Sunday 27 January 2013

Careers you've never heard of... Podiatry




The next career which I will shed light on is the glamorous career of podiatry. Podiatry is the study and diagnosis of the foot and ankle problems. If you work as a podiatrist you will have the opportunity to work with a combination of health care professionals such as nurses, doctors and social workers. You will start off working in general clinics assessing and evaluating foot care in a wide variety of patients and many of these patients have long standing foot problems some of which have no cure. As a podiatrist you will play a major part in keeping patients mobile and comfortable.

 You can specialise in general clinics where you will have a wide variety of patients with differing problems. Bio-mechanics is another area that podiatrists can specialise in, and are concerned with preserving, restoring and developing the foot function. A growing area is developing ways to treat sports injuries. Working with children is called podopaediatrics and another area in which podiatrists can work within. Foot surgery is another area which podiatrists can work within and can administer local anaesthetics and treat nail and minor surgery of the soft tissue.

To qualify as a podiatrist you will have to complete a BSc undergraduate degree in podiatry which also includes medical placement.

So if you are interested in an interesting career in feet, helping people to live an independent life, research more into a career in podiatry. 

1 comment:

  1. My best friend growing up became a podiatrist in Adelaide. I though it was kind of a joke specialization until he told me about a lot of the things they do to save people's lives; especially with obesity on the rise. People with diabetes lose feeling in their feet and can lead to death. I have a new found respect for the field.

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