Podiatrist to podiatry assistant
A podiatrist already meets 44% of what the podiatry assistant role asks for. The move turns on 15 required skills not yet in the profile.
66.2/ 100
1 How much of what a podiatry assistant is expected to do is already part of a podiatrist’s work. Directional: the figure for the reverse move differs, because moving into a speciality is not the same problem as moving out of one. 2 Every skill the podiatry assistant role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
A podiatry assistant role treats 14 of its required skills as things a podiatrist already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- chiropody
- comply with quality standards related to healthcare practice
- dermatology
- develop a collaborative therapeutic relationship
- ensure safety of healthcare users
- follow clinical guidelines
What stands in the way is 15 required skills the profile does not yet cover. Table 3 groups them; Table 4 says which to take first.
Table 2 · What you already bring
Of the 23 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. A podiatry assistant role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of a podiatrist background worth leading with.
- already held podiatric surgery health and welfare
- already held conduct podiatry consultation information skills
- already held chiropody health and welfare
- already held foot problems health and welfare
- already held orthopaedic treatment alternatives health and welfare
- already held promote foot health communication, collaboration and creativity
All 23 carried skills, including the 14 the podiatry assistant role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 34 missing skills fall into 8 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, numbered in the order worth working in. Areas carrying the most required skills come first, and inside each one the required skills sit above the optional ones. Nothing here is a verdict on you: it is a list of what this particular job asks for that your current one does not.
- still to learn podiatric diseases required
- still to learn clinical coding required
- still to learn orthopaedics required
- still to learn types of orthopedic supplies required
- optional, not held surgical asepsis optional
- optional, not held medical terminology optional
- still to learn advise on healthcare users' informed consent required
- still to learn communicate in healthcare required
- still to learn provide medication information required
- optional, not held place orders for orthopedic products optional
- optional, not held recommend orthopedic goods to customers depending on their condition optional
- optional, not held work in multidisciplinary health teams optional
- optional, not held discuss the medical history of the healthcare user optional
- optional, not held provide health education optional
- still to learn collect healthcare user data under supervision required
- still to learn perform clinical coding procedures required
- still to learn record treated patient's information required
- optional, not held analyse X-ray imagery optional
- optional, not held monitor basic patients signs optional
- optional, not held monitor stock level optional
- optional, not held obtain healthcare user's medical status information optional
- still to learn treat patients' nails required
- still to learn shape nails required
- optional, not held apply foot casts optional
- optional, not held apply wound dressings optional
- optional, not held carry out wound care optional
- optional, not held treat nails optional
- still to learn administrative tasks in a medical environment required
- still to learn health records management required
- still to learn respond to changing situations in health care required
- optional, not held contribute to quality physiotherapy services optional
- optional, not held administer appointments optional
2 further areas in the appendix
Table 4 · Where to start
The 3 entries a podiatry assistant role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.
- 01 podiatric diseases study this
- 02 treat patients' nails practise this
- 03 administrative tasks in a medical environment study this
Each entry opens a course search for that skill. Career Overlap earns nothing from these links.
Appendix · The rest of the record
All 23 skills that carry over
- already held chiropody knowledge
- already held comply with quality standards related to healthcare practice skill
- already held dermatology knowledge
- already held develop a collaborative therapeutic relationship skill
- already held ensure safety of healthcare users skill
- already held follow clinical guidelines skill
- already held foot problems knowledge
- already held maintain medical devices skill
- already held orthopaedic conditions knowledge
- already held orthopaedic treatment alternatives knowledge
- already held podiatric surgery knowledge
- already held promote foot health skill
- already held provide footwear advice to patients skill
- already held recommend orthotic devices skill
- already held conduct podiatry consultation skill
- already held health care system knowledge
- already held human anatomy knowledge
- already held kinetics knowledge
- already held pharmacology knowledge
- already held process medical insurance claims skill
- already held sterilization techniques knowledge
- already held use foreign languages in patient care skill
- already held work in a multicultural environment in health care skill
The 2 learning areas not shown above
- optional, not held send samples to laboratory optional
- optional, not held microbiology-bacteriology optional
19 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held apply foot casts optional
- optional, not held apply wound dressings optional
- optional, not held analyse X-ray imagery optional
- optional, not held carry out wound care optional
- optional, not held contribute to quality physiotherapy services optional
- optional, not held microbiology-bacteriology optional
- optional, not held monitor basic patients signs optional
- optional, not held monitor stock level optional
- optional, not held obtain healthcare user's medical status information optional
- optional, not held place orders for orthopedic products optional
- optional, not held recommend orthopedic goods to customers depending on their condition optional
- optional, not held surgical asepsis optional
- optional, not held treat nails optional
- optional, not held work in multidisciplinary health teams optional
- optional, not held administer appointments optional
- optional, not held discuss the medical history of the healthcare user optional
- optional, not held medical terminology optional
- optional, not held provide health education optional
- optional, not held send samples to laboratory optional
20 held skills the podiatry assistant role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role accept own accountability skill
- not needed by the target role anaesthetics knowledge
- not needed by the target role apply context specific clinical competences skill
- not needed by the target role apply massage therapy skill
- not needed by the target role behavioural therapy knowledge
- not needed by the target role biomechanics knowledge
- not needed by the target role comply with legislation related to health care skill
- not needed by the target role develop foot orthoses skill
- not needed by the target role histology knowledge
- not needed by the target role human physiology knowledge
- not needed by the target role hydrotherapy knowledge
- not needed by the target role immunology knowledge
- not needed by the target role interact with healthcare users skill
- not needed by the target role manage healthcare users' data skill
- not needed by the target role orthotics knowledge
- not needed by the target role paediatrics knowledge
- not needed by the target role record healthcare users' billing information skill
- not needed by the target role refer healthcare users skill
- not needed by the target role rheumatology knowledge
- not needed by the target role sport and exercise medicine knowledge
9 gaps that are knowledge rather than practice
Knowledge gaps usually close through study. Practical skill gaps usually need something you can point at.
- still to learn podiatric diseases required
- still to learn administrative tasks in a medical environment required
- still to learn clinical coding required
- still to learn health records management required
- still to learn orthopaedics required
- still to learn types of orthopedic supplies required
- optional, not held microbiology-bacteriology optional
- optional, not held surgical asepsis optional
- optional, not held medical terminology optional
Common questions about this move
Can a podiatrist become a podiatry assistant?
Yes, and it is a substantial move. A podiatrist already covers 44% of what a podiatry assistant is expected to do: 23 skills carry over, 14 of which the podiatry assistant role treats as required.
What skills does a podiatrist need to become a podiatry assistant?
15 required skills are missing, plus 19 optional ones. They fall into 8 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by health and welfare. The single most important is podiatric diseases.
How hard is the move from podiatrist to podiatry assistant?
Its learning distance is 66.2 out of 100, which is the substantial band. That accounts for both how much is missing and how specialised those skills are.
How this record was compiled
Both occupations are taken from ESCO, which lists the skills and knowledge each occupation is expected to have and marks every one required or optional. Nothing here is a prediction about hiring, and nothing here knows that a particular employer wants a particular certificate. Treat Table 3 as a starting point for your own research rather than a syllabus. The full method states what these figures can and cannot tell you.