Podiatrists

A Podiatrist, or a foot doctor, is a specialist in the healthcare field known as podiatry or podiatric medicine. Podiatrists deal with the study and treatment of disorders of the foot, ankle and aspects of the leg below the knee.

Common conditions that are treatable by a Podiatrist include corns, warts, foot pain, heel pain, bunions, ingrown toe nails, tinea, skin cancers and more. Podiatrists, Podiatric Physicians and Podiatric Surgeons can specialise in different areas of podiatric medicine such as surgery, sports medicine, biochemics, orthopedics, diabetes, geriatrics, pediatrics or primary care.

In Australia, podiatry may only be practiced by healthcare professionals licensed or registered with podiatry associations and must have undertaken specific tertiary training to achieve qualifications in the field. A Podiatrist may act as an individual practitioner or as part of a clinic whose practitioners service specialty podiatric symptoms. Within the field, a number of specialty roles exist in support of the Podiatrist. Depending on the practice, these may include a Podiatric Nurse, support worker, technician, hygienist or assistant. The services of a Podiatrist are often obtained via the referral of a General Medical Practitioner or Doctor, although it is possible to seek advice and treatment for foot, ankle or lower leg symptoms directly from a registered Podiatrist.