Being a Podiatric Hospitalist

by Marika Jackson.

Gabriel Santamarina, DPM, AACFAS is the Assistant Professor of Medicine and Orthopedics Director of Podiatry at Grady Hospital in Atlanta, GA. He attended a residency at Mercy Hospital/BUSPM in Miami, FL.

Q&A

Q1. What does a Podiatric hospitalist do?
Same thing as a podiatrist in private practice. We see all the same types of patients but instead of being in private practice and in my own office, I see them in the hospital instead.

Q2. What made you decide on this specialty?
I worked in a private practice after completing my fellowship. Emory University was looking for a new director of podiatry right at that time. I always wanted to work within a large institution because it is much easier to work on the cutting edge of medicine. Big Hospitals, such as Grady where I work, have the benefit of early access to expensive medical products

Q3. What additional training (if any), do you recommend or need to specialize in this area? The most important is experience working in this field. You need to feel comfortable working in large teams with other doctors

Q4. What about your specialty is unique from other podiatry subspecialties?
Our patient population tends to be sicker, and need more complex surgical reconstruction.

Q5. What is the most rewarding part of your job?
I get to help patients that otherwise would never see a regular podiatrist, and tragically lose their leg because of lack of access.

Q6. Are there any unique contributions to medicine made/ being made, due specifically to your subspecialty? We are designing a new diabetic foot research group to advance the research in this field.

Q7. What do you see for the future of the Podiatric hospitalist?
I see a lot of private practitioners joining large hospitals. I get to concentrate on the medicine while an entire separate team works on the insurance/payer side of the equation.

Q8. If, you were to do it all over again, would you choose this career again and Why?
100%. I love what I do, I get to work with great people and my cases are some of the most challenging.

Q9. What are some things you would change about this specialty?
I think there needs to more people in these types of positions. I would like to make obtaining this type of job title easier.

Q10. If you were asked to recruit the next generation of Podiatrist to continue what you are doing, what would you tell them? We’re looking for the best podiatrists in the nation who are willing to take on the most complex foot cases in the United States.

 

by Marika Jackson.

School: Barry University School of Podiatric Medicine

 

The Specialties

Special Edition,  Interview

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