Hi there
I have been interestingly following the threads from podiatrists and FHP. I agree that perhaps a standing start without any previous knowledge is perhaps not useful but there are good and bad practitioner's in any field. It is like auxiliary nurses working along side Qualified nurses or Community support officers working along side a police officer in my opinion, all areas in a hospital have a non-qualified section to help Qualified staff so why not podiatry?. Perhaps podiatrists should be accepting these practitioners into practice and making use of these FHP. I am a degree qualified nurse and worked in the health service for 23years and am currently studying a FHP course. For me it is like a post grad diploma. I was not able to give the level of care I wanted in the NHS any-more and it has made me ill all I want is to use my skills in a more useful way. I would hope that my experience would definitely allow me to recognise underlying aetiology and allow me to refer on to a Qualified podiatrist when required. I do not think FHP will be going away so perhaps it should be the podiatrist who should be taking the lead on perhaps a registration this might encourage FHP to go on to do the full degree and help with the lack of podiatrists in this country?
Hi
The NHS will not employ them and for good reason, due to most NHS patients being high risk so a scalpel in the wrong hands could cause an amputation. otherwise the NHS does employ its own foot practioners to help podiatrists, they train on the job and do 500 clinical hours.
I dont think you are going to learn much on a FHP course, why dont you do the podiatry degree, it is very chalanging but worth it in the end.
The problem with FHPs as I see it. they just keep on removing corns callus and cutting nails, that is not solving the problem, where a podiatrist will help prevent it in the first place. much cheaper to see a podiatrist in the long run than a FHP for the patient.
Also the other problem is when a patient presents with a problem the FHP canot treat, the patient has to pay twice, if you get a bad FHP they are not regulated like podiatrists so they just carry on causing more problems.
Otherwise as long as FHPs do simple things, there is no problem, but charging the rates of a podiatrist who has spent years at university and passing themselves of as some kind of foot expert, when clearly they are not is wrong and criminal as far as I am concered.
Dear STOMP,
I am always said to hear that nurses are leaving the profession because of circumstances not of their own making.
You pose some intersting questions.
You say
Perhaps podiatrists should be accepting these practitioners into practice and making use of these FHP
The problem with what you suggest is that there is no common standard or regulation under statute for FHPs. The title "FHP" is not protected and can be used by anyone regardless of training levels. A podiatrist cannot ethically refer to anyone who standards of training and scope of practice are unknown or undocumented.
In addition, The Society of Chiropodists and Podiatrists has its own training programme for Foot Care Assistants which has a specific Scope of Practice, so it stands to reason that any SCP Member will recruit from this area.
You go on to say that it should be the
podiatrist who should be taking the lead on perhaps a registration this might encourage FHP to go on to do the full degree and help with the lack of podiatrists in this country
First of all, why do you think there are a shortage of Podiatrists? This is the nonsense promulagated by the private trainers to justify their training unregulated persons.
Secondly, what makes you think that FHPs want to be regulated? If they wanted regulation and all the responsibilities that go with it then surely they would have done the Podiatry degree course?
How would registration of any kind "encourage the FHP to go on to do a Degree Course" There is nothing stopping any FHP embarking on a degree course, and I know of 2 that have done so.
Why should Pods take the lead in this and how would you envisage this happening?
P.