Podiatrists specialize in treating and curing various foot ailments, with jobs ranging from routine tasks to surgery, prosthetic therapy, and treating foot injuries or deformities. Podiatry is a flexible medical specialty, with private practice and hospital positions available, and podiatrists can focus on children, adults, or sports injuries.
While all podiatrist jobs involve medical care of the feet, a podiatrist’s actual work can range from routine tasks like examination and consultation to much more complex endeavors including surgery, prosthetic therapy, and treating foot injuries or deformities. Podiatry is a broad medical specialty that incorporates many types of podiatrist jobs. In most cases, the field of podiatry is flexible. Physicians who specialize in podiatry can often take on different jobs at different times.
The human foot is made up of a complex system of bones and ligaments that must work together in the right way to support healthy growth, pain-free walking, and normal leg development, among other things. Podiatrists are doctors who specialize in treating and curing various foot ailments. Some of the work they do is preventative, but some is also restorative. There are as many different podiatrist jobs as there are things that can go wrong with your foot.
Most podiatrist jobs are private practice, although some hospitals keep a podiatrist on staff. This is particularly true for podiatric surgeons. Podiatrist training almost always begins in medical school and is followed by an intensive residency or fellowship in podiatric medicine. Once certified, podiatrists generally have quite a bit of latitude to determine the contours of their practice. Surgeons are one of the only exceptions. To operate on the feet, doctors typically must have a demonstrated history in general surgery first.
Some podiatrists focus on children, addressing growth and gait issues in the feet. A pediatric podiatrist centers his practice on helping young feet grow in ways that support healthy walking and running skills later in life. Other podiatrists work primarily with adults who have unexplained swelling or pain in their feet.
Still others work to rehabilitate foot injuries caused by accidents or illness. Podiatrists in this line of work often find careers as military physicians, helping to treat the traumatic foot trauma of soldiers and veterans. Jobs in these fields may involve fitting and monitoring prosthetic feet for victims of amputation or deformed injury.
Sports injury clinics are also a common place to find podiatrist jobs. Athletes, dancers and gymnasts tend to suffer a disproportionately high number of foot injuries compared to the general population. Sports podiatrists can offer treatments, but they also offer general advice on injury prevention. Keeping feet healthy is a key goal for any podiatrist, regardless of their specific job description.
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