Letter From The Editor

Welcome to PrePodiatry: Clinic101!

My name is Tim, and I am blessed with the opportunity of “Editor in Chief” of PREPODIATRY: CLINIC101. Currently, I am a DPM-PhD dual degree student at Dr. William M. Scholl College of Podiatric Medicine, as well as a certified personal trainer through the American College of Sports Medicine. I graduated with a BS in Health Sciences and minors and Biology and Chemistry from Quinnipiac University, and an MS in Human Physiology from Boston University, where I taught as an Exercise Physiology Teaching Fellow and conducted research in two muscle biology laboratories. My aspirations were in academia and research. But during the latter, I took an interest in studying the effects of lower extremity on low back pain. Throughout my research, I recall reading a great deal from foot and ankle journals, sparking my flame for what I now know is podiatry. Soon after, I matriculated into the DPM-PhD program, where I am provided more mentorship in research and clinical opportunities than I could have hoped! Still, I am asked, and sometimes challenged, about my choice for the Ph.D. component.

Indeed, a DPM does not require a Ph.D. degree to conduct research. However, this paradigm is contingent on the necessity of the degree, but not the training it provides. Rather, I propose that the training required to obtain a Ph.D. degree is more important than the Ph.D. degree itself. Although many have the physical and intellectual abilities to conduct research, few are provided a specifically-tailored committee of well- established researchers to guide and mentor them in appropriate hypothesis formation, in-depth data analysis, grant writing, critical reasoning of the sciences, and sufficient defense of their work. Coupling this Ph.D. training with medical education allows physician-scientists
to balance the arts and sciences of medicine, proliferating the field of evidence-based medicine. Finally, my decision to pursue the Ph.D. component of the DPM-PhD testifies my deliberate and unwavering commitment to the physician-scientist paradigm: conducting important and relevant medical research, practicing evidence-based medicine, and educating students about the importance of academics and research in medicine.

Name: Tim, Chief Editor 2018-2019
School: Dr. William M. Scholl College of Podiatric Medicine
Year: DPM 2022, PhD 2020