A physician, medical practitioner, medical doctor, or simply doctor, is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through the study, diagnosis, prognosis and treatment of disease, injury, and other physical and mental impairments. Physicians may focus their practice on certain disease categories, types of patients, and methods of treatment—known as specialities—or they may assume responsibility for the provision of continuing and comprehensive medical care to individuals, families, and communities—known as general practice. Medical practice properly requires both a detailed knowledge of the academic disciplines, such as anatomy and physiology, underlying diseases and their treatment—the science of medicine—and also a decent competence in its applied practice—the art or craft of medicine.
A podiatrist is a medical professional devoted to the treatment of disorders of the foot, ankle, and related structures of the leg. The term originated in North America but has now become the accepted term in the English-speaking world for all practitioners of podiatric medicine. The word chiropodist was previously used in the United States, but it is now regarded as antiquated.
Orthopedic surgery or orthopedics, is the branch of surgery concerned with conditions involving the musculoskeletal system. Orthopedic surgeons use both surgical and nonsurgical means to treat musculoskeletal trauma, spine diseases, sports injuries, degenerative diseases, infections, tumors, and congenital disorders.
Podiatry or podiatric medicine is a branch of medicine devoted to the study, diagnosis, medical and surgical treatment of disorders of the foot, ankle, and lower extremity. The term podiatry came into use in the early 20th century in the United States and is now used worldwide, including in countries such as the United Kingdom, Australia, and Canada.
Des Moines University (DMU) is a private medical school in Des Moines, Iowa. Founded in 1898, Des Moines University is the second oldest osteopathic medical school and the fifteenth largest medical school in the United States. DMU's three colleges – the College of Osteopathic Medicine, College of Podiatric Medicine and Surgery, and College of Health Sciences – offer nine academic degrees, including master’s and doctorate degrees.
Podiatric Medical School is the term used to designate the medical institutions which educate students and train them to be podiatric physicians, which diagnose and treat conditions affecting the foot, ankle, and related structures of the leg. 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 Medical 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 residency. A Doctor of Podiatric Medicine or podiatrist, is defined as a physician and surgeon of the foot and ankle.
A medical specialty is a branch of medical practice that is focused on a defined group of patients, diseases, skills, or philosophy. Examples include children (paediatrics), cancer (oncology), laboratory medicine (pathology), or primary care. After completing medical school, physicians or surgeons usually further their medical education in a specific specialty of medicine by completing a multiple-year residency to become a specialist.
Kent State University College of Podiatric Medicine (KSUCPM), is the graduate podiatric medical school of Kent State University (KSU). As of 2022, it is the only fully public podiatry medical school in the U.S. The college is located in Independence, Ohio, south of Cleveland, approximately 30 miles (48 km) from the main KSU campus in Kent. Established in 1916, the college, formerly the Ohio College of Podiatric Medicine, was among the first in the nation to offer a program in podiatric medicine and surgery. The 122,000-square-foot (11,300 m2) facility operates as a regional KSU facility in podiatric medical education.
The American Podiatric Medical Association (APMA) is a professional medical organization representing Doctors of Podiatric Medicine (podiatrists) within the United States. The organization was founded in 1912 and is headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland. Approximately 80% of podiatrists in the US are members of the APMA. Under the APMA are 53 component societies in individual states and other jurisdictions, as well as 21 affiliated and related societies. Doctors of Podiatric Medicine are physicians and surgeons who practice on the lower extremities, primarily on the foot, ankle and lower leg. The preparatory education of most DPMs includes four years of undergraduate work, followed by four years in an accredited podiatric medical school, followed by a residency of 3–4 years. After residency, podiatric physicians may choose to pursue further education through fellowships in any subspecialty of podiatric medicine.
In modern medicine, a surgeon is a medical professional who performs surgery. Although there are different traditions in different times and places, a modern surgeon usually is also a licensed physician or received the same medical training as physicians before specializing in surgery. There are also surgeons in podiatry, dentistry, and veterinary medicine. It is estimated that surgeons perform over 300 million surgical procedures globally each year.
Foot and ankle surgery is a sub-specialty of orthopedics and podiatry that deals with the treatment, diagnosis and prevention of disorders of the foot and ankle. Orthopaedic surgeons are medically qualified, having been through four years of college, followed by 4 years of medical school or osteopathic medical school to obtain an M.D. or D.O. followed by specialist training as a resident in orthopaedics, and only then do they sub-specialise in foot and ankle surgery. Training for a podiatric foot and ankle surgeon consists of four years of college, four years of podiatric medical school (D.P.M.), 3–4 years of a surgical residency and an optional 1 year fellowship.
A fellowship is the period of medical training, in the United States and Canada, that a physician, dentist, or veterinarian may undertake after completing a specialty training program (residency). During this time, the physician is known as a fellow. Fellows are capable of acting as an attending physician or a consultant physician in the specialist field in which they were trained, such as internal medicine or pediatrics. After completing a fellowship in the relevant sub-specialty, the physician is permitted to practice without direct supervision by other physicians in that sub-specialty, such as cardiology or oncology.
David G. Armstrong is an American podiatric surgeon and researcher most widely known for his work in amputation prevention, the diabetic foot, and wound healing. He and his frequent collaborators, Lawrence A. Lavery and Andrew J.M. Boulton, have together produced many key works in the taxonomy, classification and treatment of the diabetic foot. He is Professor of Surgery with Tenure and director of the Southwestern Academic Limb Salvage Alliance (SALSA) at the Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California and has produced more than 600 peer reviewed manuscripts and more than 100 book chapters.
Alpha Gamma Kappa is the oldest and largest professional fraternal organization for students and practitioners of podiatric medicine in the United States and Canada. The fraternity was founded in 1939 at the Dr. William M. Scholl College of Podiatric Medicine in Chicago, Illinois.
St. Francis Hospital is a general medical and surgical hospital located in Columbus, Georgia, United States, and is accredited by the Joint Commission.
Lawrence B. Harkless, DPM, FACFAS, MAPWCA, is Founding Dean and Professor of Podiatric Medicine and Surgery at the College of Podiatric Medicine, Western University of Health Sciences, Pomona, California, United States. He is a retired Professor, Department of Orthopaedics and former Louis T. Bogy Professor of Podiatric Medicine and Surgery at the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio (UTHSCSA).
Lee Christopher Rogers is an American podiatrist from Los Angeles, California. He is most known for his work preventing amputations in diabetes and treating Charcot foot and he has helped define the qualifications of doctors of podiatric medicine and the privileging process for hospitals and surgery. He was the Democratic nominee for US Congress in California's 25th district in 2012, and lost in California's top-two primary in June 2014. Rogers is also known as a film producer.
The American Osteopathic Board of Surgery (AOBS) is an organization that provides board certification to qualified Doctors of Osteopathic Medicine (D.O.) who specialize in the use of surgery to aid in the diagnosis and treatment of disease (surgeons). The board is one 18 medical specialty certifying boards of the American Osteopathic Association Bureau of Osteopathic Specialists approved by the American Osteopathic Association (AOA). As of 2011, 1,279 osteopathic physicians held active certification with the AOBS. The AOBS is one of two certifying boards for surgeons in the United States; the other certifying board is the American Board of Surgery of the American Board of Medical Specialties. Fellows of the AOBS are eligible for full membership in major U.S. surgical societies such as the American College of Surgeons (ACS) and the Society of Thoracic Surgeons. Board certified surgeons of the AOBS are also eligible for membership in the American Society for Metabolic & Bariatric Surgery.
Michael H. Wynn, D.P.M. is an American podiatrist practicing in Kingwood, Texas, specializing in surgical application of lasers in the treatment of foot and ankle disorders. He has helped pioneer the treatment of bunions with the carbon dioxide laser.
Philip Radovic, D.P.M. is a professor and practicing podiatric surgeon in South Orange County California.
