You do not have to be a Podiatric Surgeon to obtain an NHS Consultant post.
All posts are negotiable with individual Trusts.  However if the post holder
is not a registered medical practitioner their contract is not the same as
that of a Medical Consultant, although the salary may be the same, pension
arrangements for example are different.  To be a registered Medical
Consultant requires approval and membership of one of the Royal Colleges and
to my knowledge Podiatric Surgeons are not applicable to join the Royal
College.

With the changing NHS involving for example the Consultant Nurse
practitioner, there are excellent opportunities for the all members of the
professions supplementary to medicine.  I can see potential in grouping CPSM
members together which would allow members to 'Specialise' in a certain area
of work ie patient focused, not profession focused.  I think there is great
potential for an 'Orthopaedic Physician' type role for those members who do
not practice surgery but who are obviously at an advanced level clinically.

There must  be Podiatric Surgeons working today who have passed no formal
exams, they will be the people who set up the surgical faculty in the first
place.  It may also be possible to practice surgery without being a
Podiatric Surgeon ( I think some SMAE members do).  It is also possible to
work under the direction of an Orthopaedic Surgeon, if you can find someone
to do this and you are comfortable with it.
I wonder if the Podiatric Surgeons would not have come back to the Society
had they been successful in achieving their goals as an individual group. I
doubt it. What would have been the point?

There are lots of opportunities for CPSM members, but I think the current
set up, especially in the NHS stifles development.  The people who have the
Consultant posts are those who have seen the opportunity to 'sell' their
talents to their Trusts and good on them.

Regards

Bob




----- Original Message -----
From: "jmailk1" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Sunday, November 05, 2000 12:50 PM
Subject: Re: Sane. Consultants and Specialists


> Dear David,
>
> I was interested to read your comments regarding Fellows of the Society of
> Chiropodists and Podiatrists in Podiatric Surgery.
>
> In regard to your queries on the use of the term Consultant.  The title
> 'Consultant' is taken on by any Podiatric Surgeon FCPodS who holds or has
> held an NHS Consultant's post.  Because they are employed as Consultant
> Surgeons, hold Consultant contracts and are on a Consultant pay scale,
they
> are called Consultants.
>
> To have any form of educational hierarchy you require an examination
system.
> The system for Podiatric Surgeons  is the surgical fellowship.  This is
> examined as parts A, B, C and D, from the syllabus laid out by the
Surgical
> Faculty of the Society of Chiropodists and Podiatrists.  The examinations
> are overseen by the Surgical Faculty and a board of examiners that are
made
> up of Podiatrists,  Specialists in Podiatric Surgery, Consultant Podiatric
> Surgeons and  Medical Consultants.  The examination system is rigorous to
> say the least, which is reflected in the number of candidates that are
> successful in completing the training programme.  ( Personally, I feel
that
> if anyone were to use a term such as 'Specialist', you would presume the
> practitioner to have been deemed so by his/her peers, or hold a higher
> degree in their area of specialism.  This demonstrating some form of
> examination system.  Otherwise, what is stopping us being Specialists in
> 'whatever we fancy' ?)
>
> I hope this information clarifies the points you raise.
>
> John Malik
>
>
>
>
>
>  Original Message -----
> From: <[log in to unmask]>
> To: <[log in to unmask]>
> Sent: 05 November 2000 11:22
> Subject: Re: Sane
>
>
> > Hi Guys,
> >
> > I belive there are about 90 Fellows, of those about 30 have full time or
> part
> > time employment within the NHS as specialists in their field of
Podiatry,
> all
> > the rest either do the odd procedure or work within private practice.
> > Did any one read Mr Tom Galloway`s note regarding the education hierachy
> in
> > which he mentions in his amendment to the governments new Bill. It
states
> > that these so called Fellows or Consultants are above Podiatry
> Specialists,
> > in the education structure. how amusing.
> > Are the Fellows nothing but specialists themselves?
> > And,
> > Where does this word Consultant come from?
> >
> > To coin a phrase from Mr Kippen ` What Say You`
> >
> > David Robinson SRCh.
>
>



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