Why DPMs Should Never Accept Less Respect Than We Deserve

For this month’s DPM Blog, I am honored to have Rami Basatneh and Anthony Samaan, members of the Temple University School of Podiatric Medicine Class of 2019, serve as guest bloggers. Anthony and Rami both founded the Global Health Club at Temple University’s School of Podiatric Medicine. They read my blog last month and wanted to provide their prospective as students on the topic. Please enjoy their blog.

“The more you know about the past, the better prepared you are for the future.” Those famous words of Theodore Roosevelt resonate loudly when we look at them through the lens of our profession.

The interprofessional dynamic that podiatrists find themselves entrenched in today bears a striking resemblance to that of osteopathic physicians throughout the years. In 1962, the American Medical Association (AMA) spent $8 million to end the practice of osteopathic medicine in California. Nearly seven years later, the AMA accepted its first osteopathic physicians as active members in its organization. Since then, the stigma behind the D.O. initials has largely evaporated and along with the shattered barrier came the integration of the osteopathic manipulative technique into mainstream medical practice and research.

Podiatric medicine tells a very similar tale. Like osteopathy, our profession was the product of a need that traditional medicine had not addressed to its greatest potential. Consequently, the value of our specialty is embedded in the decades of advancement and scholarship in the areas of podiatric primary medicine, surgery, and research. Today’s podiatrist is a world expert in treating foot and ankle ailments.

A recent DPM Blog by Dr. DeHeer shed light on the bias that podiatrists are experiencing in the field of research (https://tinyurl.com/ncncn6o ). This bias is not only hindering the progression of our field but medicine as a whole. At the end of his piece, Dr. DeHeer begged the question of what we, as a community of podiatric professionals, can do about this issue.

We believe the answer to that question begins at the podiatric medical school level. Acquiring a comprehensive understanding of what our profession offers to the greater public health is essential in the quest to gaining the respect and camaraderie we deserve from our medical counterparts. As students of the profession, we believe every school should implement a brief history course on podiatry in its curriculum. Proficiency in the value and impact of our training as well as the history behind it will equip students with the knowledge required to eloquently relay the case against misconceptions while emphasizing the tremendous value of our skills.

In addition to preparing podiatric medical students for the inevitable experience of having to defend their profession against prejudice, a grassroots effort is needed to promote large scale outreach. If future medical professionals are educated on podiatry during their undergraduate careers, an appreciation for the profession will carry on with them throughout their graduate studies and training.

However, it is no secret that many pre-health committees do not give podiatry its due diligence. Sometimes, these committees are not only enablers of the stigma but consumers as well. For this reason, outreach efforts should not discount the value of targeting college counselors and educators. If only one-third of podiatrists returned once a year to their respective undergraduate universities to speak about the profession, there would be a de facto force of nearly 5,000 advocates spread throughout the country.

Lastly, intra-professional outreach training is imperative to reaching our goal. Oftentimes, students will come across a podiatrist who is satisfied with the status quo, undeterred by any sense of disenfranchisement, and has submitted to the notion that we do not have a place in the medical fraternity. This mindset has unfortunately trickled down into the minds of some students.

We should never accept anything less than our worth. To do so would be a disservice to our colleagues in the profession, our patients and the great people whose vision led us here today.