Specialty: Orthopaedic Surgery

Orthopaedic (or Orthopedic) surgery is the branch of surgery concerned with conditions involving the musculoskeletal system. The most common cases you would probably know associated with what orthopaedic surgeons perform are knee and shoulder arthroscopy, carpel tunnel release, or knee replacements. But the type of surgeries you are likely to perform is dependent on the subspecialty field you go into. Orthopedic surgeons use both surgical and nonsurgical means to treat musculoskeletal trauma, sports injuries, degenerative diseases, infections, tumors, and congenital disorders.

Nature of Work:
An orthopaedic surgeon is educated in the preservation, investigation, and restoration of the form and function of the extremities, spine, and associated structures by medical, surgical and physical means. This specialist is involved with the care of patients whose musculoskeletal problems include congenital deformities, trauma, infections, tumors, metabolic disturbances of the musculoskeletal system, deformities, injuries and degenerative diseases of the spine, hands, feet, knee, hip, shoulder, and elbow in children and adults. An orthopaedic surgeon is also concerned with primary and secondary muscular problems and the effects of the central or peripheral nervous system lesions of the musculoskeletal system.

Subspecialties:
Orthopaedic surgeons can receive training in the following subspecialties (variable for each program):

• Foot and Ankle Orthopaedics
• Hand Surgery & Upper Extremity
• Joint Preservation
• Orthopaedic Sports Medicine
• Orthopaedic Surgery of the Spine
• Orthopaedic Trauma
• Pediatric Orthopaedics

Competitiveness: High

Training and Residency:
Residency in orthopaedic surgery consists of one year of general surgery training followed by four years of orthopaedic surgery training. Following that is a one year subspecialty fellowship. (So in total, including fellowship, is 6 years)

Salary:
The annual salary for orthopaedic surgeons ranges from $397,879 to $600,000.

Orthopaedic surgery is one of the most competitive residency programs. It is right up there with Plastic Surgery and Neurosurgery (In 2011, 79% of U.S. medical school seniors got matched). The competitiveness probably is due to the large salary you'll be realistically earning as an orthopaedic surgeon. In residency, expect to be working somewhere around 80 hours a week (varies on the program), which is typical of surgery specialties. Here is a comment I found by someone who is in an orthopaedic residency program:

"Residency isn't going to be easy no matter where you go, but some are worse than others...Hours are very variable depending on the program, but you should be prepared to work 80 hours or more a week. There are some that will work more and some that will work less (on average) so its a pretty tough question. Trauma has a pretty big impact on hours worked, so heavy trauma programs will keep you busy, and light trauma programs may be more relaxed. I would say that in GENERAL, hours per week goes like this: Neurosurgery > General Surgery = Orthopaedics Surgery > Plastic Surgery > ENT > Urology = Ophthalmology. I'm sure this varies from program to program, but this is just how I perceive the hours worked per specialty. At some places orthopaedics may be the most busy, some places not."

This number will probably drop down to 55-60 hours a week once you're done with your residency and/or fellowship. Here is a comment I found on a orthopaedic surgeon who subspecialized in hand surgery and who outpatients:

"I recently shadowed an orthopaedic surgeon attending (who sub-specialized in hand surgery) and was surprised at his pretty sweet lifestyle: he worked from 8-5 Mon-Fri and took call every six weeks (for one complete week). To shed a little more light on the situation, he worked in a private practice of about 10 orthopaedic doctors and had been part of the practice for about 5 years (so he wasn't terribly high on the seniority ladder). Having said that, I'm sure lifestyles are variable depending on where you're at; however, I just wanted to share the example."

Personally, I find this field attractive because of its intimate nature working with the meat and flesh of the body and the structural integrity of a human being. Orthopaedic surgery is definitely worth looking into if you're someone who likes working with your hands and is not afraid to get a little messy.

For more information visit:

• AAMC Specialty Information: Orthopaedic Surgery
• American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons
• American Board of Orthopaedic Surgery
• American Orthopaedic Association
• American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine
• WUSM Residency Web: Orthopaedic Surgery