titlePodiatry as a Career in Australia/titleAs a practicing podiatrist in Brisbane, Australia, I am often asked by patients if podiatry would be a good career for a school leaver to contemplate . There are many things to recommend a career in podiatry including:/p ul listrongYou can be self employed:/strong This is a option that is increasingly being denied to other health care providers such as optometrists and even Family Doctors. Big Business controls a lot of health practices. Consider how often you see an independent optometrist these days - can they compete on price with the multinational chains?br //li listrongLegal Issues:/strong In Australia (unlike the USA where things are very different), podiatrists very, very rarely face malpractice suits. The nature of podiatry practice does not lend itself to accidentally harming one’s patients. Also, you never have to give your patients the bad news that their condition will be terminal.br //li listrongWorking Hours:/strong Emergency call outs are very unlikely. This is great news for those among us who like their sleep uninterrupted.br //li listrongFinancial Reward:/strong Whilst it is true that podiatry doesn’t pay as well as being a dentist or medical practitioner, the pay is generally commensurate with other allied health providers.br //li listrongInstant Gratification:/strong One of the most fulfilling facets of a career as a podiatrist is the instant gratification! People come in with pain and leave happy. You will see a plethora of bite-sized jobs each day, many with a cure you can provide immediately. From someone that has worked with unanimously grumpy customers in a past career, believe me when I tell you, it makes the day much more rewarding when people leave you smiling.br //li listrongPhilanthropy:/strong Podiatry will provide you plenty of opportunity to help resolve the suffering of your fellow human beings.br //li listrongSelf - Determination:/strong Podiatry gives a professional the power to determine their own course of action for the benefit of their patients. This is unlike a career in nursing for instance where one acts under the direction of a doctor.br //li listrongClear Job roles:/strong The only people who can claim to be a podiatrist are those with a podiatry qualification. The clear roles that this delineates relieves the need to find your ‘niche’ after university - as someone with a more generic Bachelor of Science degree might need to do.br //li listrong Got the urge to travel?/strong There are many places across the world that do not qualify their own podiatrists including Tasmania, the Northern Territory, all of Asia and all of the Middle East. If you want to work around the the world, Australian podiatrists can gain employment in any Commonwealth country and are especially in demand in Singapore, Egypt, United Arab Emirates and other far flung fields.br //li listrongVariety:/strong In any given day, a podiatrist will see a great range of complaints. There may be an ingrown toenail or two, an excruciating corn, a sporting injury, some sacroiliac pain and at least a couple of painful plantar fascias. The essence of being a good podiatrist is to bea good problem solver. Each patient is an individual with a unique problem requiring a well considered solution.br / br / How do you become a podiatrist ?/li/ul pTo qualify as a podiatrist means a four year Bachelor of Health Science degree course which can be studied at available fromsix Australian Universities:/p ul liCurtin Universitybr //li liLa Trobe Universitybr //li liCharles Sturt Universitybr //li liQueensland University of Technologybr //li liUniversity of South Australiabr //li liUniversity of Western Sydney./li/ul pLast year, the entry score for the QUT was OP 8./p pStephanie Cosgrove graduated as a podiatrist from QUT in 1990 and with a Master’s degree in Applied Science (Podiatry) in 1996. Since 1991, she has worked in private practice as a a href=http://www.walkwithoutpain.com.auPodiatrist Brisbane/a. Call for an appointment now on 1300 A1 Feet.