Podiatric Surgery-PSR12 Residency

In August 1989, the Madigan Army Medical Center initiated a new 12 month podiatric surgical residency for two positions.

The podiatric surgical residency is very well organized and has the full support of the Medical Center and its medical staff and podiatric staff. Particularly noteworthy is the dedication of the director of podiatric education. The program director is employed full time at the Medical Center and is able to provide consistent leadership and direction in the conduct of the residency.

The support of the medical staff is excellent. The resident is exposed to all major medical services, including anesthesiology, radiology, internal medicine, pathology, orthopedics, rheumatology, physical medicine and rehabilitation, dermatology, and emergency medicine. Medical rotations as well as podiatric experiences allow direct participation of the resident. Except for emergency medicine, which is conducted on weekends, medical rotations are provided in one month blocks and include rounds, conferences, formal lectures and full supervision. While on medical rotations, the resident spends one morning each week performing podiatric surgery. The program director and respective rotation chiefs plan the schedule before the start of each rotation.

Medical trainers understand the limitations of the brief rotational period and have designed the resident's experiences to include complete patient care and specific areas which are important to podiatric patient care. Although training objectives appear to be realistic, the director of podiatric education is encouraged to develop a process for the review of objectives in conjunction with rotation chiefs, instructors and residents. Members of the medical staff are active in implementing a formal evaluation of the resident's achievement of the objectives.

The volume and diversity of surgical training provided in the PSR 12 program are excellent. The cooperation of the orthopedic and general surgeons enhances the overall training experiences. Pre operative evaluation and post operative follow up and care are completed by the resident and documented in patient charts. There is evidence of an on going intra operative educational process where the surgeon and resident discuss the rationale behind the proposed surgery and alternatives. All of the work performed by the resident is directly supervised by an attending physician.

For additional information please contact:

Chief, Podiatry Service
Madigan Army Medical Center
Tacoma, WA 98431-5000
(253) 968 3797 or DSN: 782-3797