In the middle of all this excitement in the current debate, I wonder if I
may throw another bone in for discussion? Can I poll opinion over podiatry
education in the UK.

“What do contributors think of the present set-up and how would they
propose changes for the better?”

I am increasingly concerned regarding the plight of new entrants into the
professional community as well as those still working their way through the
undergraduate program at our schools and colleges. For one thing, we are
beginning to see the real impact that student debt exercises on the younger
generation. I read tonight that there has been a marked rise in
bankruptcies for the under 25’s during the last four years. I daresay that
trend will continue. We are fast approaching the time when the debt levels
on graduation could be as much as £20-£30K – which makes the paltry £500
overdraft I had seem quite insignificant (and it still took me 10 years to
repay it!).

Opportunities in the clinical sphere are not quite what they used to be.
Even if a new graduate gains employment with the NHS – the traditional
playground where we hone our skills – long-term career prospects are poor,
the salaries unattractive, especially with the cost of housing and tax &
etc. Is state run podiatry really that attractive to the six-form student
anymore?

In private practice it’s difficult as well. Sure there are more
opportunities, but that route is not so certain and good regular income can
take years to build up. That’s not considering the impact the HPC
legislation had to the existing viability of the marketplace (or on the
morale of the podiatry students for that matter).

Podiatry education appears to be suffering too. The funding crisis at FE
Colleges is just as bad as the one in the NHS. Podiatry comes far down the
line just as it does in health. Then there are the independent schools,
who, unless we bring them into the mainstream community, will seek to
undermine the ethos of closure and protection of title by training Foot
Health Consultants instead. What impact then on the recruitment drive in
future years?

Clearly there is a need for an educational programme which targets
different grades of clinician. Instead of the one size fits all approach,
why not a Diploma in Podology (for assistants, technicians, orthotists &
etc – a generic course run by podiatry schools and offered to other
disciplines as well) and a four year degree course for specialist
diagnostic clinicians perhaps with assisted entry from the Diploma.

Can I also ask opinion regarding structure of the educational community
itself? We have some 13 or 14 schools teaching the BSc programme at present
in polytechnics and 2nd grade universities (no offence meant). I addition,
there are three or four schools in the independent sector which are
unregulated and free from inspection. Clearly this is unsatisfactory. Can
such fragmentation really be practicable in a modern age? Wouldn’t four or
five podiatry colleges be better, with higher yearly intakes – working
alongside ‘centres of excellence’ in podiatric care? Colleges that provide
a raft of programmes both at undergraduate and postgraduate level.

I raise this subject because of a recent conversation with a government
minister, who floated the idea of regional centres of excellence in gait
and its associated disorders. This was a subject that was discussed two
years ago on another forum, and an outline proposal was raised with a DoH
official at the time. If the government are in the market for some ‘social
trophies’  - the way Labour administrations sometimes are – then could a
case be submitted that might bring together the research and development
fields and the whole educational apparatus into some form of complementary
partnership? With that kind of set-up, the colleges could be more
attractive to corporate support through the various trade bodies
something more and more premier division universities are taking advantage
off. Just some thoughts but I’d be interested in some other views.

Sincerely

Mark Russell

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