Reflections on 15 Years

For those of you reading this editorial, I'm happy to say we've reached a milestone in the PRESENT e-Learning Systems Practice Perfect editorial. This is our 400^th issue!

For those of you new to our little blog and want to read back issues, go to www.podiatry.com, click on the "ezines" tab, and you'll see a bunch of great content from several different contributors. For me, this blog started in 2006, while I was a senior resident as "Residency Rap", now listed under "New Docs on the Block", the second iteration of the blog that started when I entered practice. After a few years, the name changed to "Practice Perfect" and all in all, we've published an article almost weekly for just shy of 8 years.

Milestones always make me want to reflect on the past and today is no different. Including school, residency and practice, I've been involved with podiatry for 15 years. My one overall reflection about my time in practice so far is that I've loved being a podiatrist. This profession has been very kind to me, and despite all the ups and downs, the national changes in medicine, and the uncertainties, I still think this is an excellent profession with a great future, and I have no reservations telling others they should follow us into podiatry.

Tonight's Premier Lecture is
VLUs and Cell Based Therapy -
A Rational Approach
Charles A. Andersen, MD, FACS

I've learned a few other lessons along the way, and I'd like to impart some of them to those of you less experienced than me. Some of my lessons were learned the hard way, some were great successes, and if I can prevent any of our readers from making the same mistakes while having greater successes, then I'm a success here.

In no particular order, here are five pieces of my best advice from 15 years of podiatry:

	1.	Don't procrastinate – EVER! – Circumstances and a bit of procrastination ended with me taking my ABPS board certification examination during my 7th year in practice (the last year possible for me). It turned out successful, but leaving it to the last year was a significant emotional strain and a stress I didn't need.
	2.	Get all the training you can – Medicine and surgery are competitive fields, and you want to maximize all the training you can get. Some of my successes came from having been well trained and competitive, not only surgically but in other ways. For example, I was trained in coding and billing during residency, which was incredibly helpful when I started. Whether it's doing a fellowship or maximizing every educational minute of your residency, the extra knowledge will help you immensely.
	3.	Do your networking – This is tough for many of us (including me), but my greatest successes and opportunities have come from those who came before me. Remember, podiatry is a small specialty and a good word from one person can have a great effect on your career. My current job is a result of a chain of people that believed in me and gave me more than one chance.
	4.	Be critical – Be critical of everything in your professional life. Don't believe everything you hear, read, or see just because an "expert" tells you so. Read journal articles with a skeptical eye. Most importantly, be critical of what you do. What went wrong with that orthotic? How can I improve that surgical procedure? How many of my patients actually resolve their symptoms with that treatment? Don't stop questioning. Your patients rely on you to get better every year.
	5.	Enjoy those around you – This one may be the most important. In all of my different experiences within podiatry, the one common factor that made all of them positive and memorable was the people with which I worked. I've met and learned about so many special people, dealing with all of their quirks and characteristics, and it's been such great fun along the way. It would take me another entire blog post to list all the wonderful people that have made my practice of podiatry so uplifting, from patients to coworkers to friends and fellow podiatrists, and so many other colleagues. I've enjoyed every interaction.

I want to take a quick liberty and specifically thank Alan Sherman, DPM and Michael Shore, DPM who have been two of the most supportive, kind, and caring individuals I've had the pleasure to come across. Their work creating PRESENT e-Learning Systems has been a true educational treasure for our profession, and I wish them all the more success in the future.

Most of all, thank you to all of you who have read this blog over the years and provided both your support and comments. Having some of you come up and talk to me at conferences and events has always been a true high point in my career, and I hope to continue to meet new people and make new friends.

So, here's to many years of learning, fun, friends, and many more blog posts. My most heart-felt best wishes to you all.

Best wishes,

Jarrod Shapiro, DPM
PRESENT Practice Perfect Editor
[email protected]