Podiatric Medicine & Surgery

The Gundersen Health System Podiatric Medicine and Surgery Residency is a three-year program leading to eligibility for certification examination by the American Board of Foot and Ankle Surgery. The program is accredited by the Council on Podiatric Medical Education as a Podiatric Medicine and Surgery Residency with Reconstructive Rearfoot/Ankle Surgery (PMSR/RRA)-36, and in 2010 was approved to accept two residents per year.

Our residency blends inpatient and outpatient experiences to more closely resemble the practice of podiatric foot and ankle surgeons. It also offers both primary care and tertiary care opportunities in a very busy practice. Residents see the routine and more unusual cases in the clinic, hospital and in surgery to gain extensive hands-on experiences from day one. Residents have opportunities to teach students who extern at our program.

The Podiatric Medicine and Surgery department is staffed by board-certified podiatric foot and ankle surgeons who provide care through nearly 20,000 patient visits in clinic practice and approximately 750 surgical patients per year.

Benefits information

Exceptional certification record

Our exceptional record of 100% of our graduates passing the American Board of Foot and Ankle Surgery certification exams on their first attempt reflects our faculty's commitment to teaching. Our focus is to train podiatric foot and ankle surgeons who are excellent clinicians and understand the basic science behind surgical procedures. Most of our graduated residents go on to group practices, including clinics with collaborating podiatric and medical specialists. Some of our residents have gone on to foot and ankle fellowships in reconstructive rear-foot procedures

Experience gained

During the three years program, residents rotate through many departments and gain experience with departments including:

• Internal Medicine
• Anesthesia
• Rheumatology
• Behavioral Health
• Radiology
• Infectious Disease
• General and Vascular Surgery
• Emergency Medicine
• Dermatology
• Pathology
• Endocrinology
• Sports Medicine
• Plastic Surgery

Residents report to, and work closely with, the staff physician in charge of each teaching service and the other interns and residents, creating a nurturing teaching atmosphere. Residents also rotate through orthopedics, orthopedic trauma and pediatric orthopedics.

Our podiatric foot and ankle surgeons are also interested in clinical research. Residents are expected to publish in a peer-reviewed journal during their residency. We view these requirements as important to developing skills in using medical literature and in creating a desire to find answers to problems that podiatric surgeons experience in practice. We provide the support residents need to do research and publishing and give them full credit for work they do as first author or co-author of these papers.