Division of Foot & Ankle Surgery and Biomechanics Course and Rotation Information

Course descriptions

• Introduction to Podiatric Surgery

This course is designed for second year podiatric medical students who have successfully completed their basic science curriculum up to this point. Upon successful completion of this course, the second year students should have a broad foundation of general knowledge with which to evaluate and guide care decisions regarding perioperative management, and a solid foundation of core surgical principles necessary to secure residency training and become successful podiatrists. The purpose of this course is to lay a solid foundation of surgical principles in the second year that will be built upon and more extensively applied in the third year surgery courses.

• Podiatric Surgery I

Podiatric Surgery I is a course designed for third year podiatric medical students who have successfully completed the Introduction to Podiatric Surgery course. The material covered in the Intro course will be integrated throughout the Podiatric Surgery I course. The students who are not familiar with this material will need to review it as the course progresses. Upon successful completion of Podiatric Surgery I, third year podiatric medical students have a broad foundation of general knowledge regarding the surgical care of most deformities and pathologies of the forefoot.

• Podiatric Surgery II

Podiatric Surgery II is designed for third year podiatric medical students who have successfully completed the Podiatric Surgery I course. The material covered in Podiatric Surgery I will be integrated throughout the Podiatric Surgery II course. The students who are not familiar with this material will need to review it as the course progresses. Upon successful completion of Podiatric Surgery II, third year podiatric medical students should have a broad foundation of general knowledge regarding the surgical care of most deformities and pathologies of the forefoot, rearfoot, and ankle.

• Podiatric Traumatology

The study of traumatology is a segment of podiatric medicine and surgery involving acute, and less commonly subacute, injury to the foot, ankle and lower leg. In the past, trauma played a relatively small role in the professional career of the everyday podiatric practitioner; however, over the past twenty years, traumatology has increased substantially in importance as podiatrists are commonly part of the orthopedic groups, hospital employees and/or employees or multispecialty groups. In each of these instances, call duties are not only desirable, but have become an essential contractual component for employment with the above mentioned entities. Because of this advancement, didactic trauma instruction has increased at both the podiatric school and residency training levels. The course will focus on establishing the necessary foundation for subsequent development from student to practitioner. This foundation will be based on the clinical experience conveyed from the teaching faculty coupled with current, acceptable podiatric and orthopedic literature. 

• Biomechanics I

This first year course builds upon the basic sciences courses, and discusses in detail the phases and components of normal gait for the lower extremity including the lower extremity joint motions and the muscle activity that create locomotion. The material in this course is the basis upon which to understand the interaction between structure and function of the foot, ankle and leg. Knowledge of this content is necessary to understand the mechanical basis of deformity and to understand the variety of techniques for surgical correction of foot deformity.

• Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation

This course introduces a wide variety of rehabilitation diagnostic and treatment techniques. The diagnostic techniques include discussion of nerve conduction velocity studies, electromyography studies and examination techniques to aid in diagnosis of illness and in developing a management plan for patients. Training in the use of manual therapy, electrical therapy, heat modalities, cold modalities, and the fitting and gait training for use of crutches provides a basis upon which to discuss treatment of acute and chronic injuries including post-operative rehabilitation. Discussion of the over-the-counter and custom shoes, orthotics and prosthetics for the lower limb begins the discussion of restoring function following chronic overuse injuries, acute injury or post-surgery. This provides a broad basis for the student upon which to add during their career in podiatric medicine.

• Biomechanics II

This second year course builds upon the previous courses, and encompasses the common pathologies associated with mechanical differences of the foot, ankle and lower limb. It provides the student with a basis upon which to discuss conservative and surgical treatment for lower extremity pathology.

• Podopediatrics

The podopediatrics course is the introduction to pediatrics and the lower extremity structure, function and deformity. Covering the normal development and developmental abnormalities, including the more common genetic neurologic and musculoskeletal abnormalities, as well as specific pediatric lower limb conditions the student is provided with a basis upon which to build for interaction with and treatment of the pediatric patient's lower limb condition.

• Sports Medicine

The field of sports medicine is very broad and involves people from the casual athlete to the professional athlete and from the very young to the very old. In the past, podiatrists were rarely part of the orthopedic groups who are team physicians, but this is changing as podiatrists are more frequently part of orthopedic groups. Covering the basics of running mechanics, bone and soft tissue response to stress and the more common sports injuries, both acute and chronic, encountered in practice, this course gives the students a broad basis of foundational knowledge upon which to build a career in podiatric medicine. 

Clinical rotation Descriptions

Podiatric Surgery Rotation

It is the goal of the Division of Foot & Ankle Surgery and Biomechanics to provide a well-rounded surgical experience involving all appropriate settings, including the surgical clinic, the hospital, the operating room, and the academic conference. Dr. Jeffrey Whitaker, Division Head, is the coordinator of this rotation. He will assign each student in a particular rotation group to a weekly assignment. These assignments may involve time with Dr. Whitaker and/or one of the other surgeons at the other rotation sites.

Podiatric Surgical Skills Rotation

The purpose of this course is to provide students with knowledge and hands-on training pertaining to the physical skills which are necessary to perform surgery of the foot and ankle. An effort is made to correlate didactic information learned in the classroom with the rationale behind why many surgical procedures are performed. Adequate demonstration of surgical skills will be provided along with practice time and constructive performance feedback. This course is designed for third year podiatric medical students who have successfully completed the Introduction to Surgery course provided in the second year of education. No prior surgical experience is required nor expected of students who are entering this course. Upon successful completion of this course, students should possess a basic understanding of and the ability to perform the physical skills which are necessary in foot and ankle surgery.

Podiatric Medicine and Biomechanics 2 Rotation

This rotation takes place at the midtown location of the Cleveland Foot & Ankle Clinic. The biomechanics part of this rotation reinforces the knowledge obtained in the courses and the basic biomechanical skills through small group instruction and hands-on training to allow the student to become more efficient in patient interactions and performance of skills. This is also an opportunity to reinforce information taught in the classroom with patients seen in the clinical setting. The rotation is completed during the third year, afer successful completion of the biomechanics courses during the first two years.