About
Podiatrist (chiropodist or Podiatrists) aka Foot Doctors are physicians specializing in treating foot problems. Podiatry has evolved as a medical specialty over the past few decades. Podiatrists used to be called chiropodists and are still called chiropodists in some countries like England and Holland.
There are several schools of podiatry medicine and surgery in the United States. Most of them are 4 year post graduate schools. Students graduate with a Doctor of Podiatry Medicine Degree (DPM) and will have to complete a residency training program before they can start practicing independently as podiatric physicians. Most states have a state board of podiatric medicine which regulates the profession. Most states require podiatrists to complete at least one year of residency before they can become licensed.
There is also a board certification exam for those who want to attain this certification. Podiatrists take care of patients with foot problems like heel pain, bunions, foot infections, diabetic foot problems, diabetic ulcer care, fungal infections of the foot, ankle problems, sports injuries and many other conditions of the foot. Some podiatrists specialize in sports related injuries like ankle fractures, ankle sprains, tendon and ligament tears etc. Some podiatrists only take care of patients with lower extremity wounds and work with hospitals in their wound care clinics. They also work very closely with wound care nurses, vascular surgeons and interventional radiologists.
The field of podiatry continues to evolve as we are starting to see a lot of podiatrists on the medical staff in many hospitals. Some of them work closely with orthopedic surgeons, even though there’s always a fight between some othopedic surgeons and podiatrists as they some times see patients with similar lower extremity problems.
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