J Am Podiatr Med Assoc. 2020 Sep 1;110(5). doi: 10.7547/18-100.
Medical students (MSs) in allopathic and osteopathic medical programs may not be adequately exposed to the role of podiatric physicians and surgeons in health care. We explored perceptions of the specialty field of podiatric medicine from the perspective of MSs in the Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, area.
In this cross-sectional survey study, responses regarding podiatric education and scope of practice were collected via a 16-question, self-reported, anonymous online survey distributed to MSs at one osteopathic and three allopathic medical schools in the Philadelphia area. Inferences and conclusions were drawn from the percentages of respondents. Statistical analyses for school of attendance, year of study, and physician relative subgroups were performed.
The 129 survey responses obtained revealed misunderstandings regarding podiatric education and training. Only 45.7% correctly answered that podiatric medical students do not take the United States Medical Licensing Examination. The results also showed the perception of podiatry in a positive light, with approximately 80% of respondents agreeing that the term doctor is applicable when referring to a podiatrist. Respondents with a physician relative were more likely to rate podiatry's role in health care higher on a scale from 0 (inessential) to 5 (equivalent to MDs/DOs) than those without a physician relative.
The results of this preliminary survey were generally positive and optimistic while also identifying some misconceptions regarding MS perceptions of podiatric medical training and scope of practice. Further studies are needed to evaluate perceptions of podiatry from the perspective of other members of the health-care team to improve interprofessional relations and understanding.
全科学医学和骨科学医学专业的医学生可能无法充分了解足病医生和外科医生在医疗保健中的作用。我们从宾夕法尼亚州费城地区的医学生的角度探讨了对足病医学专业领域的看法。
在这项横断面调查研究中，通过向费城地区的一所骨科医学和三所全科学医学学校的医学生分发一份 16 个问题的自我报告式匿名在线调查，收集了有关足病教育和实践范围的回答。从回答者的百分比中得出推断和结论。对入学学校、学习年限和医生相对亚组进行了统计分析。
共获得 129 份调查答复，这些答复表明对足病教育和培训存在误解。只有 45.7%的人正确回答说，足病医学专业的学生不参加美国医师执照考试。结果还显示了对足病的积极看法，约 80%的受访者同意在提到足病医生时使用“医生”一词。与没有医生亲属的受访者相比，有医生亲属的受访者更有可能在 0（不重要）到 5（等同于 MD/DO）的范围内对足病在医疗保健中的作用进行更高的评分。
这项初步调查的结果总体上是积极和乐观的，同时也确定了一些关于医学生对足病医学培训和实践范围的看法的误解。需要进一步研究从医疗保健团队其他成员的角度评估对足病的看法，以改善专业间关系和理解。
