Ryan Bauermeister, a third-year student in DMU’s podiatric medicine program, thoroughly enjoyed the wide variety of cases he experienced during his podiatric medicine rotation at the Omaha practice of the Foot & Ankle Center of Nebraska and Iowa. They ranged from writing histories for new patients to performing surgeries with every podiatric physician there. An additional bonus of the experience was observing the collaboration and camaraderie of the group, including graduates of DMU’s College of Podiatric Medicine and Surgery (CPMS) – Robert Greenhagen, D.P.M.’08, past president of the Nebraska Podiatric Medical Association; Patrick Nelson, D.P.M.’09; and Collin Pehde, D.P.M.’02. All the center’s podiatric physicians are board-certified by the American Board of Podiatric Medicine and the American Board of Foot and Ankle Surgery.
“It’s unique to see a group of guys so close and able to work that well together,” Ryan says. “They are like a superhero group. Plus they have great rapport with their patients.”
The practice has long served as a preceptor site for DMU’s podiatric medical students; its physicians are excellent educators as well as practitioners. Dr. Pehde, for example, is a former member of the CPMS faculty.
“I got to do an over five-hour surgery with Dr. Pehde. He did a great job of explaining everything he was doing on my level,” Ryan says.
The student also gained insights on the management side of medical practice. In addition to podiatric care, the Foot & Ankle Center offers limb preservation care, vein and vascular care, and special shoes and footwear modifications, all in-house.
“The management side is something we don’t get a lot of in school. They were super-gracious to let me learn about that,” he says. “It opened my eyes a lot more to working in private practice.”
While going on rotations can feel like “baptism by fire,” Ryan felt ready to jump in.
“Des Moines University’s faculty have a vast array of clinical knowledge. They provide clinical examples and firsthand experiences throughout the second and third years that allow to students to transition into clinical care,” he says. “Between the second-to-none education and the first-class faculty, there is no better place to train in podiatric medicine.”