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There have been too many stories about the DPM degree being a “nowhere” degree except for in practicing podiatry, whereas other medical degrees offer endless other opportunities. From a personal perspective, I would like to take a hatchet to that and bury that story six feet under (or more!).
There is one truth that the MD/DO has over the DPM. The MD/DO can always go back and retrain in another specialty. From a practical perspective, I doubt if you put in 3-6+ years in one residency and then decided you wanted to enter another specialty, how easy would that be? Would you realistically have the strength at 45 years old to want to take call every other night and work 18+ straight hours a few days a week to retrain and take orders from people your kids’ age? Yes, you would also be starting at the salary of a PGY1 or 2. Could you afford to support your family with that salary? And how would that affect your family life? Better have some money tucked aside for the divorce lawyer. So, as theoretically possible as it is to change specialties, it’s not practical.
Now that that dragon has been slayed, let’s take several stories from Medical Economics over the past year that highlighted how many MD/DO physicians want to leave practice, or how many MD/DO students don’t ever plan to practice. The answer hovers near 40 percent at the higher end, when surveying those who are nearing retirement.
As for students, I know personally several MDs/DOs who either did not finish their residency or never entered residency matches. They are doing fabulously in their chosen new careers, from personal and economic perspectives. Who do you think is developing many new AIs for the health insurance industry and medical manufacturing? Read below for what other MD or DOs have done after “prematurely” retiring. You could do the same.
There are also many DPMs who left practice and are much happier and more successful had they stayed in practice. One who in his early 30s has made a small fortune in the pharmaceutical industry, and not as a medical sales representative. Others are now chairs of private equity practices or podiatric divisions of IT companies. One is our profession’s expert on all things HIPAA.
After 40 years in practice, I left for many personal reasons, one being that my mentor Harry Goldsmith’s messages finally got through to me. He once told me I could help more patients by teaching my colleagues and working with industry. He promised I would be happier and more economically satisfied. He also suggested that I could flip the switch on the insurance industry by, instead of me being angry for them not paying me, I could make them angry at me for making them pay dearly to others.
Harry, you were right on all counts! I now consult on all matters DME, both inside and far outside the podiatry world—recently, I had a “hand” in the development, validation, and coding of a robotic arm-and-hand prosthesis, exoskeleton, as well as for a walker for pediatric patients with CP.
Many physicians of all specialties have entered the entertainment industry at various levels or have opened small businesses. One GI specialist I know teaches martial arts and munitions, and another owns an Italian restaurant. (Hopefully, that’s a guarantee the restaurant won’t give you gastritis.) A famous rheumatologist here in New York City owns a famous steakhouse. You will be surprised at how much the critical thinking you learned in your medical training or practice will allow you to become successful in another chapter of your life. I know of several podiatric physicians who are either aspiring or accomplished musicians and have professional recordings and studios.
Life, like your career, is what you make it! So, if you are not happy in practice, find something that is more rewarding. But please don’t trash your degree. That has nothing to do with your ability to move forward and succeed. There are many opportunities out there. Just go get them!
This forum should welcome others who have followed a similar path and are continuing to practice, or who left practice for another chosen endeavor but may still be using the lessons they learned in training or in practice.
—Paul Kesselman, DPM