Health Field Overview: Podiatry
Explore a career in podiatry with the help of resources from the Department of Natural Sciences’ Pre-Health Advising office.
Podiatry Overview
Podiatric medicine is a branch of the medical sciences devoted to the study of human movement, with the medical care of the foot and ankle as its primary focus. A doctor of podiatric medicine has undergone lengthy, thorough study to become uniquely well-qualified to treat a specific part of the body. Many practitioners focus on a particular area of podiatric medicine. These options can include surgery, sports medicine, biomechanics, geriatrics, pediatrics, orthopedics, and primary care.
The skills of podiatric physicians are in increasing demand because disorders of the foot and ankle are among the most widespread and neglected health problems. (Information taken from explorehealthcareers.org)
Schooling
Podiatrists complete a 4-year graduate level program leading to the award of Doctor of Podiatric Medicine (DPM)
Graduates are required to complete a two or three-year residency program before practicing podiatric medicine.
Podiatry (DPM) Prerequisites
Common Prerequisite Courses
- General Chemistry with lab (2 semesters): CHEM 14L, CHEM 15L
- Organic Chemistry with lab (2 semesters): CHEM 116L, CHEM 117L
- Biology with lab (2 semesters): BIOL 43L, BIOL 44L
- Physics with lab (2 semesters): PHYS 30L, PHYS 31L
- English (2 semesters)
Recommended Prerequisite Courses
- Biochemistry (1 semester): BIOL 177 – MCAT prep
- Genetics (1 semester): BIOL 143 – MCAT prep
- Physiology (1 semester)
- Anatomy (1 semester)
- Psychology (1 semester) – MCAT prep
- Sociology (1 semester) – MCAT prep