Diversifying podiatry placements: The future of podiatry education

Podiatry is an allied health profession focusing on the assessment, diagnosis, treatment and prevention of foot, ankle and lower limb conditions. In the United Kingdom context, the recent National Health Service's (NHS) Long Term Workforce Plan has highlighted an ongoing shortfall in the podiatry workforce and the need for increased recruitment to podiatry training [1]. Current available routes to podiatry education in the UK include BSc (Hons) Podiatry, BSc Podiatry Apprenticeship and MSc Podiatry (Pre-Registration). The curriculum typically covers theoretical knowledge and practical skills relevant to lower limb conditions as per the Health and Care Professions Council's Standards of Proficiency for Chiropodists and Podiatrists [2] and the Royal College of Podiatry's (RCPod) Core Curriculum. In addition, learners are normally required to complete at least 1000 placement hours as part of their degree study. Practice placements are a crucial component of podiatry education. During placements, learners are able to apply their theoretical knowledge to real-world scenarios with exposure to a range of patient cases. Traditionally, these placements have been concentrated in podiatry clinics and hospitals in the NHS. Due to the ongoing podiatry workforce shortage in the UK [3], there has been an impact on “traditional” clinical placements where fewer placements have been available for podiatry learners. This issue poses a challenge to the sustainability of podiatry education and training pipeline.