Alumni Profile: Dr. Joseph Pusateri, TUSPM '11
By: Sarah Brown, KLN '25
Dr. Joseph Pusateri graduated from the Temple University School of Podiatric Medicine (TUSPM) in 2011. Since 2019, Dr. Pusateri has been working as the Managing Physician for the Florida-based podiatry practice Associates in Medicine & Surgery.
While he was set on pursuing a career in medicine from an early age, Dr. Pusateri’s interest in podiatric medicine developed during college. Describing his initial exposure to podiatry while he was an undergraduate, Dr. Pusateri explained that an orthopedist connected him with a podiatrist practicing in the area where he was attending university.
Through shadowing the podiatrist, he was able to learn more about the field itself and the wide variety of opportunities it offers. Ultimately, he chose to pursue a career as a podiatrist himself.
The majority of Dr. Pusateri’s work consists of wound care, particularly limb salvage. Working as a physician in southwestern Florida, he described most of his patients as being older-generation individuals suffering from comorbidities that prevent their wounds from healing naturally.
For Dr. Pusateri, one of the biggest highlights of working in wound care has been the relationships he has built over time with his patients. Because wounds often require frequent appointments, sometimes over a span of months or even years, to treat, Dr. Pusateri has been able to learn more about his patients’ lives over time. In turn, his patients have been able to get to know him better as well.
Discussing his time as a student within TUSPM, Dr. Pusateri emphasized that the clinical work had the biggest impact on preparing him for his career. Describing his preferred hands-on, immersive approach to learning, TUSPM’s bustling downtown clinic provided him with a significant amount of exposure to situations he would eventually face as a full-fledged podiatrist.
To students who are considering attending podiatry school, he highlights the variety of career options available to podiatrists. Additionally, Dr. Pusateri also emphasizes the importance of having a healthy work-life balance, which he says podiatry provides.
“The work-life balance is great,” he stated, citing how podiatry is not as stressful as other medical fields.
To students currently studying podiatric medicine, Dr. Pusateri recommends getting as much hands-on experience during school as possible. He warns that not cultivating a well-rounded skill-set early can lead to consequences when working solo after graduation.
“Particularly with residency, a lot of people just do the surgery. They didn’t see the pre-operation and they didn’t see the post-operation…” Dr. Pusateri explained. “Then, when they come to a real practice where they’re doing all of those things, they don’t have any idea how to handle complications that arise from surgery, or that maybe they shouldn’t have picked this procedure versus another.”
Currently, Dr. Pusateri’s primary goal is to expand his practice. Because the range of care options his practice provides is inaccessible in certain areas of southwestern Florida, opening new locations across the region would help many people receive the treatments they need.
In the long-term, he hopes to eventually retire and enjoy life.