Podiatrist

Overview

Who is Podiatrist?

Podiatric science is a sub-field of the medical sciences that is devoted to dealing with the legs and feet. Podiatrists are usually involved in the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of our legs, feet, and even the lower abdomen region. Podiatrists are quite usually known as “foot doctors” as their specialization falls into the category of treating ankles, the palms of our feet, our toes, and the fingers of our feet. Our feet perform continuous motor functions such as when we stand up, walk, run, dance, or do any athletic function. Our lower limbs are often in continuous use, due to which they also become more prone to pains and injuries. To treat, cure and eventually help the patient manage such pains and injuries, podiatrists come to a great rescue.

Typical day at work

What does Podiatrist do?

Podiatrists are doctors that specialise in the diagnosis and treatment of foot and leg issues. A podiatrist helps individuals improve their mobility, which improves their independence and quality of life. They provide preventative care, diagnosis, and treatment for a variety of foot, ankle, and lower limb diseases. Infections, deformities, and traumas, as well as foot and nail diseases linked to other serious health issues like diabetes, are examples. Podiatrists and chiropodists are both protected titles in the United States. They analyse, diagnose, treat, and evaluate anomalies and illnesses of the foot and lower limb in persons of all ages, as well as high-risk patient groups including the elderly and those in danger of amputation. They also provide guidance and make necessary recommendations to other healthcare and social service specialists. They treat foot and lower leg problems with therapeutic and surgical procedures.

• Perform surgeries to treat conditions like corns, ingrown nails, tumours, etc.
• Diagnose foot diseases and deformities with the help of medical and personal history, physical examinations, x-rays, scans, and test results
• Prescribe medications and suggest corrective devices, physical therapy, or surgery
• Counsel patients about foot care strategies for prevention
• Set fracture, treat muscles and joint conditions
• Provide referral of other physicians to patients when arthritis or diabetes symptoms are observed in feet and legs
• Prescribe, produce, and fit prosthetics, orthotics, and other aids and appliances
• Treat deformities by plastering casts, strapping, reconstructing foot and ankle, or using other mechanical and electrical methods
• To help with balance, pain, and overall patient mobility by prescribing special shoe inserts (orthotics)
• Conduct research, continue education, and attend conferences to be updated
• Treat high-risk patient groups like elderly and individuals with high amputation risk
• Sterilize surgical equipment and instruments such as dressings, treatment tables, lasers, grinders, shaping equipment, x-ray and video gait-analysis equipment, etc.
• Mange administrative tasks to ensure maintenance of stored stock levels and equipment is in working condition.

Abilities & aptitude needed

What are the skills, abilities & aptitude needed to become Podiatrist?

A Podiatrist must be able to listen and communicate actively and attentively to the needs of the patients. They need to ask the right questions to interpret the information. They also regularly interact with other professionals and administrative staff. Thus, having good communication, in written and verbal as well as interpersonal skills is necessary.

They must be calm, polite, and patient to patients’ needs and concerns. They need to make their patients feel comfortable and let them know they care, which requires them to have emotional intelligence.

In order to find a diagnosis based on connecting different symptoms, requires analytical thought, problem-solving, judgement, and decision-making skills.

They must show dedication, eye for detail, determination, persistence to commit to years of intense practice. They also need to have team and time management skills as a patient’s and its unborn child’s life is at risk.

While performing surgery, they work with very sharp tools, thus they need to have manual dexterity as mistakes can have serious consequences. They must have self-discipline, spatial orientation, physical stamina, and physical dexterity as they spend a lot of time on feet.

Courses

Which course I can pursue?