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 is to the foot what a dentist is to the mouth or an ophthalmologist to the eye - a specialist who has undergone lengthy, thorough study to become uniquely well-qualified to treat a specific part of the body.
A Doctor of Podiatric Medicine (DPM) specializes in the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of foot disorders, diseases and injuries. A DPM makes independent judgments and performs or orders all necessary diagnostic tests. They perform surgery; administer medications, including DEA-restricted medications; and prescribe physical therapy regimens.
DPMs often detect serious health problems that may otherwise go unnoticed, because a number of diseases manifest first through symptoms of the lower extremities (i.e., diabetes, arthritis, heart disease, or kidney disease). Podiatric physicians are educated in state-of-the-art techniques involving surgery, orthopedics, dermatology, physical medicine and rehabilitation.
Resources:
Professional Organization
- Name: The American Association of Colleges of Podiatric Medicine(AACPM)
- Website: http://www.aacpm.org/
Common Application Service
- Name: The American Association of Colleges of Podiatric Medicine (AACPM)
- Website: https://portal.aacpmas.org/
Entrance Exam
Requirements vary by school. Some schools may accept scores from any of these exams:
- Name: Graduate Record Examination (GRE)
- Website: http://www.ets.org/gre
- Name: Medical College Admission Test (MCAT)
- Website: https://www.aamc.org/students/applying/mcat/
- Name: Dental Admission Test (DAT)
- Website: http://www.ada.org/dat.aspx
Financial Aid Programs
- Application Service: https://aacpmas.liaisoncas.com/applicant-ux/#/login
- Entrance Exam
GPA:
- Minimum: 2.9
- Average: 3.3
- Average GPA: Varies by School
- Average Job Shadow Hours: 35+
PRE-REQUISITE COURSES FOR PODIATRY
- Principles of Biology w/labs 2 semesters
- General Chemistry w/labs 2 semesters
- Organic Chemistry w/labs 2 semesters
- Physics w/labs 2 semesters
- English 2 semesters
BS BIOLOGY PRE-PODIATRY