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Podiatry

Podiatric medicine is a branch of the medical sciences devoted to the study of human movement with medical care of the foot and ankles its primary focus.

A doctor of podiatric medicine (DPM) specializes in the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of foot disorders resulting from injury or disease. A DPM makes independent judgments, prescribes medications and when necessary, performs surgery.

After completing four years of podiatric medical training the podiatrist is required by most states to complete at least one year of postgraduate residency training. Podiatric medical students may select either a non-surgical or a surgical-based residency program. Non-surgical programs are generally one year in length. Surgically based residencies vary in length from one t three years depending on the degree of expertise one wishes to develop.

State licensing requirements generally include graduation from an accredited college of podiatric medicine, passage of the National Board exams, postgraduate training and passage of state written and oral examinations.

Admission Requirements

The minimum admission requirement to a college of podiatric medicine is three years of college with specific science courses. A baccalaureate degree is strongly recommended. More than 90% of the applicants to podiatric school hold a bachelor's degree.

Applicants are required to complete the Medical College Admission Test (MCAT) as a prerequisite for admission.

Six of the seven U.S. colleges of podiatric medicine participate in AACPMAS (American Association of Colleges of Podiatric Medicine Application Service) centralized application service.

Applicants seeking admission to a podiatry school should contact the school they are interested in attending for information on specific prerequisites and admission requirements.

Course Requirements

1. General Chemistry with the lab (C105-106, C125-126)
2. Organic Chemistry with the lab (C341-342, C343-344)
3. Physics with the lab (P201-202) or (P221-222)
4. Biology with the lab (L101-102)
5. Cell Biology (L312) or Biochemistry (C483)
6. English Composition (6 cr. hrs.)

Websites

American Association of Colleges of Podiatric Medicine
1350 Piccard Drive, Suite 322
Rockville, MD 20850-4307
800-922-9266