Incoming DO student interested in ortho

[BoneHurtingJuice]

Hello all,

I will be starting at a DO school this fall (one of the original 5 if that makes a difference which I doubt) and I am just seeking advice about hitting the ground running there in terms of building a competitive application for orthopedic surgery residencies, likely shooting for a previously AOA, community program, nothing too crazy. But bearing in mind how competitive ortho is regardless of the program, I obviously will have some sort of backup, likely IM. I know I may also change my mind altogether during medical school, but I've been pretty set on ortho ever since I decided I wanted to become a doctor and have done an extensive amount of shadowing in multiple ortho groups.

-I've had people tell me to not worry much about extras the first semester and to just focus on finding a routine and figuring out how to study for classes. Good advice or should I try to find a research mentor/get involved with ECs (e.g. the ortho club) right away?

-Research - I did 5 semesters of research and have one pub from undergrad (GI-related). I really have no desire to do benchwork unless that would be more or less a requirement to get into ortho, so I hope to do primarily clinical-type research. What would you say is a good rule of thumb in terms of getting involved early vs waiting till M2 vs just doing a project between M1-M2? Realistically how much research (pubs, poster presentations, attending conferences, etc) would you say I need to be competitive?

-Volunteering - I've heard that with ortho and a lot of specialties this is a pretty check-the-box thing and I don't really need too much. True?

-Obviously good board scores and grades - I plan on taking both USMLE and COMLEX.

-Setting up shadowing/finding a mentor in the field in the area? If so, how would I even initiate something like this?? Plenty of orthopedic surgeons that are alumni of my school in the area.

Any and all advice is very much appreciated. I just know with ortho I need to get started early and basically not stop till it's done lol.

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[AnatomyGrey12]

All the info you need is in this thread.

D.O. Student Orthopedic Surgery Matched-AMA

I matched into orthopedic surgery! Please feel free to DM me and I can answer any questions you may have! I just wanted to share the knowledge that I gained throughout the ortho process. Applying to ortho as a DO student can be confusing as there isn't much information out there. Throughout the...

forums.studentdoctor.net

 

[Dr. Death]

Hello all,

I will be starting at a DO school this fall (one of the original 5 if that makes a difference which I doubt) and I am just seeking advice about hitting the ground running there in terms of building a competitive application for orthopedic surgery residencies, likely shooting for a previously AOA, community program, nothing too crazy. But bearing in mind how competitive ortho is regardless of the program, I obviously will have some sort of backup, likely IM. I know I may also change my mind altogether during medical school, but I've been pretty set on ortho ever since I decided I wanted to become a doctor and have done an extensive amount of shadowing in multiple ortho groups.

-I've had people tell me to not worry much about extras the first semester and to just focus on finding a routine and figuring out how to study for classes. Good advice or should I try to find a research mentor/get involved with ECs (e.g. the ortho club) right away? Can't hurt to get involved to get your name and face out there.

-Research - I did 5 semesters of research and have one pub from undergrad (GI-related). I really have no desire to do benchwork unless that would be more or less a requirement to get into ortho, so I hope to do primarily clinical-type research. What would you say is a good rule of thumb in terms of getting involved early vs waiting till M2 vs just doing a project between M1-M2? Realistically how much research (pubs, poster presentations, attending conferences, etc) would you say I need to be competitive? The more the better but a couple of publications and a handful of posters should be good. I would aim to go to the specialty conferences if possible. The earlier you get involved the better

-Volunteering - I've heard that with ortho and a lot of specialties this is a pretty check-the-box thing and I don't really need too much. True? Volunteering is a pre-med thing. Only do it if you want to because nobody will care

-Obviously good board scores and grades - I plan on taking both USMLE and COMLEX.

-Setting up shadowing/finding a mentor in the field in the area? If so, how would I even initiate something like this?? Plenty of orthopedic surgeons that are alumni of my school in the area. The ortho club might help, maybe make connections to docs in the community, go shadow a day here and there and then try to set up a rotation with them earlyish in third year. Try to get involved with some that are doing research to kill 2 birds with one stone

Any and all advice is very much appreciated. I just know with ortho I need to get started early and basically not stop till it's done lol.

See bolded for specific responses. See every post ever written by @DNC127 as well as the above mentioned thread

 

[DNC127]

Pm me

 

[Fat_Albert]

Have an amazing intrinsic memory. You’ll find out if you have that soon

 

[BoneHurtingJuice]

Thanks so much for the replies. That thread is a godsend. Still figuring out how to best use the search function, I'm surprised I didn't see that one. @DNC127 pm'd you

 

[Neopolymath]

Do you even Ancef?

 

[AnatomyGrey12]

Do you even Ancef?

I’m surprised we haven’t just sprinkled some Ancef on COVID on patients. Guaranteed to work like a charm

 

[TheBoneDoctah]

Feel free to DM me as well with any questions you still have.