Stepping Into Podiatry with Social Media

Netanya Flores, MBS 

Class of 2026 TUSPM Chapter AAWP President-Elect

Social media has become an integral component of most, if not everyone’s lives no matter the age. There has been a vast evolution of platforms from Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Tik Tok taking a hold of humanity’s daily routine. It comes as no surprise that a certain percentage of our phone’s screen time is dedicated towards tapping on specific apps. Despite this technological chokehold that has claimed younger generations, it would be unfair to acknowledge the positive use and impact it has had on education and recruitment. As a second year TUSPM student I am always proud to share that the final nail in the coffin that solidified my choice to pursue a career in podiatry was due to the students, residents and podiatric physicians that appeared online. The most followed podiatric influencer with over one million Tik Tok followers and over 500k Instagram followers is Dr. Dana Brems, DPM or as she’s more commonly known as: @footdocdana. Dr. Brems flew to great heights with her “surgeon challenge" video that amassed millions of views. These days, merely typing key words such as podiatry, podiatric medicine, podiatrists etc. will lead you to numerous accounts of current students and residents. In the midst of committing to a program in early 2022, I found myself perusing through Instagram and came across two accounts from Temple Podiatry Students who were first and second years respectively. I was drawn by their positivity and passion for the field as they provided insight into the field and TUSPM itself. I reached out to the first account @positivelypod ran by Class of 2025 Tara Sullivan and she graciously shared her first year experience amidst her busy schedule. On TikTok, I was entertained by @footimapod’s account run by Class of 2024 Fatima Daknish and the witty puns for podiatric procedures and lessons. To this day I swear by the idea that the student community is what made me choose TUSPM. A few years later both of these individuals continue to inspire me as mentors and wonderful friends. Both Tara and Fatima are still making strides in various leadership roles in the world of podiatry but also still continue to make time for content creation to inspire the next generation of podiatric medical students!

1. What inspired you to start an online platform specifically geared towards podiatric medicine?

Fatima (TUSPM Class of 2024): One of the ways my class communicated on Zoom University was through Groupme messages. We coped with the difficulty of navigating virtual medical school by creating a comradery through humor. I wanted to recreate this virtual comradery through my Instagram account, Footimapod. Through humor, trends, and memes, I want to give podiatry a voice in the medical TikTok community.

Tara (TUSPM Class of 2025): A friend of mine (@podiatry.by.tre) actually started one first and encouraged me too as well. I thought about it for a few months and figured it might be fun to document my educational journey the whole way through.

2. When starting your platform did you have a goal or theme that you wanted to pursue about the field of podiatry?

Fatima (TUSPM Class of 2024): When Footimapod was featured in a July APMA issue, I was motivated to grow the account into a creative outlet to network with national podiatry students and DPMs. I also aim to reach premedical students who may not be aware of the podiatry career path. My goal with Footimapod is to showcase the existence and positive impact of the podiatric field, as well as inspire the next generation of podiatry students.

Tara (TUSPM Class of 2025): It started as a way to introduce podiatry to pre-med students, but transitioned to more of a wellness account when I started medical school! I quickly realized there was much room for growth in that department across all healthcare providers.

3. As females in medicine, has there ever been a time where you contemplated sharing a particular experience due to fear of judgment or backlash?

Fatima (TUSPM Class of 2024): During my podiatric journey, I've had the privilege of meeting remarkable female podiatrists who have served as my mentors. They've shown me the significance of connecting with women professionals in the same field. My mentors are not only elite podiatric doctors and leaders but also demonstrate a remarkable ability to balance a successful career with marriage and family life. They've ultimately instilled in me the value of continuing the legacy of female representation, which ultimately benefits female doctors and patients alike.

Tara (TUSPM Class of 2025): Oh goodness, always. Especially at this point in my training, I would never want what I post or to question my clinical judgment. I think though, as one becomes more established in the field and builds a bigger ethos, that there may be less judgment. My rule of thumb is that if I would not openly talk about an experience in an interview or show my interviewer a picture/video, it's not going up on any of my socials (professional or personal).

4. In what way do you think podiatric medicine could do better in utilizing social media to promote the field?

Fatima (TUSPM Class of 2024): I've personally noticed a significant increase in educational content on social media. Podiatrists are now sharing remarkable content that documents surgeries, cases, and sports injuries, and even discusses topics like practice management. I believe we're moving in the right direction by utilizing social media more effectively

Tara (TUSPM Class of 2025): For recruitment purposes I think we can better direct our contact at pre-medical students and pre-med organizations through the use of social media. I think podiatrists do a fantastic job of creating content that is educational for both podiatric medical students and patients! I'd like to shout out Dr. Leland Jaffee, DPM, FACFAS, CWSP (@leland_jaffedpm) who makes awesome content for med students.

5. Do you ever worry if having an online presence could impact the way your patients or peers view you?

Fatima (TUSPM Class of 2024): When participating in a public forum, it's important to be prepared for both positive and negative feedback. What I strive to remember is my primary intention in establishing my account, which is to promote the field of podiatry and ensure it has a presence in current trends. My aspiration is that individuals who come across my content not only gain new podiatry-related insights but also leave with a little bit of positivity

Tara (TUSPM Class of 2025): Yes - I really don't talk to my peers about my professional instagram account and find it kind of corny myself, but I have learned that if a patient or peer comes across my page and does not like what they see, we probably would not have been a good fit. At the end of the day, it is all still about providing our patients with the best care possible and a huge part of that is trust.

Paying It Forward

At Thomas Jefferson High School, I took AP Chemistry with Mrs. Matta. At the end of the year, she posed a drastically different assignment than her usual gnarly problem sets. She prompted students to envision their future in 5 years. She asked questions like “What would your typical day be like if you chose _________ as your career?” This assignment called us to be deeply honest with ourselves and what we wanted out of life at that moment. As an 18-year-old who still had not decided on what undergraduate program I was attending, I was stressed to plan my life out in an essay of no more than three pages. I did not realize that this assignment would lead me to the world of podiatric medicine and surgery.

Later that evening, I stumbled across a video – called “Podiatry: The Best Kept Secret in Medicine” and was shocked that a path as such even existed. Upon finding out that I could choose a career that would allow me a balance between the operating room and the clinic, I was pretty set. What is still ironic to me is the title of that video. Why was podiatry a secret? If everyone knew about this field, why weren’t they flocking to become a part of it? Now I look back on that rainy day in mid-May, sitting in my childhood bedroom researching everything I could about podiatry, realizing that I was lucky to have stumbled upon that video when I did. I am currently in my second year of podiatric medical school, and it shocks me that many of my colleagues did not know this field existed until much later than high school. We are realizing as a collective that it is vital to introduce this career path to students from a younger age. As I started my undergraduate degree, I shadowed podiatrists in my area and noticed something remarkable. They each made me feel like I belonged. 

Whether in the operating room or a clinical setting, I knew from how they treated newcomers that they loved the profession and wanted more good people to enter it. Podiatric medicine has a longstanding tradition of passing the torch from mentor to mentee. As current podiatric medical students and physicians, it is up to us to ensure that this flame does not burn out and podiatry is not kept a secret.

Our profession is currently experiencing a student recruitment crisis, which is worrisome in many ways. So when I got word about the work TUSPM students Grace Jurgiel and Jeneen Elagha were doing with PICA, I was elated. TUSPM’s Chapter of PMA (Podiatric Medical Advocacy) has partnered with PICA to tackle the recruitment crisis. This partnership aids current TUSPM students in visiting students at the high school and collegiate levels and presenting to them what podiatry has to offer. Along with contributing to travel costs for the students to make this possible, PICA has provided participating students with consideration for one of three $500 scholarships to put towards attending a podiatric conference of the student’s choice. Opportunities as such do not come along often, and not taking advantage of the financial assistance and effort that went into the partnership would be a disservice to the field.

In December 2022, I returned to Thomas Jefferson High School to share the world of podiatric medicine with my alma mater. I was nervous about presenting on a profession that I had just scratched the surface of myself, but I was shocked and touched at the turnout of students who attended my presentation. I presented during two different personalized learning sessions to students taking Mrs. Hannon’s Anatomy class, a class I took my sophomore year at TJ, and Mrs. Matta’s AP Chemistry class. It was fulfilling to mention anatomical structures of the lower extremity and see excited students following along. Once I started walking the students through a case study, I knew that my journey there to speak about podiatry had been worth it. At the same time, some students turned away during pictures showing wet gangrene and aggressive debridement, more than I expected, and looked on in amazement. This opportunity brought forth by PICA and TUSPM’s PMA chapter prompted me to do something out of my comfort zone, and I could not be more thankful. I plan on returning to Thomas Jefferson High School whenever I visit home and would like to incorporate hand-tying workshops or other hands-on events as I develop more skills as a podiatric medical student. It was incredible to teach young minds about my future career. I urge my colleagues to participate in this initiative. I am hopeful that the efforts put forth will pay it forward and attract more amazing individuals into our field of medicine.

A special thanks to Dr. Eric Freiwald, DPM; Dr. Lynne Haubelt, DPM; and Dr. Stanley Bosta, DPM for warmly welcoming me into this field! And HUGE thank you to Mrs. Matta, Mrs. Hannon, and Mr. McClain for showing me how rewarding science can be.

As I reflect on the first year of my podiatric medical education, I am grateful to have grown as an individual while also being relieved the year is behind me.

The rigors of our academic year culminated in final exams, followed by the summer break, incidentally the last prolonged “off-period” our class will have in our education before beginning our professional careers. Although for most of us, the summer feels much needed, to me, it almost feels as if it is the calm before the storm.

When I was younger, the school year and the summer seemingly lasted forever. As an adult, time flies so quickly that it still feels like I just moved to Philadelphia to begin school. Time is going to pass by - we’ll be back in the routine of school, and eventually, my classmates and I will find ourselves in the same position as the students a year ahead of us: preparing for our first round of board exams.

With everything the future holds in mind, here are some things I’m doing to enjoy the last summer break from my education while still preparing for the challenging year ahead of me. Through the challenges of the first year of medical school, I had to put school first in a way I never had before. Two of my favorite hobbies are playing golf on the weekends or playing video games online to stay in touch with my friends from home. My hobbies had to take a back seat with a complex and time-consuming course load. With the summer break, I have the time to enjoy these things again, in some capacity. I haven’t been able to pick up a golf club for nearly a year, and the product certainly doesn’t look pretty. Some leisure activities are excellent for occupying downtime and boosting your mental health.

Everyone always says, “the last thing you want to think about while on vacation is work.” While that is true, keeping your mind sharp also doesn’t hurt.

One of the biggest tips I’ve gotten from upper-level students is to use these few months to review and prepare. Since it’s not final exam season, I don’t expect myself to be spending the majority of my waking hours studying, but spending some time here and there to reinforce concepts from the first year or to familiarize myself with concepts for the coming year will pay off when it comes time to prepare for my first board exams.

By the time this piece is printed, my final summer will have ended, the school will be back in session, and the next phase of my life and career will seemingly begin. Although my first year was challenging, I am grateful for its lessons. And as the summer ends, I am glad I was able to use my time to both enjoy the hobbies of my past and prepare for my future.

Daniel Ruggiero TUSPM Class of 2025 PPMA Delegate