Healthcare Practitioners and Technical
Podiatrists
Diagnose and treat diseases and deformities of the human foot.
Also called: Attending Physician, Doctor of Podiatric Medicine (DPM), Doctor of Podiatric Medicine and Surgery (DPM and Surgery), Doctor Podiatric Medicine (DPM), Foot and Ankle Surgeon, Physician
- Median pay in Greater Boston
- $239,990
- $115.38/hr
- Jobs in Greater Boston
- 150
- Massachusetts 2024–2034
- −1.2%
- 0 openings a year
- Typical U.S. entry requirement
- Doctoral or professional degree
- plus Internship/residency
Greater Boston: Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH metro area, May 2025. Growth and openings: Massachusetts statewide projection.
Pay range in Greater Boston
| 10th | 25th | Median | 75th | 90th |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $79,380 | $120,550 | $239,990 | $324,990 | $381,780 |
10% of workers earn less than the first figure and 10% earn more than the last.
What you’d do
- Treat bone, muscle, and joint disorders affecting the feet and ankles.
- Diagnose diseases and deformities of the foot using medical histories, physical examinations, x-rays, and laboratory test results.
- Advise patients about treatments and foot care techniques necessary for prevention of future problems.
- Prescribe medications, corrective devices, physical therapy, or surgery.
- Surgically treat conditions such as corns, calluses, ingrown nails, tumors, shortened tendons, bunions, cysts, or abscesses.
- Refer patients to physicians when symptoms indicative of systemic disorders, such as arthritis or diabetes, are observed in feet and legs.
AI and this job
AI exposure: how much of this job’s work AI tools can do or help with, based on national research. It is not a forecast of job loss.
Moderate exposure56 of 100
The index averages three national research measures, each shown as a percentile of all jobs:
- AIOE 61
- Language-model AIOE 60
- GPTs-are-GPTs 48
Observed AI use today: Little or none (Anthropic Economic Index)
AI exposure for podiatrists is moderate, and observed AI use is little or none so far. AI tools may help with reviewing histories, x-rays, and lab results. Hands-on treatment and foot surgery do not fit AI tools. A bigger change may come from team-based care, where other practitioners take on some foot and ankle care.
Likely to change
- Reviewing x-rays and lab results
- Organizing medical histories for diagnosis
Still relies on people
- Performing foot and ankle surgery
- Advising patients on treatment and foot care
What federal projections say
“Occupational substitution - share decreases as growing adoption of team-based care models allows other healthcare practitioners, such as nurses and orthopedic surgeons, to provide foot and ankle care services.”
Written with AI from the data on this page. Check with a career coach before making a decision.
Training near Boston
College and school programs in the Boston metro area that lead to this job, with 2023-24 completions (IPEDS).
No college programs near Boston map to this job. Many people enter through on-the-job training or apprenticeship.
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Related occupations
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