California School of Podiatric Medicine at Samuel Merritt University is a podiatric medical school based in Oakland, California. It is one of nine podiatric medical schools in the United States. The college is accredited by the American Podiatric Medical Association's Council on Podiatric Medical Education (CPME).HistoryThe school was founded in 1914 as the California School of Chiropody and was located in San Francisco. In 1969, the name was changed to the California College of Podiatric Medicine. In 2002, the college underwent a merger with Samuel Merritt University in Oakland and the school was renamed to be the California School of Podiatric Medicine (CSPM).Until 2009, when Western University opened its College of Podiatric Medicine in Pomona, CSPM was the only podiatric medical school in the western United States. For this reason, most podiatric physicians in that part of the country attended CSPM.AcademicsThe educational program leading to the Doctor of Podiatric Medicine degree consists of a comprehensive curriculum in the basic medical and clinical sciences. The didactic course work is completed during the first three years of the program. Clinical rotations begin at the start of the second academic year in May. During the summer months, second year students begin to participate in clinical rotations, which cover mechanical orthopedics/biomechanics, radiology, general and primary podiatric medicine. The majority of the third year and the entire fourth year are devoted to clinical rotations at inpatient and outpatient facilities, outside externships at affiliated Bay Area medical centers and throughout the United States, and community practice clerkships. In addition to podiatric medicine and surgery, students are exposed to internal medicine, vascular surgery, general surgery, orthopedics surgery, rheumatology, anesthesia, dermatology, trauma, infectious disease, and other medical fields.
