We get asked this question a lot in clinic... So, Anna has written a new post to answer just that question.
As a Podiatrist, one question I get asked all the time when I'm in clinic is why on earth do you want to mess with feet! So I thought I would do a little blog just to explain what motivates me as a Podiatrist and why I enjoy my job.
I've been qualified now for 21 years. I went straight from university into a job in the NHS, and my specialism there was in diabetes and wound care. I did that job for 16 years, and for the last few years of that I worked part time in private practice at the Round House, and the rest of the time in my NHS job. Five years ago, I left the NHS for good and am now full time based in private practice.
Podiatry is never boring, you never know what's coming through the door, every patient that you see is different. We have to know an awful lot about the feet, and what can affect them. So, if you think about your feet, they have nails, skin, nerves, blood vessels, joints, bones, tendons, ligaments, and all of those can cause problems.
For every patient that comes through the door, it's like solving a puzzle for a Podiatrist. You have to try and work out what the problem is, what's causing the problem, what you can do to alleviate that issue and what advice you can give the patient for how they can help themselves to get back to either being pain free, or if it's a cosmetic issue, getting rid of that problem so that they're confident of wearing open sandals or flip flops for example, or going on holiday and having their feet on display.
How often do you need to see a Podiatrist?
Some patients will come to us as a one off for treatment, and they might be discharged quite quickly. For example, for our swift verruca treatments or an ingrown toenail which needs surgical removal, that can be a quick six, eight week process from start to finish until you're fully healed. Other patients will come to us regularly, monthly, six weekly, eight weekly for general footcare. And we love having those people in clinic that we've been seeing for a long number of years, you get to know your patients really well, and they become like friends as well as patients.
I work alongside Nikki in clinic, and she's been qualified for about four or five years more than I have, with a similar background. We both enjoy our job immensely.
So, if you have any foot problems, then please don't hesitate to get in contact with us because we'll always be happy to help.
If you want to know more about our Podiatrists, you can read about them here
