All of the Podiatry Schools

Did you know there are 9 podiatric medical schools in the United States?

There are currently 9 podiatric medical schools in the United States with the 10th preparing to accept its inaugural class in 2022.

Each school varies by their location, curriculum schedules, class sizes, rotation schedules, etc. But at the end of the day, every podiatric medical student receives the same preparation from head to toe, as well as specific training from the hip down to your feet.

What are some questions you can use to find the right school for you?

1. Class Size & Curriculum: This is an important factor to consider when choosing which program might be the best fit for you. There are some programs that are as small as 45 students a year and others that are in the 100s. Another aspect to think about is if the classes are combined with other graduate programs. For example, there are programs that might take a majority of their didactic courses with MD or DO candidates and then take lower extremity courses separately. That being said, the DPM class may be small, but when combined with the DO, Dentistry, and Pharmacy students who are all taking Anatomy, you might find yourself in a large lecture hall with 300 people.

2. Clinical Experience: Typically students start clinical experiences in their third year, but at some programs, you may start as early as second year. There are also opportunities to get involved with hands-on experiences during first year through various clubs. While gathering information, see if there are opportunities where you can start volunteering in the communities by asking what organizations or clubs they have.

3. Location: How close or far away from home is this program? For some, being close to family and friends allow for a good support system, but for others, the distance might help you focus better or explore a new location. Do you prefer to be in a city or would you like to be away from that? With location, it is important to also consider weather conditions. Would you like to be in a place that snows, are you okay with commuting and being in traffic.

4. Cost of Living & Tuition: Going off of location, this is another factor to consider. Depending on the geographic location the school is in, the cost of gas, groceries, rent, and recreational activities can also differ. Yes, you want to go where you have a good education, but there is more than tuition to consider. The good thing is that schools realize this and adjust financial aid packages according to the cost of living. Also look into scholarships that schools will provide. The earlier you apply in the cycle, the more aid that is typically available.

5. Demographics: When it comes to demographics, check to see the ratio of Male to Female students. You can also see the ethnicities that make up the cohort of a school. How diverse is the program and are there faculty that can serve as mentors to support you as mentors if you are a person of color, first generation student, identify as LGBTQUI+, and/or are a minority. Furthermore, what are the demographics of patients you will work with during your clinical rotations? Do students feel like they are prepared to handle various pathologies before heading into externships in their third/fourth years?

6. Number of Externships: As a brief overview, podiatry school lasts 4 years. In the first 2 years, students will take didactic courses that will cover basic subjects and then will progressively begin to incorporate lower extremity focused education. The second half od medical school consists of going to various 4 or 5 week "externships" where you hone in on clinical, surgical, and inpatient skills within podiatric medicine and off-service rotations (including vascular surgery, general surgery, internal medicine, emergency medicine, etc.). The podiatry externships are also residency programs. So, these are essentially pre-interviews where you can get a feel for the program and the program can get a feel for you. Depending on the school you choose, there are students who are able to choose 7 externships and others who get 5. Although it varies how you look at this, the more programs you can visit through externships, the better. So this is another important question to find the answer to.

Now that you have some questions to think about, create a spreadsheet and start looking through each program to see which one is the best fit for you.

Arizona

Arizona College of Podiatric Medicine at Midwestern University (AZCPM): https://aacpm.org/wp-content/uploads/AZPOD-1.pdf

California

Florida

Illinois

Iowa

New York

Ohio

Pennsylvania

Texas

Find out more about each program here:

https://www.aacpm.org/colleges/