Starting off on the right foot

A second-year podiatric medical student received a scholarship by speaking on the importance of trust between patients and their doctors. 

Olivia Mackey, a member of the inaugural class in the UTRGV School of Podiatric Medicine, applied in 2022 with an essay, but it was not until 2023 with the submission of a new video essay that Mackey won the scholarship, Surgeons of Tomorrow.

Mackey’s video essay focused on how patients would have more trust in doctors who have an American Board of Foot and Ankle Surgery credential.

“It will show that not only are you competent surgically, but you go the extra mile to make sure that you’re as knowledgeable as possible for your patients, because you don’t need an ABFAS certification or credentials to practice surgery,” she said. “They do it on their free will. It’s not a requirement.”

The American Board of Foot and Ankle Surgery qualifies every podiatrist in the United States, setting the minimum required standards to practice in the country.

“It is the most important organization to make sure patients are getting adequate care by an appropriately trained physician or podiatrist,” said Javier La Fontaine, a podiatrist and dean of the UTRGV School of Podiatric Medicine.

The board launched the scholarship in 2022. Applicants could enter with a video or essay and the winning student from each category would receive registration coverage and travel costs to the American College Foot and Ankle Surgeons Annual Scientific Conference.

“The winner, in this case, was young doctor Olivia Mackey,” La Fontaine said. “[The ABFAS] covered everything: travel cost, registration, meals, everything. Basically, the student could attend the conference at no cost.”

There were a little over 40 applicants to the scholarship from across the nation, according to the ABFAS website. The conference features “2,000 of the nation’s top foot and ankle surgeons in sessions discussing the latest advances in the profession,” the website states.

La Fontaine said it is “the most prestigious conference in [the] profession.”

“This was the 82nd,” he said. “… It’s been going on for over 80 years and it is usually more than 2,000 podiatrists [at] the conference.”

Mackey, who will graduate in 2026, attended the conference Feb. 1-4 of this year in Tampa, Florida, and said she was able to make connections and network.

“Ironically, I was sitting next to surgeons who own their own practice and they had worked with my professor … and I think that is one of the nice things, that actually the community is big, but it’s also so small and intertwined that everybody knows each other,” she said.

The Rider asked Mackey her thoughts on how being one of the few chosen for the scholarship helped represent UTRGV’s School of Podiatric Medicine. 

“It shows that our students are not just talking about it but also being about it,” she said. “I think a lot of times, students, whether they’re in podiatry or medicine or whatever it is, they just focus on grades. I think entering competitions like this or making yourself available to go to conferences … is important because it shows your willingness to go the extra mile to further yourself in your career.”

Mackey said the opportunity to attend the conference was “truly a blessing.”