Experience

Competitive applicants to podiatry schools are well rounded and have pursued a wide range of experiences to develop not only their scientific, thinking, and reasoning skills, but also interpersonal, teamwork, and leadership skills, and professionalism. Most podiatry schools like to see some job shadowing so you have some idea what the doctor-patient relationship is like from the podiatrist’s perspective, and understand a podiatrist’s unique role. Register with the DPM Mentors Network to find a podiatrist to shadow. Some experience working with patients is also recommended so you know you are comfortable being around sick people or in a surgical setting. But there is no set number of hours required - it’s more about quality than quantity of experience.

Volunteering

Volunteering and community service, whether or not it is in a healthcare setting, demonstrates your commitment to serving others, as you will as a future podiatrist.

Research

Research experience helps you to learn the problem-solving skills needed to think like a podiatrist, and develop an understanding and appreciation for the scientific and medical research that will be the basis for modern podiatric medical practice.

Get Involved

Becoming a leader in a student organization, job, etc. gives you experience working with teams, communicating, and working together to share responsibility for accomplishing shared goals. Consider joining organizations such as BU Med or Alpha Epsilon Delta honor society, and working your way toward an executive board or other leadership role.