A physician for the foot and ankle
A podiatrist, or DPM, is a physician who completes four years of medical education at a college of podiatric medicine, then a three-year, hospital-based surgical residency focused on the foot and ankle. A DPM is licensed to diagnose and treat conditions of the foot, ankle, and related structures of the leg, including surgery.
Dr. Stephanie Tine earned her Doctorate in Podiatric Medicine from Samuel Merritt University California School of Podiatric Medicine. She then completed her three-year foot and ankle surgical residency at Adventist Health White Memorial in Los Angeles, where she served as Chief Resident, the role given to the senior resident who leads the surgical team through its most complex cases.
That residency is where her two areas of focus, reconstructive surgery and sports injury, took shape. The reconstructive surgery, minimally invasive bunion and hammertoe surgery, shockwave therapy, and injections for foot, ankle, and joint pain that Dr. Tine performs today at Flamingo Foot & Ankle in Fort Lauderdale are built on that same residency training. For an active patient nursing a foot or ankle injury from sport, or a patient weighing reconstructive surgery, the physician across from them trained specifically for that work, not generally for it.
Flamingo Foot & Ankle is accepting new patients.
This page is educational and does not replace a medical evaluation. Talk with Dr. Tine's office about your specific foot or ankle concern.
How a DPM is trained
A DPM, Doctor of Podiatric Medicine, is a physician licensed to diagnose and treat conditions of the foot, ankle, and related structures of the lower leg, including surgical treatment when it's needed. The letters follow four years of podiatric medical school and a three-year hospital-based surgical residency, the same structure of training that prepares physicians in every surgical specialty: classroom and clinical medicine first, then years of supervised surgical practice inside a hospital system before independent practice begins. Dr. Stephanie Tine earned her Doctorate in Podiatric Medicine at Samuel Merritt University California School of Podiatric Medicine, then completed a three-year foot and ankle surgical residency at Adventist Health White Memorial in Los Angeles, where she served as Chief Resident. That residency is where surgical training in reconstructive foot and ankle procedures is built: operating room time, trauma call, and graduated responsibility for increasingly complex cases under supervision. Her practice at Flamingo Foot & Ankle in Fort Lauderdale centers on the foot and ankle as a connected system, on reconstructive surgery, and on sports-related injury, the three areas her training prepared her for directly. In practical terms, that training is what lets her offer reconstructive surgery for structural foot and ankle problems, minimally invasive correction of bunions and hammertoes, shockwave therapy, and injections for foot, ankle, and joint pain, matching the treatment to how much correction a given problem actually needs, from the least invasive option up to surgical reconstruction. A podiatrist's training is a distinct pathway from an orthopedic surgeon's, not a lesser or greater one, and this page describes what that pathway involves rather than comparing it to any other. If you're deciding whether a foot or ankle problem calls for an evaluation, that's a separate question this page doesn't answer, but Flamingo Foot & Ankle is accepting new patients for one. This page is for general education and isn't a substitute for an evaluation by a physician. It doesn't diagnose any condition or replace a medical visit.
Dr. Tine's training
Residency: Adventist Health White Memorial, Los Angeles (Three-year foot and ankle surgical residency, Chief Resident).
Medical school: Samuel Merritt University California School of Podiatric Medicine (Doctorate in Podiatric Medicine).
Board status: Board-certified podiatrist (Board certified).
Is a podiatrist a real doctor?
Yes. A podiatrist, or DPM, is a licensed physician trained specifically in the foot, ankle, and related structures of the lower leg.
Dr. Stephanie Tine earned her Doctorate in Podiatric Medicine at Samuel Merritt University California School of Podiatric Medicine, then completed a three-year, hospital-based surgical residency focused on the foot and ankle.
What kind of training does a DPM complete?
Four years of podiatric medical school followed by a three-year surgical residency, the same two-stage structure most physicians complete, built around the foot and ankle rather than the whole body.
Dr. Tine trained at Adventist Health White Memorial in Los Angeles, where she served as Chief Resident of the foot and ankle surgical residency program.
Is a DPM the same degree as an MD?
No, they are separate degrees earned through separate medical school tracks.
An MD or DO completes a broad-body medical curriculum, while a DPM completes podiatric medical school concentrated on the foot, ankle, and leg, followed by residency training in that same area. Neither pathway is described here as better than the other; the training is simply organized differently.
Can a podiatrist perform surgery?
Yes. DPMs are licensed to perform surgery on the foot and ankle, with that training built into the three-year residency.
Dr. Tine's practice at Flamingo Foot & Ankle includes reconstructive surgery, minimally invasive bunion surgery, minimally invasive hammertoe surgery, shockwave therapy, and injections for foot, ankle, and joint pain.
What does Dr. Tine treat at Flamingo Foot & Ankle?
Foot and ankle problems, with her residency and surgical training centered specifically on reconstructive surgery and sports injury.
That same focus carries into the care she provides at the practice in Fort Lauderdale.
Is Dr. Tine accepting new patients?
Yes. Flamingo Foot & Ankle in Fort Lauderdale is accepting new patients for foot and ankle care, including reconstructive surgery and sports injury evaluation with Dr. Tine.
This page is educational and does not replace an in-person evaluation. Talk with Dr. Tine about your specific foot or ankle concern before making treatment decisions.
Foot and ankle surgeon. Fort Lauderdale, FL.
About Dr. Tine →