Preprofessional
Health Advising Office, San Diego State University 5500
Campanile Drive, San Diego, CA 92182-1017
Phone:
(619) 594-6638 FAX(619) 594-0244 Web: http://www.sci.sdsu.edu.preprof
In addition to providing
a general introduction to a podiatric medical career, this handout is designed
to acquaint SDSU prepodiatric medical students with preparation and application
processes. The following information is offered as
an overview, and is not intended to answer all of your questions or replace
advising services. Read the following pages and open
a file now.
CAREER INFORMATION
Podiatric physicians are
health care professionals licensed to practice medicine involving the lower
extremities and in particular the feet. Common services
provided include taking medical histories and performing examinations; ordering
and interpreting lab tests; diagnosing and treating illnesses; performing
surgery; and prescribing medications and counseling patients.
Some podiatrists specialize in surgery, orthopedics, or public health.
Beyond these certified specialties, podiatrists may practice a subspecialty
such as sports medicine, pediatrics, dermatology, radiology, geriatrics or
diabetic foot care.
Certification:
Podiatric physicians (DPM’s) are licensed to practice in all 50 states,
the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico.
Income:
According to the Occupational Handbook, the median net income of podiatrists
was about $79,530 in 1998. The average net income for
podiatrists in private practice was $116,000 in 1997. Those
practicing for less than two years earned $61,000; those
practicing 16-30 years earned an average of $146,000.
Outlook
on the Profession:
Employment for podiatrists is expected to grow about as fast as the
average for all occupations through the year 2008. More
people will turn to podiatrists for foot care as the elderly population grows.
Many podiatrists work independently in their own offices.
For
additional information,
here are web addresses you may find useful.
AACPM:
http:// www.aacpm.org/
APMA (Association of Podiatric Medicine):
http://www.apma.org/podiat.html
THE ROLE OF THE PPHA OFFICE
ADVISING:
The Preprofessional Health
Advisor is available for individual appointments most Wednesdays and Thursdays
during the semester. Peer Advisors, students who are
familiar with the application process, provide informal advising during the
academic year. The Preprofessional Health Advising
Office is open Monday-Thursday from 8:00 to 12:00 and 1:00 to 4:00, Friday
8:00 to 12:00. The Peer Advisor schedule varies; please
check the bulletin board outside GMCS-323.
RESOURCES:
The advising office maintains a collection of materials for your use,
including:
The
PPHA web page has links to national organizations (including AACPM), many
medical schools, student web pages, discussions of medicine-related issues,
and application tools such as a GPA calculator.
CLASS MEETINGS
Beginning
16 months prior to your application, you are expected to attend a series of
meetings to learn about the steps you must take to prepare yourself for the
application process. You will be designated as the
“Class of ‘XX,” where “XX” = the year you will enter podiatry school.
COURSES
Bio 249, Careers
in the Health Professions
This
seminar course, Bio 249, is offered in the spring. Speakers
from a variety of health careers provide insight into allied health fields
such as podiatry, optometry, physician assistant and pharmacy.
You are encouraged to take this course early in your academic program.
Bio 348, Internship
Currently
thre are no established internships for podiatric medicine.
However, you can enhance your application by successful participation
in an "on your own" internship. Reference the PPHA
web page for more information.
THE
COMMITTEE LETTER PROCESS:
If you have an active
file with the Preprofessional Health Advising Office and meet other qualifications,
you may choose to “go through committee.” Three faculty
members or practitioners in your field will review your application, interview
you, and provide an evaluation (Outstanding, Strongly Recommended, Recommended,
Recommended with Reservations, or Not Recommended) to the Preprofessional
Health Advising Office. If you receive a “Recommended”
or better evaluation and provide an autobiography, a Committee Letter will
be written to support your application. This letter
is SDSU's official endorsement of your application and provides the committee’s
evaluation, quoted comments and a narrative of your background.
APPLYING TO PODIATRIC
SCHOOLS
Any major is acceptable
to podiatric schools; however, a major in the sciences may already include
podiatry school prerequisites. Plan to complete a degree
program before entering podiatric school; fewer than 10% of matriculants do
not have at least a bachelor's degree.
PREPARATION FOR
THE MCAT
The MCAT is a standardized
exam given in the fall and spring each year that will test your knowledge
in general and organic chemistry, physics, biology (particularly cell biology
and human physiology), verbal reasoning, science problem solving, and the
writing of an essay on a general topic.
Plan to study at least
300 hours for the MCAT. Many excellent study guides
are available, including the Student Manual and practice tests published
by the AAMC, the people who prepare the test. These materials may be purchased
at the SDSU and UCSD bookstores. It is strongly suggested
that you purchase a manual when you begin your prepodiatry coursework,
using it as a study guide as you take the introductory science courses.
Compare the course content with the manual’s topic outlines to determine
which content areas you should emphasize.
Several commercial courses
are available in San Diego, including the Stanley Kaplan Review and the Princeton
Review courses. The decision to utilize their services
is a matter of personal choice, but they are expensive. If
you are receiving financial aid, you may apply to the PPHA office for one
of a limited number of partial scholarships. Scholarships
are announced in the semester before the classes are given.
Good MCAT scores will
strengthen an application, but even a high GPA can be diminished by low MCAT
scores. You should, of course, do your best in both
areas. If you feel that your MCAT performance does
not reflect your ability, you may take the examination again.
WE DO NOT RECOMMEND TAKING THE EXAM FOR PRACTICE, OR IN HOPES OF SLIGHTLY
IMPROVING YOUR SCORES, AS SOME SCHOOLS AVERAGE SCORES FROM ALL SITTINGS OF
THE TEST.
You are strongly encouraged
to take the spring MCAT, so your scores will be available when application
processing begins.
THE
AACPMAS APPLICATION SERVICE:
Six of the seven colleges
of podiatric medicine participate in a centralized application service (AACPMAS).
The exception is the New York College of Podiatric Medicine.
The annual deadline is April 1 (priority) or June 1 (final) of each
year and processing of applications begins after Labor Day each year.
Applicants must take the Medical College Admissions Test (MCAT) and
are urged to participate in the SDSU Committee process.
ACCREDITED
PROGRAMS
–
There are seven
colleges of podiatric medicine in the United States--the Barry University
School of Podiatric Medicine in Miami, the California College of Podiatric
Medicine in San Francisco, the New York College of Podiatric Medicine in New
York City, the Ohio College of Podiatric Medicine in Cleveland, the Pennsylvania
College of Podiatric Medicine in Philadelphia, the
Dr. William M. Scholl College of Podiatric Medicine in Chicago, and the College
of Podiatric Medicine and Surgery at the University of Osteopathic Medicine
and Health Sciences in Des Moines. They all receive accreditation from the
Council on Podiatric Medical Education of APMA, which is recognized by the
US Secretary of Education and the Commission on Recognition of Postsecondary
Accreditation; they all grant the degree of doctor of podiatric medicine (DPM)
Preprofessional
Health Advising Office, San Diego State University 5500
Campanile Drive, San Diego, CA 92182-1017
Phone:
(619) 594-6638 FAX: (619) 594-0244
E-mail: healthpr@sciences.sdsu.edu
http://www.sci.sdsu.edu/preprof/
PODIATRIC
MEDICAL SCHOOL ACADEMIC REQUIREMENTS
You must complete at least
three years or ninety semester hours of college credit at an accredited institution.
Over 90 percent of the students who enter a college of podiatric medicine
have a bachelor's degree. Many have also completed some graduate study.
All science courses should be preprofessional level courses designed
for premedical students and must include laboratory experience.
SDSU
courses that fulfill the requirements for podiatric medical school include:
| |
SDSU Course # |
Course Name |
Comments |
| BIOLOGY |
Bio 201A
Bio 201B |
|
12 semester hours of biology required
by Dr. Scholl's |
| CHEMISTRY |
Chem 200
Chem 201
Chem 231
Chem 431 |
General
Chemistry (5)
General Chemistry (5)
Organic Chemistry (4)
Organic Chemistry (4) |
|
| PHYSICS |
Phys 180A/182A
Phys 180B/182B
or
Phys 195/195L*
Phys 196/196L*
Phys 197/197L* |
Fund. of
Physics I/Lab (4)
Fund. of Physics II/Lab (4)
Principles of Physics (4)*
Principles of Physics (4)*
Principles of Physics (4)* |
* only physics majors or those particularly
gifted in physics
|
| ENGLISH |
RWS 100
|
College
Composition (3)
Intermediate Composition (3) |
|
Recommended
Courses: (Recommended by podiatry schools and/or
helpful for the MCAT)
| Chem 365 |
Biochem, Cell & Molec.
Biol |
Bio 366/366L |
Biochem, Cell & Molec.
Biol |
| Bio 350 |
Microbiology |
Bio 590: |
Human Physiology (The
class which best prepares students for the biology section of the MCAT.) |
| Psy 101 |
Introductory Psychology |
Bio 215 |
Statistics (prerequisite for Bio 350, 352) |
| Comm 103 |
Oral Communication |
Bio 577 |
Embryology |
| Bio 352 |
Gen Genetics |
|
|
Suggested
elective courses include:
| Phil 330 |
Medical Ethics |
RWS
503W
or
RWS
508 |
Technical
Writing
Scientific
Writing |
| Spanish |
1 year |
CHE 362 |
International Health |
| Comm 103 |
Oral Communication |
CHE 561 |
Health and Medical Care |
| Psy 101 |
Intro Psychology |
Psy 456 |
Psychology of Death and Bereavement |