While several national podiatric medical organizations continue to discuss ways to address the need for more residencies in the profession, that wasn’t a worry for the DMU College of Podiatric Medicine and Surgery (CPMS) Class of 2013. One hundred percent of the class were placed into residency programs, with 84 percent receiving their first, second or third choice programs.
Class members included Matt McCammon, D.P.M.’13, who joined some fellow CPMS alumni at DeKalb Medical Center, headquartered in Decatur, GA, and – founded in 1969 – home of the nation’s first three-year training program in foot, ankle and leg surgery.
“For each of the last five years, we have had DMU grads in the residency,” says third-year resident Emily Knickrehm Hermes, D.P.M.’11. “It’s a very prestigious program. The attendings here are very well known.”
DeKalb Medical selects four physicians each year for its podiatric residency. The program is affiliated with the Podiatry Institute, which is dedicated to the advancement of knowledge in foot, ankle and leg surgery. The institute was founded by E. Dalton McGlamry, D.P.M., legendary in podiatric circles for editing the text Fundamentals of Foot Surgery and the first edition of The Comprehensive Textbook of Foot Surgery.
That orientation in education gives residents opportunities to learn teaching and lecturing skills, including attending and presenting at seminars across the nation. Hermes, for example, has lectured on topics such as osteoporosis and surgical considerations and operative pain management in Portland, OR; California’s Napa Valley and Kansas City.
Hermes, who was president of the Iowa Podiatric Medical Students’ Association while at DMU, says CPMS prepares graduates well for the demands of the DeKalb residency program.
“I’ve seen similarities in what we were looking for in DMU students and in residents here,” she says. “We’re able to handle the high workload and to work well with those in different specialties.”
