What To Expect From The Next Four Years Of Podiatric Medical School

So you have made the resolute choice of pursuing a podiatric medical education and now you are wondering what the next four years will be like. The answer varies from one medical school to another but there is a general skeleton that each of the nine schools follows. The American Association of Colleges of Podiatric Medicine outlines the courses during the pre-clinical years (MS 1-2) before sitting for the American Podiatric Medical Licensing Exam (APMLE) Part I as well as the clinical courses one would need to take prior to the APMLE Part II Clinical Science Examination (CSE) and APMLE Part II Clinical Skills Patient Encounter (CSPE).¹

Regardless of where you will attend school, your first year will likely kick off with an orientation. This usually has several components to it, including a logistical portion to help you navigate the college’s facilities and services among other things, and an academic part in which you will meet many of the individuals who you will learn from over the coming years. At this time, you will get to meet a cohort of fellow colleagues who you will share many experiences with over the years. While that will be a great time to make friends, it is also important that you reach out to upperclassmen for advice and support, and establish a good rapport with these individuals because after all, they most recently experienced what you are about go through.

Once orientation has ended, it is time to buckle down and get to work. Different schools offer the pre-clinical courses at different times during the first two years. However, by the time APMLE Part I comes around, you should have completed general anatomy, lower extremity anatomy, biochemistry, physiology, microbiology/immunology, pathology and pharmacology.¹ You will likely have had some exposure to focused courses on podiatric medicine and surgery, and several standardized patient experiences to prepare you for clinic.

During these first two years, you will get a break at some point. However, the way breaks are set up varies per school. At Temple University’s School of Podiatric Medicine (TUSPM), where I am currently a fourth-year student, we received a summer break at the end of first year and a few weeks off to study for the APMLE Part I at the end of second year. Additionally, we were off for winter and spring breaks during both years.

Some schools, like mine, will have you begin clinic work as you approach the end of your second year. By the time you have finished the APMLE Part I, you are taking many of your clinical courses and managing a clinical or hospital rotation schedule. The clinical courses that one needs to take for the purpose of the APMLE Part II preparation include internal medicine, radiology, orthopedics, biomechanics, sports medicine, surgery, community medicine, jurisprudence and research methodology.¹ Additionally, you will take more focused courses on podiatric medicine and surgery. At TUSPM, these courses included reconstructive surgery, trauma, neurology, first ray surgery and professional administration.

During this time, you will be entering the clerkship application process as you await your APMLE Part I scores. Podiatric medical clerkships are essentially one-month externships, also known as elective rotations at some schools, that externs do mostly at hospitals with residencies in podiatric medicine and surgery. Depending on the school you attend, you may start these clerkships as soon as your second semester of third year and as late as your first semester of fourth year.

The time between applying for externships and attending them is spent completing clinical courses and rotating through core modules in podiatric medicine. Additionally, you will rotate through some medical rotations including internal medicine and others. Once you begin externships, you will likely have to travel back to your school at some point to complete any unfinished core and medical rotations.

Your fourth year will no longer include any classroom coursework. It will be split among clerkships, core and medical rotations. Early on in the year, you will schedule your APMLE Part II (CSE and CSPE). You will need to travel to take the CSPE (currently, it is administered in Conshohocken, Pa.). However, you can take the CSE at an exam site in your area should you find availability.

During your first semester of fourth year, the Central Application Service for Podiatric Residencies (CASPR) will open up and you will start applying to residency programs. This is currently where I am in the process. After sending in applications and getting interviews, students attend the Centralized Residency Interview Program (CRIP). On the CASPR/CRIP website, it states that CRIP “is a centralized gathering of residency candidates and podiatric resident selection committees at one time and one place for the purpose of interviewing.”² This is one of the best perks of podiatric medical school, in comparison to MD and DO schools, and saves students a lot of time and money from not having to travel to every residency program for interviews. The CRIP takes place in January, and the specific dates that certain programs attend is split into geographical categories of east and west. Currently, CRIP is being held in Frisco, Texas.

Once interviews have finished, program ranking will commence for some time, followed by match week and then graduation!

I hope this quick outline to your next four years has been insightful. I look forward to calling each and every one of you my colleagues, and hearing about your journeys. Congratulations on choosing a career in podiatric medicine!

Follow the author on Twitter at @RamiBasatneh and Instagram @_podiatry

References

1. American Association of Colleges of Podiatric Medicine. Council of Faculties Curriculum Project. Available at https://www.aacpm.org/wp-content/uploads/aacpm-poster-2013C.pdf
2. Central Application Service for Podiatric Residencies. Available at https://casprcrip.org/html/casprcrip/applicants.asp