Nelson achieved this recognition in part for his 22 years of professional service in the practice and direct delivery of podiatric care. His patients include those at Barry’s four University Foot and Ankle Institutes in which he serves as clinical dean as well as in the five affiliated teaching hospitals in Miami-Dade County where he directs the clinical training of podiatric medical students.

 

Under Nelson’s supervision, more than 350,000 indigent and medically underserved individuals in Miami-Dade County have received podiatric care from Barry’s clinical faculty and students. Each year this represents more than $1 million in charitable care delivered by Barry University Foot and Ankle Institutes to the county’s disadvantaged citizens.

 

In 1988, Nelson began his academic career at Barry serving as the associate dean of clinics. Nelson has trained more than 1,100 junior and senior podiatric medical students who are now practicing podiatric physicians. From 1988-2007 Nelson also served as the associate project director of Barry’s Podiatric Primary Care Residency Training Program. In this capacity he trained more than 150 podiatric primary care residents who were largely from minority and disadvantaged backgrounds in medically underserved communities in Miami-Dade. Thanks to Nelson, the school received more than $2.5 million in grant support from the United States Department of Health and Human Services Office of Health Resources and Services Administration.

 

Nelson was appointed as interim dean of the school in February 2009 and served in this position until August 2010. In 2010 under Nelson’s guidance, the school was granted continued accreditation until 2016 from the Council on Podiatric Medical Education.

 

In addition, Nelson teaches for Barry’s School of Podiatric Medicine’s Clinical Pharmacology, Operating Room Protocol Lab, and Orthotics Lab.