For Dr. Brandon J. Hawkins, DPM, AACSM, AAPWCA, choosing a specialty was a cinch.

“I played high school football,” he explained. “One day I was injured. I assumed my dreams of a scholarship or playing college football were over.”

However, his parents took him to a renowned podiatrist who was able to get him back in good health so he could continue to play. “The rest of history,” Dr. Hawkins said. “I love the idea of helping people. I can see the smiles on people’s faces when they can get back to their daily life without pain.”

Dr. Hawkins completed his BS in Biological Chemistry at the University of Utah in 1997 and went on to receive a BS in Biomedical Sciences from Dr. William M. Scholl College of Podiatric Medicine at Rosalind Franklin University in 1998, where he would also receive his Doctor of Podiatric Medicine degree in 2001.

He has kept busy with not only residencies (Dr. Hawkins was the Chief of Podiatry at Kern Medical Center from 2005 to 2008) but also appointments as a podiatric team physician for various college sports programs. Between 2005 and 2008, Dr. Hawkins was the team physician/surgeon for the Bakersfield Blitz. Since then, he has been with Stockdale Podiatry Group. “We are unique in that we are on staff at all the hospitals and all the wound centers throughout Kern County. As a group we offer comprehensive podiatric care including in-house testing. Additionally, we have four well-trained foot and ankle surgeons that love what they do.”

It’s the complex nature of the foot that keeps Dr. Hawkins interested in this field of medicine. “Most people don’t see that the foot is twenty-seven independent bones that work as one unit. I deal in all aspects of podiatry from pediatric surgery to complex foot and ankle reconstruction and trauma surgery. Every day is a new challenge and a new opportunity to help someone.”

originally published by Bakersfield Magazine on December 4th, 2011.