APMA News - November/December 2021 - A2

Experiencing a Different Side of Podiatry
Through the APMA Student Internship
W
By Alisha Joshi
hen I
officially
finalized
that I was going
to take off this
past year from
school, my world
felt like it came
to a standstill. I
went from suddenly doing something
that I love so much that occupied almost
all of my time, to almost doing nothing
at all. When I found out that I was
approved to take this time off, I knew
that I wanted to stay as close to the profession
as possible. While in school, I
was a huge advocate for supporting the
field and served as a student ambassador
at Scholl College of Podiatric Medicine
as well as the podiatry advocate liaison
for the school, to help spread my love for
podiatry to incoming students. I knew
that APMA was an advocate not only for
me as a student but also in my future as
a physician, so that seemed like the best
place to start to look for new involvement
opportunities.
After contacting APMA Associate
Director of Young Physicians and
Students Tiffany Kildale in the Communications
and Marketing department,
we created an internship opportunity
that allowed me to help advocate for the
field and also helped APMA understand
the student perspective, and that allowed
me to assist with student recruitment.
I started as the APMA student intern
in January, and I immediately began
helping with social media posts that
showcased things that students, residents,
and doctors were doing to help
better the field, along with helping to
post about things that prospective students
would find enticing. I was able
to assist in creating multiple webinars
for current and prospective students to
help guide them through their podiatric
journey. I assisted in promoting the
YOUR APMA / PAGE 2
virtual Podiatry Advocacy Day and was
even able to attend this year and talk to
elected officials to let them know my
experiences in podiatric medical school.
I worked with the Educational Foundation
to help promote travel scholarships
for students to attend the APMA 2021
Annual Scientific Meeting (The National)
in Denver. I was also appointed to serve
on the APMA Communications Committee
to help with activities such as the
fall Diabetes Campaign.
My favorite part of this internship
was certainly being able to both attend
and assist at The National. This was
my first time attending The National,
and I can say it was one to remember. I
really enjoyed all the lectures as well as
being able to present my research! It was
great to see both the staff and attendee
perspectives of the conference. I helped
capture social media content from the
entire event including Instagram posts.
I made talking billboards with the Board
of Trustees, and worked to make sure
those who weren't able to attend the
conference in-person could experience
some of the event. It truly was a once-ina-lifetime
experience!
All in all, I can say being the APMA
student intern for the past year was one
of the most rewarding experiences thus
far in my podiatry career. I was able to
see the other side of podiatry advocacy as
well as be a resource for APMA staff.
Thank you to all at APMA who made my
experience here so enjoyable and informative!
I am so very thankful for this
experience and can't wait to see what my
journey in podiatry holds.
Are you interested in helping
coordinate and contribute to
APMA's social media, student
engagement, and student
recruitment campaigns?
We're looking for our next APMA
student intern! Work closely with
the APMA associate director of
young physicians and students
and the rest of the APMA
Communications and Marketing
team by sharing your firsthand
student expertise to help grow
our social media, contribute to
APMA publications, and reach
prospective students. The position
entails roughly 5-10 hours a
week, and APMA will work with
you to accommodate your
schedule. To apply, submit a
letter of interest to Tiffany Kildale
at takildale@apma.org.
APMA News - November/December 2021

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