About Us
A Collective Group of Doctors of Podiatric Medicine and Surgery
A Collective Group of Doctors of Podiatric Medicine and Surgery representing state components of the American Podiatric Medical Association respectfully presents the following explanation of the profession of podiatric medicine and its position within the healthcare industry:
Each state maintains a Licensing Board legislatively charged with recognizing the education and training of Doctors of Podiatric Medicine. These Boards, be they exclusively charged with licensing Doctors of Podiatric Medicine or be they charged h collectively empowering Doctors of Podiatric Medicine, Medical Doctors, Doctors of Osteopathy, or other related,d medical professionals, each recognize the specific national examination created to test the ability of the respective licensee to practice the subject profession of the licensee.
All licensees are mandated to exhibit a passing score on the particular test relating to their profession.
The purpose of this testing protocol is to assure the public that the licensee has achieved sufficient education and training, in that licensee’s specialty, to engage in the unsupervised, independent practice of their respective profession. Collectively, these various testing protocols, created by the National Board of Podiatric Medical Examiners (APMLE TESTS), the National Board of Medical Examiners (USMLE TESTS) and the National Board of Osteopathic Medical Examiners (COMLEX TESTS), are accepted by the State Licensing Boards as evidence that an applicant demonstrates the core competencies to practice podiatric medicine, allopathic medicine or osteopathic medicine respectively. As a result, healthcare consumers throughout the nation enjoy a high degree of confidence that their doctors have met the standards necessary to achieve licensure. Patients, as well as referring health care professionals, are thereby able to experience a high degree of confidence that licensed Doctors of Podiatric Medicine (DPMs) have met the required standards particular to their respective profession as they provide medical and surgical care to patients, within their scope of practice.
Podiatric Medical Associations, including the American Podiatric Medical Association and the American College of Foot and Ankle Surgeons
Podiatric Medical Associations, including the American Podiatric Medical Association and the American College of Foot and Ankle Surgeons, have long supported a national standard for licensing, including a public position that the requirements for licensure of Doctors of Podiatric Medicine must be based on education, training, and experience, in order to ensure patient safety. In 1961, podiatric medicine endorsed the Selden Commission Report, which led to advances in faculty development and improvements in podiatric education. Hospital-based postgraduate podiatric training programs, which were first instituted in 1956, have been officially approved by the Council on Podiatric Medical Education (CPME) as podiatric residency programs since 1965.
Efforts to advance podiatric training and education continued, leading to increased standardization of podiatric residency training and, ultimately, expansion to mandatory three-year, comprehensive hospital based residency programs in 2013.
Once licensed, on a state by state basis, DPMs can independently diagnose and treat patients within their scope of practice, which includes performing surgery in ambulatory and hospital settings, writing prescriptions, and ordering diagnostic studies.
The license to practice podiatric medicine comes through the state in which the podiatrist chooses to practice. State licensure requirements include education, training and the successful passage of the applicable APMLE testing protocol. The APMLE examinations are produced by the National Board of Podiatric Medical Examiners (NBPME) and can contain up to three (3) parts. The education, training and testing model of Podiatric Medicine, (commonly referenced as the “4-4-3” model) consists of undergraduate education, 4 years of medical education, 3 years of residency and successful passage of the state’s required examination, is structurally identical to the education, training and testing progression of MD’s and DO’s. Meeting the common structural standard along with the successful completion of any additional state licensure requirements is essential to maintaining public trust.
Thirty-six (36) states utilize the term “physician” when defining Doctors of Podiatric Medicine in their licensure laws. That recognition is legislatively defined on a state by state basis.
This website content does not address the different uses of the term physician within both state and federal laws. It should not be construed as supporting the removal of any rights currently held by DPMs, nor supporting any effort to prevent DPMs from practicing under their title, status, or scope of practice as presently recognized by state and federal law and nongovernmental entities.
Furthermore, all organizations named below agree that Doctors of Podiatric Medicine, like Medical Doctors and Doctors of Osteopathy, should not be restricted in their ability to appropriately care for patients within their respective scope of practice, nor in their access to patients based on the type of insurance.
In conclusion, the undersigned believe that the currently required medical education, training, and state-required APMLE testing protocols assure the health patients' safety and welfare. Further, we think whether DPMs should be defined as physicians should be decided by mutually agreed upon education and training standards.