Many people dream of becoming a doctor and understand the route into medicine is a long one which requires years of dedication and hard work. After going through the motions of college, medical school and internships, you the have the life changing decision of what area to specialize in. Over the past twenty years, podiatry has become more popular and in more demand due to a higher amount of diabetes sufferers and sports professionals injuries. A podiatrist and chiropodist are the same profession, just different names.
Our feet are one of the most important parts of our bodies, they keep us standing up, help us walk and run. They have to be able to hold our full body weight and are subjected to heavy pounding from everyday walking or running. Human feet are very complicated structures. They are filled with ligaments, muscles, nerves and 26 bones. It is a complex profession being a chiropodist especially as they also treat ankle problems which are even more complicated.
To become a chiropodist you must first complete college, with a high grade, and obtain a Bachelor's Degree. Then comes the Podiatric Medical School degree and afterwards you will aim to be accepted into this program by your Medical College Admission Test (MCAT). Another four year degree is followed by two to three years of residency. This is where you shadow a qualified podiatrist and chiropodist to ensure you have knowledge and experience. Once you have completed all studies and your residency, you will be awarded a Doctor of Podiatric Medicine degree.
To practice podiatry on your own, using your own practice, requires a license in whichever state you are going to be working in. Some states even offer grants to get you started as podiatrists are in fairly low numbers. To obtain the license, you must be DPM degree educated, pass several exams in both oral and written as well as at least two years experience of residency training.
The road to becoming a chiropodist is a long and testing one. It requires immense dedication and commitment which is rewarded down the line. Treating patients who suffer from foot or lower limb diseases and ailments can be very difficult, but helping someone walk properly again, fix their problems and be able to give advice to those who have suffered for many years is priceless.
Being in the podiatry field offers those excellent financial rewards and as the field is in high demand with few fully qualified physicians you can be very busy. It is not uncommon to be drafted in by hospitals and other practices to help patients. This gives you great flexibility and once you take on your own budding podiatrist, you can show them just how much experience you get from the field of work.
There you have it, this is a general overview of how to become a chiropodist. You have to have great grades at school and college, obtain degrees, fulfill a lengthy residency and obtain your own license.