Podiatric medical school

Podiatric Medical School is the term used to designate the institutions which educate students and train them to be podiatrists. In the United States, only schools which are accredited by the Council on Podiatric Medical Education (CPME) may earn the status of being a "Podiatric School". The Doctor of Podiatric Medicine degree is commonly abbreviated D.P.M. degree. The D.P.M. degree is a prerequisite for an individual to be accepted into a CPME accredited surgical residency.

United States

Podiatric education in the United States consists of four (4) years of graduate education with the first two focusing primarily upon the sciences and the last two focusing upon didactic, clinical, and hospital externship experience.[1] After successful completion of these four (4) years of professional education, students are granted a Doctor of Podiatric Medicine (D.P.M.) degree. A Doctor of Podiatric Medicine is considered a doctor of the foot and ankle. Average salaries across the profession vary greatly due to the large number of specializations from which podiatrists can potentially choose.

Residency

In order to enhance the progression from student doctor to competent podiatric surgeon status, graduates are required to complete a three-year residency program before practicing podiatry.[1] Each individual residency program must be approved by the Council on Podiatric Medical Education of the American Podiatric Medical Association. The American Association of Colleges of Podiatric Medicine provides a complete list of approved Podiatric Residency Programs.

Accreditation and Governing Bodies

All podiatric medical schools in the United States are accredited by the Council on Podiatric Medical Education.[2] The American Association of Colleges of Podiatric Medicine is in charge of governing many aspects of Podiatric Medical Education including a mentor network, a centralized application service for prospective students, the Central Application Service for Podiatric Residencies (CASPR), and the Centralized Residency Interview Program (CRIP).[3] In addition, students are represented by the American Podiatric Medical Student's Association.[4] Each school is also accredited by their respective state and/or regional accrediting association.

Schools in USA

There are nine accredited podiatric schools in the United States.

The nine podiatric schools (all are accredited by the standards established by the CPME) in the U.S. are:

Canada

There is one podiatric medical school in Canada based in Trois-Rivieres (Quebec) leading to the D.P.M. degree. It is not accredited by the CPME in the United States, but its curriculum is based on the standards established by the CPME and is approved and accredited by the Quebec Order of Podiatrists and L'Office des professions du Québec.

The Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry at the University of Alberta is currently developing a business plan to establish the second podiatric medical school in Canada by 2012.[5]

References

External links

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