Podiatric medical school
Podiatric Medical School is the term used to designate the institutions which educate students and train them to be podiatrists, which diagnose and treat conditions affecting the foot, ankle, and related structures of the leg. In the United States, only schools which are accredited by the Council on Podiatric Medical Education (CPME) may earn the status of being a Podiatric Medical School. The Doctor of Podiatric Medicine degree is commonly abbreviated D.P.M. degree. The D.P.M. degree is a prerequisite for an individual to be accepted into a CPME accredited residency.
Schools of podiatric medicine are not recognized as medical schools by the World Directory of Medical Schools or the World Federation for Medical Education, both of who recognizes COCA-accredited DO-granting and LCME-accredited MD-granting medical schools. While the American Podiatric Medical Association defines Doctor of Podiatric Medicine, or podiatrist, as “a physician and surgeon of the foot and ankle,” the Social Security Administration’s Program Operations Manual System (POMS) legally defines a podiatrist as the following:
A podiatrist is included within the definition of “physician” but only with respect to those functions which the podiatrist is legally authorized to perform in the State in which the individualperforms them.
Furthermore, the POMS states:
A podiatrist is considered a “physician” for any of the following purposes:
1.
for making the required physician certification and recertifications of the medical necessity for Part A and Part B provider services;
2.
for the purpose of establishing and periodically reviewing a home health plan of treatment; and for purposes of constituting a member of a Utilization Review (UR) committee but only if:
a.
the performance of these functions is consistent with the policy of the institution or agency with respect to which the podiatrist performs them;
b.
the podiatrist is legally authorized by the State to perform such functions; and
c.
at least two of the physicians on the UR committee are doctors of medicine or osteopathy.
Unlike DO and MD, the DPM is not recognized as a full medical degree by the said institutions or by the physician community. It is also important to note that both DO and MD degree holders train in ACGME-accredited residencies; however, DPM graduates do not qualify to participate in such training programs.
United States
Podiatric medical education in the United States consists of four (4) years of graduate education with the first two focusing primarily upon the sciences and the last two focusing upon didactic, clinical, and hospital externship experience; similar to education undertaken at other medical schools but with more exposure to the foot and ankle and its related pathologies.[1] After successful completion of these four (4) years of professional education, students are granted a Doctor of Podiatric Medicine (D.P.M.) degree.
Post-graduate training
In order to enhance the progression from student to competent podiatric physicians, graduates are required to complete a three-year or four-year post-graduate training residency before practicing podiatric medicine. Each individual residency program must be approved by the Council on Podiatric Medical Education of the American Podiatric Medical Association. The American Association of Colleges of Podiatric Medicine provides a complete list of approved Podiatric Residency Programs.
Accreditation and governing bodies
The American Association of Colleges of Podiatric Medicine governs many aspects of Podiatric Medical Education including a mentor network, a centralized application service for prospective students, the Central Application Service for Podiatric Residencies, and the Centralized Residency Interview Program. Schools are also accredited by governmental agencies.
The American Podiatric Medical Students' Association represents students of podiatry.
Schools in United States
There are ten podiatric medical schools accredited by the CPME in the United States:
Canada
There is one podiatric medical school in Canada based in Trois-Rivieres (Quebec) leading to the D.P.M. degree. It is not accredited by the CPME in the United States, but its curriculum is based on the standards established by the CPME and is approved and accredited by the Quebec Order of Podiatrists and L'Office des professions du Québec.
The Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry at the University of Alberta was developing a business plan to establish the second podiatric medical school in Canada by 2012.