Between GS & Ortho

[OrthoBro77]

Hey everyone,

I'm torn between ortho and GS at the moment. If you were also between the two, which did you end up choosing and why?

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[Pir8DeacDoc]

What do you like about each one?
They really aren't all that similar.

 

[dpmd]

I was never torn between the two, but I liked GS and had many surgeons telling me I would be a good one so after failing to match ortho the first time around I opted to make it my plan B. Ended up matching in GS and have been happy with my career since then. I think I would have been happy in ortho too but would have been better for my ego if I had just preferred GS all along. The aspect of ortho I liked was the straightforward nature of bone broke me fix and as it turns out GS isn't too different (appy jacked me remove).

 

[ACSurgeon]

Hey everyone,

I'm torn between ortho and GS at the moment. If you were also between the two, which did you end up choosing and why?

I was between GS/Ortho/Urology

Biggest turn off for Ortho was the complete lack of general medical knowledge or practice. Otherwise it’s a very fun technical specialty.

In addition to broad general medical knowledge with GS, it’s a lot easier to match and as a solid medical student, I had zero concerns about matching GS vs. the anxiety of not matching urology/Ortho.

 

[Lem0nz]

#speakuportho

Pick GS.

 

[DarkHorizon]

With a name like orthobro77, how can you even consider gen surg? It’s ortho or bust.

 

[DOVinciRobot]

I was between GS and ortho. Ultimately picked GS. I really liked the career variety that GS could afford, so many fellowship options. The case variety of GS ended up winning out when I found myself bored during ortho cases. I just enjoyed the bread and butter GS stuff more than bread and butter ortho. Ultimately for me personally, the only thing ortho really won out on was the salary and I just couldn’t justify picking a career based on that alone.

4 months into residency I don’t regret my choice in the slightest. I love my job, even as an intern.

 

[Chillbo Baggins]

Ortho is the best, everyone else is just hatin!

 

[DNC127]

The best part of ortho is nobody has a clue about your job except you, and there is no dealing with general medical BS. The general trauma surgeons in town have recently taken that stance that we are not allowed to mess with "their" pain managment or DVT protocols.

So, now not only do they admit and manage our patients, but now everytime a patient complains about pain we get to say "Sorry, we aren't in charge, direct your complaints to the trauma team". (and for this we greatly appreciate and love them)

Basically we just chill, eat, and fix bones all day and its a pretty good life. Might check a hemoglobin level if I am feeling crazy, or a lactate or BE for a trauma but thats it.

If you want to feel "smart" don't do ortho. If you want to do cool stuff all day and have your patients love you and actually do well then ortho might be for you.


If I couldn't do ortho I would do derm, then psych, then FM, then nothing.

 

[PTPuser]

Not to hijack the thread, I'm not ortho but I'm podiatry and we're in a pretty lax state where there's a lot of cross-over with ortho, plastic, VS and yes, we operate a lot.
If I was in an MD/DO program, I think I would've gunned hard for ortho. Ortho is a lot of fun, the younger docs are chill, fun, respectful and everyone is usually pretty hot and super smart. They work hard and play hard.

 

[robellis]

The best part of ortho is nobody has a clue about your job except you, and there is no dealing with general medical BS. The general trauma surgeons in town have recently taken that stance that we are not allowed to mess with "their" pain managment or DVT protocols.

So, now not only do they admit and manage our patients, but now everytime a patient complains about pain we get to say "Sorry, we aren't in charge, direct your complaints to the trauma team". (and for this we greatly appreciate and love them)

Basically we just chill, eat, and fix bones all day and its a pretty good life. Might check a hemoglobin level if I am feeling crazy, or a lactate or BE for a trauma but thats it.

If you want to feel "smart" don't do ortho. If you want to do cool stuff all day and have your patients love you and actually do well then ortho might be for you.


If I couldn't do ortho I would do derm, then psych, then FM, then nothing.

Ortho to psych?? Wow that’s interesting..

 

[Gilakend]

Ortho to psych?? Wow that’s interesting..

I have no idea why they would personally pick psych, but I came into med school thinking ortho and am currently preparing my ortho application and psych was my favorite rotation of third year (I couldn't do ortho on my third year surgery rotation). It was one of the first times in med school I felt like I was around normal people. You just get to hang out, talk with people about things other than bowel movements, and switch a few medications now and then. Like I said, no idea why they would pick it, but I 100% get the appeal of psych. It would be on my short list if I couldn't do ortho.

 

[Miles Gloriosus]

Someone told me in med school to avoid any speciality that involves poop. Best advice I ever got.
I was in the surgeons lounge the other day and I overheard a GS attending debating with his residents for 45 mins about what to do about a patient’s “feculant” ostomy drainage. Made me really glad I picked Ortho.

 

[dpmd]

Someone told me in med school to avoid any speciality that involves poop. Best advice I ever got.
I was in the surgeons lounge the other day and I overheard a GS attending debating with his residents for 45 mins about what to do about a patient’s “feculant” ostomy drainage. Made me really glad I picked Ortho.

Seems feculant would be good ostomy drainage and would not be something to argue about

 

[Miles Gloriosus]

Seems feculant would be good ostomy drainage and would not be something to argue about.

I think they were unhappy with the ostomy for some reason and what ever drainage there was he trying to convince himself that it was feculant. He said the word like 10 times. Also, the gen surg residents/attendings seem to endlessly debate CT scans findings with what is or is not an abscess or whatever bowel thing is going on. Glad that’s never my problem.