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Gender variations and relative durability associated with the Doctor of Podiatric Medicine (DPM) degree
Jeneen Elagha1, Moraith G North2, Andrew J Meyr3
1Temple University Hospital Podiatric Surgical Residency Program, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Background:
Women have historically been and continue to be underrepresented in the profession of medicine, particularly within surgical subspecialties. And as gender gap concerns intersect with national workforce shortage projections, it is in the interest of both the medical profession and patients to recognize and remedy gender-related factors contributing to female surgeon attrition.
Purpose:
The objective of this investigation was to further describe the podiatric specialty with a specific analysis of gender differences and the relative durability of the Doctor of Podiatric Medicine (DPM) degree.
Study Design:
Epidemiologic descriptive analysis.
Methods:
The National Downloadable File produced by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) provides demographic information of all physicians with an active National Provider Identifier (NPI) number. The file last updated on 7/8/2025 was downloaded, and data related to those physicians with a credential of "DPM" was extracted and analyzed for medical school graduation year and gender. We further examined podiatric medical school matriculant data available through the American Association of Colleges of Podiatric Medicine (AACPM).
Results:
A shrinking gender gap was observed from 1990 to 2025 with the number of female graduates from podiatric medical schools surpassing the number of male matriculants in 2024. With that said, more male podiatric physicians with an active NPI were observed than female podiatric physicians from each graduation year 1990 to 2021. A majority (>50%) of all graduates of podiatric medical school over the 35-year period since 1990 possess an active NPI indicating current active practice. A large majority (∼80%) of graduates since 2006 possess an active NPI indicating current active practice.
Discussion:
The results of this investigation provide objective information of the shrinking gender gap in the podiatric specialty, as well as the relative durability of the DPM degree being associated with sustained clinical practice for both men and women.
