Podiatric Medicine Professor

Most days tend to involve a blend of classroom teaching, clinical and surgical supervision, and continued clinical practice — leading didactic content, supervising students in clinic and the OR, and seeing your own patients. You'll often spend part of the time on scholarly work — research, case work, or curriculum development — that academic podiatry expects.

The harder part is often balancing the multiple demands of teaching, clinical care, surgical work, and scholarship in a specialty where the scope of podiatric practice continues to evolve. You'll typically work with students at varied clinical readiness, while staying credible clinically and scholarly.

People who tend to thrive here are clinically expert, patient teachers, and willing to invest in academic responsibilities. The trade-off is the salary differential with private podiatry practice and the cumulative work of academic responsibilities. If you find satisfaction in shaping the next generation of podiatrists, the work can carry meaning that pure clinical practice doesn't.