Curriculum

The strength of the Ascension Saint Mary - Chicago Podiatric Medicine Residency is rooted in our commitment to provide each resident with the tools to become self-sufficient and successful upon graduation. The basic core competencies provide the educational foundation as the clinical and surgical training strengthens during the residency. Our patient population provides a great variety of pedal pathologies for an excellent training experience in an urban, inner-city environment.

Residents begin training on day one with immediate responsibilities, whether in the operating room or the clinic. With the guidance of faculty and residents, they will actively participate in the management and treatment of patients. We believe that a good clinician is one who can successfully correlate clinical findings with didactic knowledge, which can only be accomplished with a hands-on approach.

A majority of the core rotations are completed during the resident's first year of training, but residents are also kept aware of what is happening in the podiatry clinic. We make every attempt for our residents to maintain an active role in surgery during each rotation. Through our commitment to provide a well-rounded training program, residents have the opportunity to follow the same patients through multiple practice settings, including the office, hospital and surgery. Residents assist during the course of treatment and can see firsthand the variation in outcomes.

Here is a sample of the core competencies to be completed during each training year. Please note that dermatology and infectious diseases are ongoing core rotations conducted throughout the course of the entire residency.

Year 1

  • Medical Imaging
  • Pathology
  • Internal Medicine/Endocrinology
  • General Surgery
  • Anesthesiology
  • Wound Care
  • Podiatric Medicine and Surgery

Year 2

  • Behavioral Science
  • Orthopedics
  • Emergency Room
  • Wound Care
  • Practice Management
  • Podiatric Medicine and Surgery

Year 3

  • Orthopedics
  • Wound Care
  • Practice Management
  • Vascular Surgery (elective)
  • Pain Management (elective)
  • Podiatric Medicine and Surgery

Additional Educational Opportunities

In addition to the vast clinical exposure to the countless pathologies present in podiatry, residents are required to view and complete a weekly lecture series (PRESENT courseware). In addition, they attend didactic seminars with visiting medical staff at hospital-wide conferences, as well as journal club and on-going case presentations.