 Career
Path Forecast
According to the U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics,
employment is expected to increase about as fast as average because of
increasing consumer demand for podiatric medicine services. Job
prospects should be good.
Employment of podiatrists is
expected to increase 9 percent from 2006 to 2016, about as fast as the
average for all occupations. More people will turn to podiatrists for
foot care because of the rising number of injuries sustained by a more
active and increasingly older population.
Medicare and most
private health insurance programs cover acute medical and surgical foot
services, as well as diagnostic x-rays and leg braces. Details of such
coverage vary among plans. However, routine foot care, including the
removal of corns and calluses, is not usually covered unless the patient
has a systemic condition that has resulted in severe circulatory
problems or areas of desensitization in the legs or feet. Like dental
services, podiatric care is often discretionary and, therefore, more
dependent on disposable income than some other medical services.
Employment of
podiatrists would grow even faster were it not for continued emphasis on
controlling the costs of specialty health care. Insurers will balance
the cost of sending patients to podiatrists against the cost and
availability of substitute practitioners, such as physicians and
physical therapists.
 Although
the occupation is small and most podiatrists continue to practice until
retirement, job opportunities should be good for entry-level graduates
of accredited podiatric medicine programs. Job growth and replacement
needs should create enough job openings for the supply of new podiatric
medicine graduates. Opportunities will be better for board-certified
podiatrists because many managed-care organizations require board
certification. Newly trained podiatrists will find more opportunities in
group medical practices, clinics, and health networks than in
traditional solo practices. Establishing a practice will be most
difficult in the areas surrounding colleges of podiatric medicine, where
podiatrists concentrate.
Note: Some resources in this section are provided by the US Department
of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics.
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