Photo by Madison Kirkman Kris Dinucci

PODIATRIST

Name of medical school:
Scholl College of Podiatric Medicine

Years in practice:
16 wonderful years

Who is your personal health care hero?
Dr. Jonas Salk, who developed the polio vaccine.

“I decided to become a doctor when...”
I shadowed a podiatrist and other medical specialists in high school. I most enjoyed the podiatrist’s office. He was able to significantly improve and commonly resolve the patient’s foot pain within the first visit.

What made you choose podiatry in particular?
The wide variety of patients. I may have a child with a toenail problem, an athlete with an ankle sprain, a hiker with a thorn in their foot. Anything is possible.

“If I weren’t a doctor, I’d be...”
I cannot imagine doing anything else.

“When I’m not working, I like to...”
Travel and spend time with my wife and three children.

Name a personal habit, vice or activity of YOURS that you would advise yourself NOT to do if you were your own doctor.
Not walking barefoot at home. This creates more problems than you would think.

What’s the best thing you ever did for your own health?
Regular exercise, more sleep and more kale salad.

If you could change one thing about the U.S. health care system, what would it be?
Create a nationally competitive health insurance market.

What innovation, invention or new technique would you most like to see in the medical field in the next 10 years?
More emphasis on wellness care and evidence-based disease prevention programs. More focus on healthy living today before the disease has a foothold – pun intended.

What’s the most common misconception about podiatry or podiatrists?
That podiatrists only care for simple foot conditions and we are not “real” doctors. We are extensively educated and trained in the surgical care of fractures, sprains, and complex deformities of the foot and ankle.

What celebrity doc do you most respect and why?
Dr. Gupta. When he was in Iraq and helped operate on a soldier who had traumatic brain injuries, he gained my respect.