Residency Insight -- A PRESENT Podiatry eZine

Residency Insight...“15 Years Out…?”

by John Steinberg, DPM
PRESENT Editor
Assistant Professor,
Department of Plastic Surgery
Georgetown University
School of Medicine

On May 13 of this year, I hit the 15 year anniversary of my graduation from Podiatry School. Granted, I did spend three of those years in residency and then one more in fellowship training, however I can officially no longer consider myself a ‘young practitioner’ or ‘new practitioner’. I may not be too happy about this, but I certainly accept it.

For those of you about to walk out the door of residency and into your profession this next month, I thought I would offer you a little personal insight into just what this profession can offer you in the areas of fulfillment and professional satisfaction…

Of course there is much to complain about (frivolous lawsuits, poor reimbursement, professional discrimination, uncertainty of healthcare reform, etc.), but I would suggest that we focus on the good stuff for just a brief time here:

We get to work with people. Now this can be a pro or a con depending on who is sitting in that exam chair, but it is a big part of why we do what we do. I could never be a pathologist or a reading room radiologist because I like to and want to work with people. I bet the same goes for you. Make the most of it and engage your patients. Learn who they are and what they do. It will make your workday much more human.

We get to have a life outside of the office. The DPM degree offers us the ability to have a family and personal life with hours that can be managed. I know many colleagues who work part of the week only or ‘job share’, so that child care and family activities don’t have to suffer. Of course, many of us in academics and other practices may have opted for longer hours in the day, but it is by choice and not a requirement of the specialty.

We get to help people. I recently attended a funeral service for a long time patient of mine. I had treated Herb for wounds, gangrene and numerous partial amputations bilaterally. I always felt like I should have been able to do more for him, but I was always very matter-of-fact with him about the condition of his feet and his potential for more problems. When I arrived at the funeral, I was treated like a favorite member of the family. They couldn’t thank me enough for helping him keep his legs and minimizing his time in the hospital. I left there with a renewed sense of personal and professional fulfillment that what we do in podiatry often makes more of an impact than we realize.

There are lots of professions out there, and to be frank, it’s not too late for you to change over to something else. However, I would suggest that you picked a really good one and that you should take full advantage of it!

J Steinberg signature
John Steinberg, DPM
PRESENT Editor
Assistant Professor,
Department of Plastic Surgery
Georgetown University School of Medicine
[email protected]