Hands down the best specialty. I'll try to answer whatever question you have, unless it's a stupid question.
Sorry if it takes a while to respond
Sorry if it takes a while to respond
Great questions. I definitely was attracted to the outcomes in Ortho. There is a huge variety of procedures and most of them are very good at alleviating pain and restoring function. That being said we do our share of life saving when it comes to tumor surgery.Many of the ortho attendings/residents that I've talked with have said that they love ortho because of the instant gratification in procedures-- the patient can be "fixed" in many cases. Was this also your motivation for going into the field?
What has been your favorite procedure so far? Are you afraid of becoming bored with the redundancy of procedures that you will do in your career?
I took a grad level course in orthopaedics where once a week we had a live feed in to surgeries and could talk with the surgeon while he was performing. Easily my favorite class during undergrad and it definitely got me interested in the field.
Do you weight train? Do you play any sports? How much money will you make?
How important is research for an Ortho residency? When should you start research? How are Osteopathic applicants perceived for ACGME residencies?
By any chance do you know if military orthopedic residencies differ from civilian ortho residencies?Hands down the best specialty. I'll try to answer whatever question you have, unless it's a stupid question.
Sorry if it takes a while to respond
Hands down the best specialty.
This will be very program specific. At my program we take care of the basics and get medicine consults for anything more. This works great because while we certainly could manage more than we do, reality is that we are in the OR all day most of the time and our med consult service has more timeDo you do any sort of medical management of your surgical patients or is everything turfed to the medicine guys? Do the ortho trauma guys manage the medical aspects of the trauma like the gen surg guys?
Guess your school forgot to tell you about Derm. Shame.
Kidding. Sort of. Glad you're having fun.
Yes, but not nearly as much as the gens surg folks. This is program dependent. Where I am we take care of the simple stuff and consult med for the rest. This gives me less floor work and more time in the OR, which is great. I am not in residency to become board certified IM. I just need to know postoperative and of SICU care. Med consults are my friend.Do you do any sort of medical management of your surgical patients or is everything turfed to the medicine guys? Do the ortho trauma guys manage the medical aspects of the trauma like the gen surg guys?
What do you think is the biggest determinant in landing an othro residency? Any general advice for someone interested in the field?
Thanks a lot!
how extensive was your research and how much influence do you think it played into being selected at your residency program?
1. I scored above the 95th percentile on an IQ test in geometry and had a hobby of building things: skateboard ramps, tree houses, toy bridges that won competitions for carrying lots of weight, etc. Does any of this suggest that I would make a good orthopedic surgeon?
2. How's the job market?
As a future physician, I'm very interested in the field, so forgive me for asking many questions.
Does the profession take toll on your body as you get older (ie. lifting patient's limbs)?
Does the job require natural good eye-hand coordination, or are these skills acquired through residency?
How long on average do Ortho surgeons practice?
Do you miss diagnosing patients?
Could you describe a day-in-life of an ortho resident/attending?
Lastly, where do you see the profession in the next few decades (aging population, technology, ACA, etc...)?
Thank you very much!
In response to your other questions...As a future physician, I'm very interested in the field, so forgive me for asking many questions.
Does the profession take toll on your body as you get older (ie. lifting patient's limbs)?
Does the job require natural good eye-hand coordination, or are these skills acquired through residency?
How long on average do Ortho surgeons practice?
Do you miss diagnosing patients?
Could you describe a day-in-life of an ortho resident/attending?
Lastly, where do you see the profession in the next few decades (aging population, technology, ACA, etc...)?
Thank you very much!
Is there a bias in favor of former jocks? (Be honest).
In response to your other questions...
Surgery in general takins it's toll on your body, but many surgeons alter their practice when they get older. The do more clinic and more consulting, or they do shorter/ less invasive procedures and take less call in order to make life more manageable .
Day in the life:
Yesterday I woke up at 4:10, I was on the wards seeing inpatients by 5:00. I wrote around 15 progress notes, then rounded with our fellow at 6:15. We had conference at 7-8 (and had some coffee). Made incision on our first case at 8:30, got out of the OR at 6pm after our last case (my service had 2 rooms and we did 6 cases: two primary TKAs, a revision hip, a periacetabular osteotomy, a primary hip, and a unicompartmental knee arthroplasty. Did postoperative rounds and orders, home at 7. This is an average day if you are not on call. Of course some days are shorter, some longer.
I've been interested in ortho since high school. (Starting med school next year, so things might change obviously.) I knew that ortho was a male-dominated field, but I recently discovered that only four percent of orthopedic surgeons are female. Are women discouraged from pursuing ortho, do ortho residents purposefully make them uncomfortable, or what? Why is that number so low? And will this be problematic for me?
Not sure where you got that number but it's probably close to accurate, unfortunately. The good news is this is trending upward. Women are on the rise in Ortho and other traditionally male-dominated specialties. This is both a good thing for the for the field and a great opportunity for you. There are probably four or five programs left out of the 100+ orthorhombic residencies that still have the "good ol boys" mentality and are not receptive to women. However the vast majority of programs are very welcoming and are even actively recruiting qualified women to the field. I personally have not seen anything in med school or residency that discourages woke from the field, but once oust something does. Not sure what it is to tell you the truth
I hope you don't let that discourage you.Thank you!
I got the number here btw: https://www.aamc.org/download/313228/data/2012physicianspecialtydatabook.pdf
When you were going through the match process, did you apply to only ortho programs? If not, what was your second choice?
How would I know if I have good or bad manual dexterity? I am good at some things, bad at others. Is there anything that can help someone figure this out at least to some degree?
How important is med school reputation when it comes to matching? i.e., does a Harvard student with a 240-250 step have an advantage over a Drexel student with a 260+ step?
How important is med school reputation when it comes to matching? Does a Harvard student with a 240-250 step have an advantage over a Drexel student with a 260+ step?
Also, the difference between a 250 and 260 is not big. The difference between 230 and 240 is much bigger. I myself had a below average Ortho USMLE, I came from a mid tier state school, and was able to match at a big name place so there is much more to it than scores and where you are from.Bump! Very interesting point.
Have you saved a life with your medical practice?