Jarrod Shapiro, DPM
Practice Perfect Editor
Assistant Professor,
Dept. of Podiatric Medicine,
Surgery & Biomechanics
College of Podiatric Medicine
Western University of
Health Sciences,
St. Pomona, CA

Happy New Year 2013

Luckily for us the world didn’t end on December 21st. Whew! That was a close one!

Now that we can move on with our lives (as if we were really waiting for the end), we can look forward to the year 2013. Break out the champagne!

For the last few years at the end of each year I’ve found myself looking back on the prior 365 ¼ days thinking about the highlights, and not spending a lot of time deliberately looking forward to the upcoming year. Not "looking forward" in the optimist sense of the word but rather planning what my upcoming year would be.

Some of you might be thinking the ability to look forward and actually plan what is going to happen is wishful thinking, and there’s really no way to control what will occur, good or bad. Granted, I could end up winning the lottery (yeah, right) or getting killed (uh, bad idea), but for the rest I think one can reasonably plan out the major events/goals.

The Year 2012

I’m going to first take a very quick moment to look back on the year 2012. This has been a good one for me, albeit a bit more quiet than was 2011. I continued to mature in my position as an assistant professor at Western University College of Podiatric Medicine, my podiatric practice at the University has slowly expanded, and my children have grown that much more. It was a productive year with no giant ups or downs, no major milestones …except one: I turned forty. I’m ambivalent about that one – more on that in the future!

Time for an Adjustment

This coming year of 2013 is going to be more exciting for me overall. This year I’m going to sit down and consciously plan the major events and goals.

Probably the most significant plan for me is board certification. I am about to submit my cases for ABPS and plan to take the certification examination in June 2013. I’ve been in practice for some time now and due to a combination of events (multiple moves, bad planning, family changes, and procrastination) I am just now certifying. I’m hoping my experiences with the board exam will provide fodder for several upcoming Practice Perfects.

I also plan to continue building my clinical practice and teaching career. My major goal at work is to become an associate professor (one step under full tenured professor).

On a personal standpoint my wife and I are working on a European vacation at some point this year. With a now 14 month-old baby to add to our family, a growing 7 year-old, and a new house, we have been so busy with everything that we’ve had little time to take for each other. It’s time for a nice vacation! .

I consider this upcoming 2013 year to be one of adjustments. I like the life I’m living and just need to "tweak" things. I’m looking very forward to the tweaking!

What has your 2012 year been like? Did you have any major milestones or incredible events? Do you have big plans for 2013? Write in and let us know.

I wish you and your families a healthy, happy, profitable, and most joyous New Year.