Podiatric medical education and practice. 1960s to the 21st century

Abstract

An overview of the development of medical and podiatric medical education in the US is provided. Beginning with the 1910 Flexner Report in medicine and moving to the 1996 Educational Enhancement Project of podiatric medicine, major changes have taken place that have made podiatric medicine a profession quite comparable to medicine. This is most obvious in the education and training process. It is essential that both the content and method of educating the podiatric physician for the 21st century reflect the rapidly evolving health care delivery and financing system.

De la chiropodie à la podiatrie : progression des formations à l’international

“…Le titre de professionnel passe de doctor of surgical chiropody à doctor of podiatric medicine dans la fin des années 1950 4 [13]. TEG1 En 1961, la commission Selden [14] représente un véritable catalyseur, permettant l'amorce de changements quantitatifs et qualitatifs importants dans l'enseignement podiatrique. Des subventions fédérales accordées entre 1966 et 1973 aux cinq écoles de médecine podiatrique contribuent à l'évolution de la formation [15].…”

“…TEG1 De nombreux projets d'amélioration pour la profession voient ensuite le jour, dans le but de la hisser et de la maintenir à hauteur des autres professions médicales [17]. Sous l'impulsion d'une étude exhaustive 5 qui définit un programme idéal en médecine podiatrique [18], les cinq collèges de médecine podiatrique acceptent en 1978 d'adopter des exigences semblables à celles fixées dans toutes les facultés de médecine américaines, avec donc l'instauration du medical college admission test en amont de l'intégration d'un collège podiatrique et des modifications majeures dans le programme [14,16]. L'ensemble de ces réformes apporte une légitimité à la profession de podiatre dans son appel à la parité avec la médecine.…”

How can chiropractic become a respected mainstream profession? The example of podiatry

“…Known as the Selden Commission Report [ 21 , 22 ], it led to several improvements in podiatric medical education, some of which are similar to improvements that have been made to chiropractic education, including the adoption of identical requirements to those of all medical schools, advances in faculty development and major library expansion. In addition to these upgrades in the podiatric educational requirements, the Selden Commission report promoted the placement of podiatric education under the aegis of universities, with the inclusion of federally funded research [ 21 ]. This led to further movement of the podiatric medical profession toward integration within the healthcare system by mainstreaming its educational institutions as well as demonstrating, and providing support for, its commitment to research.…”

“…Consideration should also be given to upgrading admission requirements to chiropractic schools. In podiatric medicine, such upgrading, which included the requirement of the Medical College Admission Test (MCAT), a requirement of medical school admission, is considered one of the significant events in the profession's history, giving the profession legitimacy in its calls for parity with medicine [ 21 ]. Lest there be concern amongst chiropractic colleges for diminishing enrollment if this type of upgrade were instituted, it should be noted that podiatric medicine experienced an increase in students following the institution of the MCAT requirement [ 21 ].…”

Journal of Foot and Ankle Research, one year on

“…Indeed, the advent of this journal was greeted enthusiastically by the Canadian Federation of Podiatric Medicine [5]. In the USA, DPM degrees have been in place since the 1960s [6, 7], and although international comparisons are notoriously difficult to make [8], it is nevertheless clear that uniform educational uplift in podiatry is now evident across the Anglophone world.…”