Podiatrist

Overview

Doctors of Podiatric Medicine (DPM), known as podiatrists, are health professionals that work towards improving the overall health of their patients by focusing on preventing, diagnosing, and treating diseases associated with the foot and ankle. They treat a variety of conditions associated with the lower extremities and employ innovative treatments to improve the overall well-being of their patients. Podiatrists are often the first health providers to recognize the symptoms of arthritis, diabetes or heart disease in their patients, thus they play an important role in the team approach to patient care in modern health practice.

Podiatric medicine is one of the fastest growing professions in America today. Podiatric physicians specialize in a variety of areas, ranging from primary care to sports medicine. Almost all podiatrists engage in surgery on a regular basis, an opportunity not available to many primary care providers in other health fields. Clinical venues for podiatric physicians range from solo to group practices, hospitals, faculties of schools of medicine and nursing, the Armed Forces, Veterans Affairs, and the U.S. Public Health Service. Work schedules are traditionally more flexible than those of some other medical fields, and podiatric medicine is among the better salaried medical professions. A podiatric physician has many opportunities to serve those in need both in this country and around the world, while at the same time maintaining a position of leadership within the health professions.

Biola offers an excellent educational foundation, and individualized advising/preparation, for any student interested in becoming a podiatrist. Both the B.S. in Biological Science and B.S. in Health Sciences majors will provide an excellent foundation for a future career as a podiatrist. Biola’s science curricula and faculty equip each student with the knowledge base necessary for a future medical career, as evidenced by medical school admission test (MCAT) scores significantly above the national average. All of the graduate podiatry programs (conferring the DPM degree) require MCAT scores for each applicant and a competitive academic record. To further support students as they prepare for admissions testing, Biola pre-meds have the option of several leading (national) professional test prep companies that offer online review courses for pre-med and pre-health students. Biola graduates have gone on to respected podiatry training programs both on the West Coast and around the nation.

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Reasons to Study pre-Podiatry at Biola

1. Integration

   Science instruction and teaching at Biola is always implemented in the context of the sovereignty of God, and as a tool to further explore and appreciate his creation. A distinctive of the pre-podiatry program at Biola University is that it offers excellent preparation for podiatry school as an integrated part of the much larger on-campus Christian community.

2. Personal Advising

   Every pre-podiatry student has access to personal advising from BOHPA, the Biola Office of Health Professions Advising. Specifically, every pre-podiatry student has the opportunity for multiple advising appointments with the chief advisor (an M.D. degree graduate from the UCLA School of Medicine) who has direct experience with the podiatric medicine field.

3. Clinical Experience

   Every pre-podiatry student is eligible to enroll in the upper division clinical shadowing program (BIOS 460) at Biola University. This semester-long experience for juniors and seniors provides weekly or biweekly opportunities to observe and interact directly with a podiatrist seeing patients in clinical practice. Clinical shadowing allows students to explore the podiatric medicine field, gain valuable clinical experience, provide sources for letters of recommendation, and make decisions about future career paths.

4. Community

   Biola has a wonderful peer-to-peer community for pre-health students in the Health Careers Club (HCC). The HCC provides opportunities for like-minded students to gather, fellowship, learn, and share the pre-health career journey together. Student officers of the HCC plan monthly activities and presentations directly related to the medical field. Speakers from various specialties are brought in to discuss their clinical work and topics in their field. Christian professionals and sponsoring missions organizations are also scheduled for students interested in short-term and long-term missions. Unlike some of the larger state schools, the Health Careers Club at Biola University ensures that no student has to undertake the challenging pre-health career journey alone.