With the local increase in diabetes, obesity, and its related peripheral vascular disease, it comes as no surprise that the Division of Podiatric Medicine and Foot Surgery of Jamaica Hospital Medical Center increased its professional staff and the number of clinics to provide appropriate care for the increasing patient population.

Many of these individuals will develop ulcerations on their feet and will face infections with the risk of gangrene and amputation. Under the current circumstances, many will also suffer a second amputation and/or a loss of a limb within a few years. It is well-known that with good clinical care, the loss-of-limb rate among diabetics can be substantially reduced. The goal of our Podiatric Medicine and Foot Surgery Division is to offer our highly-rated professional services to the community. This is done both in the hospital and in our clinics, which are dispersed throughout the area.

The Podiatric Medicine and Foot Surgery Residency Program at Jamaica Hospital Medical Center began in 1992 and the program has steadily increased in size and length. On July 1, 2012, the program was reclassified as a three-year program with six residents; two in each year of the program.

Our patient population also dictated that we added the credential of Reconstructive Rearfoot and Ankle Surgery.

Our goal is to train expert and compassionate physicians fully knowledgeable in the principles and practices of modern podiatric surgery with the ability to assess clinical problems in a systematic and analytical way. This includes appropriate referrals to Vascular Surgery, Medicine, Infectious Disease and any of the other fields which may be indicated. This is a community hospital with a scholarly orientation and high academic standards. Hence, the training our residents receive includes a wide variety of patients with an even wider variety of treatment options for our patient population.

The residency rotations include both podiatric and a non-podiatric components:

Podiatric rotations:

• In-patient Podiatric care
• Out-patient Podiatric care
• Wound care
• Geriatric care
• Diabetic foot care
• In-patient Podiatric Surgery
• Out-patient Podiatric Surgery
• Orthopedic Surgery

Non-podiatric rotations:

• Anesthesia
• Pathology
• Radiology
• Family Medicine
• Internal Medicine
• General Surgery
• Plastic Surgery
• Vascular Surgery
• Adult Emergency Medicine
• Pediatric Emergency Medicine
• Infectious Disease
• Behavioral Service
• Endocrinology
• Physical Medicine and Rehabilitative Medicine