News Release of Historic CPMA, CMA and COA Agreement

Tuesday, June 07, 2011                                                           916-551-2069  

CALIFORNIA’S PHYSICIANS, ORTHOPAEDIC SURGEONS

AND PODIATRISTS REACH

HISTORIC AGREEMENT ON NEW TASK FORCE

Joint effort will review Podiatric Training to determine if there are ways to transition Podiatric Schools so Graduates could become Licensed Physicians and Surgeons

SACRAMENTO, June 7, 2011 – Today, the California Medical Association (CMA), California Orthopaedic Association (COA), and the California Podiatric Medical Association (CPMA) announced a historic task force between the three organizations to begin the process of reviewing the education, curriculum and training of California’s podiatric medical schools with the ultimate goal of achieving accreditation as full-fledged allopathic medical schools and enabling their graduates to become licensed physicians and surgeons.

It is the first agreement of its kind anywhere in the nation.

Joint Statement of CMA Chief Executive Officer Dustin Corcoran,

CPMA Executive Director Jon A. Hultman & COA Executive Director Diane Przepiorski

 “The California Medical Association (CMA), the California Orthopaedic Association (COA), and the California Podiatric Medical Association (CPMA) have together agreed to launch a joint task force to evaluate the education and training of future graduates of California podiatric schools – with the goal of preparing these students to have the education, training, and certification to allow them to be licensed as physicians and surgeons in California.  The agreement includes an understanding that the California podiatric schools would be expected to be accredited by the Liaison Committee on Medical Education (LCME).

‘We’re excited to be a part of this unprecedented partnership,’ CMA Chief Executive Officer Dustin Corcoran said.  ‘The licensure requirements of podiatrists have increased in California in recent years, and the time has come to evaluate their training programs in this context.  The California Medical Association is looking forward to working with the COA and the CPMA to fully evaluate the education and training of podiatrists to identify and remove any remaining deficiencies so that future podiatric medical graduates would simply be medical school graduates.’

‘This Joint Task Force is the first effort nationwide to perform a critical review of the current podiatric medical school standards and curriculum with the goal of creating podiatric training programs that are equivalent to that of a medical school for physicians and surgeons,’ said COA Executive Director Diane Przepiorski. ‘If we can accomplish this goal, podiatrists will receive the education, training, and certification which will allow them to be licensed as a physician and surgeon in California.  We are pleased to be part of this historic and collaborative effort.’

‘The California Medical Association, the California Orthopaedic Association, and the California Podiatric Medical Association have been working collaboratively on healthcare issues focused on the attainment of the highest quality patient care in California,’ said CPMA Executive Director Jon Hultman.  ‘Throughout this process, CPMA has made the strong case that the education and training of doctors of podiatric medicine have evolved and become increasingly similar to that of medical doctors.  Based on this awareness, our respective organizations have agreed to form a joint task force for the purpose of evaluating the training, education, and certification of podiatric students with the goal of preparing them to be licensed as physicians and surgeons in California.’

‘I am proud to be working with the CMA and COA in achieving this important goal, especially given that our organizations have put aside political differences in order to work together in achieving two common goals of healthcare reform in California: quality patient care and wider access to that care,’ Hultman concluded.”

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California Medical Association

Phone: 916-551-2069

California Podiatric Medical Association

Jon A. Hultman, DPM, MBA, Executive Director

Phone: 800- 794-8988

California Orthopaedic Association

Phone:  916-454-9884