How to become Podiatrist in 2024

Podiatrist Diagnose and treat diseases and deformities of the human foot.

Podiatrist is Also Know as

In different settings, Podiatrist is titled as

  • Attending Physician
  • Doctor of Podiatric Medicine (DPM)
  • Doctor of Podiatric Medicine and Surgery (DPM and Surgery)
  • Doctor Podiatric Medicine (DPM)
  • Foot and Ankle Surgeon
  • Physician
  • Podiatric Physician
  • Podiatric Surgeon
  • Podiatrist

Education and Training of Podiatrist

Podiatrist is categorized in Job Zone Five: Extensive Preparation Needed

Experience Required for Podiatrist

Extensive skill, knowledge, and experience are needed for these occupations. Many require more than five years of experience. For example, surgeons must complete four years of college and an additional five to seven years of specialized medical training to be able to do their job.

Education Required for Podiatrist

Most of these occupations require graduate school. For example, they may require a master's degree, and some require a Ph.D., M.D., or J.D. (law degree).

Degrees Related to Podiatrist

Training Required for Podiatrist

Employees may need some on-the-job training, but most of these occupations assume that the person will already have the required skills, knowledge, work-related experience, and/or training.

Related Ocuupations

Some Ocuupations related to Podiatrist in different industries are

What Do Podiatrist do?

  • Diagnose diseases and deformities of the foot using medical histories, physical examinations, x-rays, and laboratory test results.
  • Prescribe medications, corrective devices, physical therapy, or surgery.
  • Surgically treat conditions such as corns, calluses, ingrown nails, tumors, shortened tendons, bunions, cysts, or abscesses.
  • Advise patients about treatments and foot care techniques necessary for prevention of future problems.
  • Refer patients to physicians when symptoms indicative of systemic disorders, such as arthritis or diabetes, are observed in feet and legs.
  • Correct deformities by means of plaster casts and strapping.
  • Make and fit prosthetic appliances.
  • Perform administrative duties, such as hiring employees, ordering supplies, or keeping records.
  • Educate the public about the benefits of foot care through techniques such as speaking engagements, advertising, and other forums.
  • Treat deformities using mechanical methods, such as whirlpool or paraffin baths, and electrical methods, such as short wave and low voltage currents.
  • Treat bone, muscle, and joint disorders affecting the feet and ankles.

Qualities of Good Podiatrist

  • Deductive Reasoning: The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.
  • Written Comprehension: The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
  • Written Expression: The ability to communicate information and ideas in writing so others will understand.
  • Inductive Reasoning: The ability to combine pieces of information to form general rules or conclusions (includes finding a relationship among seemingly unrelated events).
  • Problem Sensitivity: The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing that there is a problem.
  • Speech Clarity: The ability to speak clearly so others can understand you.
  • Oral Comprehension: The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
  • Speech Recognition: The ability to identify and understand the speech of another person.
  • Oral Expression: The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
  • Near Vision: The ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer).
  • Category Flexibility: The ability to generate or use different sets of rules for combining or grouping things in different ways.
  • Flexibility of Closure: The ability to identify or detect a known pattern (a figure, object, word, or sound) that is hidden in other distracting material.
  • Information Ordering: The ability to arrange things or actions in a certain order or pattern according to a specific rule or set of rules (e.g., patterns of numbers, letters, words, pictures, mathematical operations).
  • Fluency of Ideas: The ability to come up with a number of ideas about a topic (the number of ideas is important, not their quality, correctness, or creativity).
  • Speed of Closure: The ability to quickly make sense of, combine, and organize information into meaningful patterns.
  • Finger Dexterity: The ability to make precisely coordinated movements of the fingers of one or both hands to grasp, manipulate, or assemble very small objects.
  • Visualization: The ability to imagine how something will look after it is moved around or when its parts are moved or rearranged.
  • Manual Dexterity: The ability to quickly move your hand, your hand together with your arm, or your two hands to grasp, manipulate, or assemble objects.
  • Originality: The ability to come up with unusual or clever ideas about a given topic or situation, or to develop creative ways to solve a problem.
  • Memorization: The ability to remember information such as words, numbers, pictures, and procedures.
  • Arm-Hand Steadiness: The ability to keep your hand and arm steady while moving your arm or while holding your arm and hand in one position.
  • Selective Attention: The ability to concentrate on a task over a period of time without being distracted.
  • Perceptual Speed: The ability to quickly and accurately compare similarities and differences among sets of letters, numbers, objects, pictures, or patterns. The things to be compared may be presented at the same time or one after the other. This ability also includes comparing a presented object with a remembered object.
  • Number Facility: The ability to add, subtract, multiply, or divide quickly and correctly.
  • Time Sharing: The ability to shift back and forth between two or more activities or sources of information (such as speech, sounds, touch, or other sources).
  • Visual Color Discrimination: The ability to match or detect differences between colors, including shades of color and brightness.
  • Far Vision: The ability to see details at a distance.
  • Mathematical Reasoning: The ability to choose the right mathematical methods or formulas to solve a problem.
  • Control Precision: The ability to quickly and repeatedly adjust the controls of a machine or a vehicle to exact positions.
  • Multilimb Coordination: The ability to coordinate two or more limbs (for example, two arms, two legs, or one leg and one arm) while sitting, standing, or lying down. It does not involve performing the activities while the whole body is in motion.
  • Static Strength: The ability to exert maximum muscle force to lift, push, pull, or carry objects.
  • Trunk Strength: The ability to use your abdominal and lower back muscles to support part of the body repeatedly or continuously over time without "giving out" or fatiguing.
  • Hearing Sensitivity: The ability to detect or tell the differences between sounds that vary in pitch and loudness.
  • Depth Perception: The ability to judge which of several objects is closer or farther away from you, or to judge the distance between you and an object.
  • Wrist-Finger Speed: The ability to make fast, simple, repeated movements of the fingers, hands, and wrists.
  • Auditory Attention: The ability to focus on a single source of sound in the presence of other distracting sounds.
  • Reaction Time: The ability to quickly respond (with the hand, finger, or foot) to a signal (sound, light, picture) when it appears.
  • Response Orientation: The ability to choose quickly between two or more movements in response to two or more different signals (lights, sounds, pictures). It includes the speed with which the correct response is started with the hand, foot, or other body part.
  • Rate Control: The ability to time your movements or the movement of a piece of equipment in anticipation of changes in the speed and/or direction of a moving object or scene.
  • Extent Flexibility: The ability to bend, stretch, twist, or reach with your body, arms, and/or legs.
  • Stamina: The ability to exert yourself physically over long periods of time without getting winded or out of breath.
  • Gross Body Equilibrium: The ability to keep or regain your body balance or stay upright when in an unstable position.
  • Gross Body Coordination: The ability to coordinate the movement of your arms, legs, and torso together when the whole body is in motion.
  • Dynamic Strength: The ability to exert muscle force repeatedly or continuously over time. This involves muscular endurance and resistance to muscle fatigue.
  • Explosive Strength: The ability to use short bursts of muscle force to propel oneself (as in jumping or sprinting), or to throw an object.
  • Dynamic Flexibility: The ability to quickly and repeatedly bend, stretch, twist, or reach out with your body, arms, and/or legs.
  • Night Vision: The ability to see under low-light conditions.
  • Peripheral Vision: The ability to see objects or movement of objects to one's side when the eyes are looking ahead.
  • Glare Sensitivity: The ability to see objects in the presence of a glare or bright lighting.
  • Sound Localization: The ability to tell the direction from which a sound originated.
  • Speed of Limb Movement: The ability to quickly move the arms and legs.
  • Spatial Orientation: The ability to know your location in relation to the environment or to know where other objects are in relation to you.

Tools Used by Podiatrist

  • Allis forceps
  • Automated external defibrillators AED
  • Bandage scissors
  • Biopsy punches
  • Bone chisels
  • Bone curettes
  • Bone forceps
  • Bone rasps
  • Bone ronguers
  • Cast cutters
  • Cast spreaders
  • Cast vacuums
  • Cauterizing equipment
  • Cryoprobes
  • Curved hemostats
  • Curved surgical scissors
  • Cuticle nippers
  • Desktop computers
  • Digitizers
  • Double-ended curettes
  • Excavator curettes
  • Hyfrecators
  • Hypodermic syringes
  • Ingrown nail forceps
  • Iris scissors
  • Laptop computers
  • Locke elevators
  • Mastoid gouges
  • Mayo scissors
  • McGlamry elevators
  • Mechanical stethoscopes
  • Medical examination protective gloves
  • Medical measuring tapes
  • Metatarsal spreaders
  • Metzenbaum scissors
  • Nail splitters
  • Neurological hammers
  • Neurological pinwheels
  • Nucleus knives
  • Orthopedic splints
  • Oscillating bone saws
  • Packer and spatula tools
  • Personal computers
  • Phalangeal forceps
  • Pin and wire cutters
  • Podiatry chisels
  • Portable x ray machines
  • Powered surgical drills
  • Safety glasses
  • Sagittal bone saws
  • Skin hooks
  • Sphygmomanometers
  • Splinter forceps
  • Sponge forceps
  • Stationary x ray equipment
  • Steam autoclaves
  • Sterile gowns
  • Straight hemostats
  • Straight surgical scissors
  • Surgical bone burs
  • Surgical bone mallets
  • Surgical hand drills
  • Surgical masks
  • Surgical needle holders
  • Surgical scalpels
  • Surgical thumb forceps
  • Surgical tissue forceps
  • Surgical wire cutters
  • Suture scissors
  • Tablet computers
  • Tenotomy scissors
  • Therapeutic cold packs
  • Therapeutic extremity whirlpool baths
  • Therapeutic hot packs
  • Therapeutic paraffin baths
  • Therapeutic ultrasound equipment
  • Towel clamps
  • Transcutaneous electric nerve stimulation TENS equipment
  • Ultrasonic cleaners
  • Weitlaner retractors
  • Wire extraction pliers

Technology Skills required for Podiatrist

  • Advantage Software Podiatry Advantage
  • DocSite Registry
  • Email software
  • Facebook
  • Fox Meadows Software MediNotes e
  • Microsoft Access
  • Quick Notes PDQ Podiatry
  • Scanner imaging software
  • Web browser software
  • Word processing software