Dueling Surgical Groups

Today's topic is more relevant to podiatrists than it is to patients, although it may affect patients in the future. I recently was chatting with one of my colleagues in the M.D. program at my university, and we were engaging in a little interprofessional trash talk. After I made light of the fact that the American Medical Association has less than 20% of doctors as members, she retorted that we podiatrists have "dueling surgical groups." This refers the rift between the American Podiatric Medical Association (APMA) and the American College of Foot and Ankle Surgeons (ACFAS).

Without going into too much detail, ACFAS was formerly under the umbrella of the APMA, before they decided to assert their independence and secede from the APMA. Not to be outdone, the APMA believed they needed a surgical group under their auspices and created the American Society of Podiatric Surgeons (ASPS). So now, we have two podiatric surgical societies. While I have described this conflict in cavalier terms, it should be noted that there are good arguments on each side, and I am not endorsing one over the other.

Nonetheless, this is a disaster. For decades, the APMA has lobbied on behalf of the profession to give podiatrists the clinical privileges we enjoy today. In return, podiatrists have united behind the APMA. At the same time, ACFAS has been the premier surgical group for decades. No, this will not result in a civil war. However, as the years go by, this divide could result in podiatrists going in different directions. Because podiatrists have been able to unite in the past, we enjoy tremendous recognition as medical professionals. I hope that despite these differences, we continue to be able to rally behind our common cause.