Advisors:
Last month we sent you the first in our series of “Career Profiles” on doctors of podiatric medicine and now we’re sending you our “second edition.”  We’re doing this so that you can get to know some of our doctors.  We created these career profiles for you to read and learn more about careers in podiatric medicine and the doctors who have chosen this outstanding medical career.  We hope you will enjoy reading these periodically and that we can give you some insight into how and why your students should consider careers in podiatric medicine.  We hope that you will pass these profiles along to your advisees as well, by either including them on your website or by sending them out through your internal list serve.  Thank you and have a great day. 

Betsy

 

Today’s Podiatrist: Lt. Kittra Owens, DPM

Military Doctor

 

Athlete, doctor, and lieutenant: as an officer in the U.S. Navy, Kittra Owens, DPM “has it all.”  Based at the Naval Hospital Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, Dr. Owens never considered being a podiatrist, let alone joining the military, but she has parlayed these two components into a perfect career.

 

 “As a young adult, I was an athlete.  I knew I wanted to be a health care professional, but I didn’t know specifically what I wanted to do.  I knew it would have to be consistent with staying active, being agile, and being healthy,” says Owens. So throughout undergraduate and graduate school at Tuskegee University, Owens considered her options.  After completing her Master’s degree in Biology, Owens was still unsure of the health care profession she wanted to pursue. It wasn’t until one summer when she was teaching a course to high school students in her hometown of Mobile, Alabama, that she discovered podiatric medicine. “My students were given the opportunity to shadow different health professions, and podiatric medicine was one of the areas we rotated through.” After further investigation, Owens decided that podiatric medicine was going to be the best profession to fit her lifestyle.

 

Dr. Owens graduated from the Temple University School of Podiatric Medicine.  Upon completion of a three-year surgical residency at Oakwood Healthcare System in Dearborn, Michigan, she entered the U.S. Navy and is now one of 13 active duty U.S. Navy podiatrists.  As a doctor and an officer, Owens has a dual role – she must treat patients but also uphold the duties of an officer in the Navy. “You have to go to work and see your patients, but you also have a higher expectation to lead by example; to display military decorum and understand what’s best for the service men and women who give their lives so readily to protect our freedom.”

 

For over a year and a half, Dr. Owens has worked in the Department of Orthopedics at the Naval Hospital Camp Lejeune.  She is the foot and ankle podiatrist and the only podiatric surgeon.  She has recently taken over as the Division Officer for the Department of Orthopedics. “This is a big step for podiatric medicine and an honor for me.” Being on a Marine Corps military base, Dr. Owens is responsible for the treatment of over 30,000 service men and women. “My primary focus and responsibility is making sure the active duty service men and women are ready for deployment,” says Owens.  Dr. Owens spends 3½ days in the clinic with the remaining days scheduled for surgery.  “I see roughly 80 patients a week and perform approximately 30 surgical procedures a month.” 

 

For Dr. Owens, all of her hard work has paid off and she is now reaping the rewards of military medicine – it has provided her financial stability, job security, and an opportunity to travel around the world. Dr. Owens reflects on her decision to become a podiatrist and join the U.S. Navy: “I am completely satisfied with all my career choices.”

 

For more information, contact the APMA at [log in to unmask] or call 301-581-9280.  To view our career “music” video, use this link: www.youtube.com/watch?v=aHSbeTJUcCM

 

Betsy M. Herman

Marketing & Career Development Specialist

American Podiatric Medical Association

9312 Old Georgetown Rd.

Bethesda, MD  20814

800-275-2762 ext. 280

301-581-9280 (direct)

301-530-2752 (fax)

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