Father-in-Law is an Orthopod, will it help?

[dust]

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I'm just starting first year and got married this past summer. My father-in-law is an orthopod and over the summer I spent quite a few days with him at the office and in the hospital observing procedures. I'm honestly finding the field fascinating, and if I were to do ortho, my life post-residency would obviously be a lot easier because I'd slide right into an established practice. 😉

So, will this make a difference when I apply? How much does this type of thing count for? My father-in-law would LOVE it if I did ortho and would give me any help he can, but he's not in academics at all.

Should I get his hopes up by mentioning I'm interested in ortho, or should I wait and see how my grades start coming out?

 

[hans19]

Its all about connections.
Unless your father-in-law were the chairman of an ortho dept, it won't mean squat unless you have good grades and USMLE scores, research, letters from well-known orthopods, and good personal skills.

Study hard for now, worry about specialty stuff AFTER you get some clinical experience under your belt.

Good luck.
Hans

 

[Kilgorian]

It can't hurt. It won't help you to say "my father-in-law is an orthopaedist," but it can help to demonstrate significant exposure to the field. Letters of rec are most helpful from prominent members in the field and chairmen; letters from family members hold little value. Perhaps when the time comes, he can hook you up with someone well-known to spend time with. That would help. A phone call from a chairman recommending you for a job would be very helpful, but a phone call from a community orthopaedist (who is related) will be consumed with a large grain of salt.

I wouldn't mention anything to him until you've thought about it long and hard and had some more experience - both to ortho and other fields. Of course, you can be honest and say it really intrigues you. Just don't BS and say that's definitely what you're going to do. Personally, I kept an open mind in med school and did what I found enjoyable on a day-to-day basis. Make sure you do it for the right reasons.

Decide what you want to do first, then you can worry about all this stuff. You've got a long strange trip ahead of you. However, ortho is great, and there is a lot to enjoy!

 

[doc05]

I'm honestly finding the field fascinating, and if I were to do ortho, my life post-residency would obviously be a lot easier because I'd slide right into an established practice. 😉

I'd caution you about this. Working for your father-in-law is not such a good idea.

 

[dust]

Personal experience?

 

[Kilgorian]

I'd caution you about this. Working for your father-in-law is not such a good idea.

I agree.

 

[endodoc]

I'm just starting first year and got married this past summer. My father-in-law is an orthopod and over the summer I spent quite a few days with him at the office and in the hospital observing procedures. I'm honestly finding the field fascinating, and if I were to do ortho, my life post-residency would obviously be a lot easier because I'd slide right into an established practice. 😉

So, will this make a difference when I apply? How much does this type of thing count for? My father-in-law would LOVE it if I did ortho and would give me any help he can, but he's not in academics at all.

Should I get his hopes up by mentioning I'm interested in ortho, or should I wait and see how my grades start coming out?

I agree with the others, dont do it!!

 

[dust]

I can see what you're all saying, but he's a great guy and he honestly loves me like a son. But despite that, he's almost 60 now and by the time I'm done with residency, he'll be almost 70. It's a solo practice.

 

[novacek88]

It won't help at all. I have an immediate family member who is an ENT and I was considering the field. For all intensive purposes, he wouldn't have been able to anything for me. The only exception to this rule is if your father in law is the program director himself, or if he is good friends with a program director or strongly affliated with an academic program. I know private practice docs who were able to get their son or daughter into a competitive field but they were strongly associated with the residency program. In both cases, the private practice docs were well known in town and had donated large sums of money to the university and had worked alongside or just worked in the hospital to which the program was affiliated. From your post, I gather that he isn't any of that so him being your father in law won't help you. Sucks I know, it's not like business or even dentistry. Mediciine for all intesnive purposes is still a meritocracy. Just having a family member in a certain field won't guarantee anything in medicine.