Basic Orthopedic Questions

[alparkeruab]

Advertisement - Members don't see this ad

1.) How many years should I expect it to take me to specialize in orthopaedic surgery with a subspecialty in sports medicine (after medical school is completed)?

2.) How competitive are orthopaedic surgery residencies? Is it any harder for a DO to get into orthopaedic surgery than an MD?

3.) What is the salary range for an orthopaedic surgeon who specializes in sports medicine?

 

[asdf123]

1.) How many years should I expect it to take me to specialize in orthopaedic surgery with a subspecialty in sports medicine (after medical school is completed)?

2.) How competitive are orthopaedic surgery residencies? Is it any harder for a DO to get into orthopaedic surgery than an MD?

3.) What is the salary range for an orthopaedic surgeon who specializes in sports medicine?

1. 5 years of residency and 1 year of fellowship in sports

2. Very competitive. Yes it is MUCH HARDER for a DO. Not many DO programs out there. It is extremely rare for a DO to match into an MD ortho program.

3. Varies depending on location and how busy you want to be...range of 250-600K

 

[sscooterguy]

To give you some numbers of how competative it is, here's what I could dig up from Iserson's Getting Into A Residency:

ACGME Approved Programs: 152
1st Yr. Spots for MD Students: 472
AOA Approved Programs: 7
1st Yr. Spots for D.O. students: 12

I don't know that any MD spots go to DO students, a practice more common in general surgery. Virtually none go to FMG's or go unmatched. As for how competative ortho is for an MD student, very difficult. I've heard stats saying 1 in 4 MD students don't match in Ortho, and these are top students not matching, mind you. Sure you'll hear stories of "I got 200 on the boards and I got into Ortho" but those are few and far between.

If you are trying to make a decision on MD or DO, then MD is the way to go for Ortho. However, if you aren't really set on Ortho, keep an open mind. Non surgical sports med fellowships are open to Family Practice, IM, and PMR. Many of the non ortho sports med people I know struggled between surg and non surg sports medicine. They say they never looked back and could not be happier.

sscooterguy

In case you are interested, here is a list of ortho fellowships (almost all of them are 1 year) from FREIDA:
Hand Surgery
Foot and Ankle
Ortho Sports Medicine
Ortho Spine
Ortho Trauma
Ortho Peds
Adult Reconstructive

 

[nycom914]

To give you some numbers of how competative it is, here's what I could dig up from Iserson's Getting Into A Residency:

ACGME Approved Programs: 152
1st Yr. Spots for MD Students: 472
AOA Approved Programs: 7
1st Yr. Spots for D.O. students: 12

I don't know that any MD spots go to DO students, a practice more common in general surgery. Virtually none go to FMG's or go unmatched. As for how competative ortho is for an MD student, very difficult. I've heard stats saying 1 in 4 MD students don't match in Ortho, and these are top students not matching, mind you. Sure you'll hear stories of "I got 200 on the boards and I got into Ortho" but those are few and far between.

If you are trying to make a decision on MD or DO, then MD is the way to go for Ortho. However, if you aren't really set on Ortho, keep an open mind. Non surgical sports med fellowships are open to Family Practice, IM, and PMR. Many of the non ortho sports med people I know struggled between surg and non surg sports medicine. They say they never looked back and could not be happier.

sscooterguy

In case you are interested, here is a list of ortho fellowships (almost all of them are 1 year) from FREIDA:
Hand Surgery
Foot and Ankle
Ortho Sports Medicine
Ortho Spine
Ortho Trauma
Ortho Peds
Adult Reconstructive

Actually the AOA has 30 programs
http://opportunities.aoa-net.org/search/search_results.cfm?CFID=432167&CFTOKEN=12658095
Either way MD program or DO program Ortho is very competitive.

 

[sscooterguy]

Actually the AOA has 30 programs
http://opportunities.aoa-net.org/search/search_results.cfm?CFID=432167&CFTOKEN=12658095
Either way MD program or DO program Ortho is very competitive.

Oops, I guess my source is a little old. I just checked the date, and it says published in 2003, so maybe its based on 2002 figures? Still though, 23 more programs in 3-4 years. In any case, so, 30 programs, 67 spots designated for 2006, still very competative.

sscooterguy