Wonder what it's like to walk in someone else's shoes? I'm Shayna [assumed spelling] and this is YouniversityTV, and today I'm shadowing podiatrist Dr. Gold [assumed spelling]. 

 One of the most common things we see in a podiatry office is what you have here, which is a minor bunion. 

 Hammertoe, flat feet; a podiatrist treats and diagnoses these problems all in a day's work. What is a podiatrist? 

 A podiatrist is a specialist in the lower extremity; basically, the foot and the ankle. 

 Podiatrists use x-rays to help figure out what's wrong with a patient's foot and then surgery is one possible solution. 

 This is a patient after her surgery. What we did, what I was telling you before, is you break the bone and move the bone over. 

 So, you just kind of curved it. Wow! Podiatrists also prescribe medication and corrective orthotics, a possible cure for my bunion problem. Is it going to keep getting bigger? 

 They usually keep getting bigger. One of the things you can help to do to prevent them from increasing is wearing an orthotic, which is an insert that you place into your shoe. 

 What are your hours like? 

 Hours for the podiatrist are mostly normal working hours, approximately 9:00 to 5:00. 

 Here's where you'll clock your hours. 

 Most of the time we are in the office. I mean, that is where our nest egg is, in the office, and that's where we get [inaudible] the patients for the hospitals and for the surgery. 

 Most podiatrists are solo private practitioners, but like Dr. Gold, more and more doctors are forming group practices. 

 The biggest advantage is the expense of starting a practice; when you join in with someone, you don't have to worry about the huge, initial hit on overhead as far as even renting an office, the equipment you need. 

 Translation; you make more money. And keep in mind, the average salary is six figures. 

 I would say the rough average salary, actually, is $150,000 for a podiatrist, and that is the average, so if you're above average you can obviously do a lot better than that. Hello, this is Dr. Gold. 

 Calls like these are part of the reason you'll make the big bucks. Podiatrists are on call nights and weekends and deal with the occasional middle of the night emergency. What's the education path someone would take if they're interested in podiatry? 

 The education someone would take would be undergraduate; they would go to college and get their undergraduate degree in either a bachelor's or science and then they would apply to a podiatry school. 

 Next, it's time to get hands-on experience in a residency program, pass tests, get a license and then, a job. 

 It definitely is a pretty competitive field and there's also always going to be a need for podiatrists. 

 And these are the skills you'll need to be successful; hardworking, personal skills with the patients and hand-eye coordination. Anything else? 

 Those are the main ones. 

 Okay. 

 Those are the main ones there. 

 Pop quiz time; if you're going to be a podiatrist, you should probably know how many bones are in the human foot. Give up? 52. That's a quarter of the bones in your body. 

[ Music ] To take care of my bunion, Dr. Gold is making me some orthotic inserts for my shoes, so it's time for a little toe TLC, but I'll catch you guys next time. 

 [inaudible] this white stuff doesn't come off. 

 It's like paper Mache. 

[ Music ]