is an awesome career choice to consider. If you are pre-health, pre-med, or pre-exercise sports science you should definitely consider looking into podiatry school!
Here are the top five podiatric schools:
1. Barry University School of Podiatric Medicine
Miami, FL
2. Arizona Podiatric Medicine Program at Midwestern University
Glendale, AZ
3. Samuel Merritt University
Oakland, CA
4. Des Moines University
Des Moines, IA
5. New York College of Podiatric Medicine
New York, NY
Listed by: http://www.podiatryschools.com/top_school_rankings/index.html
