You do the same things you would do for any specialty:
1. Study hard and get good pre-clinical grades. Although preclinical grades are typically ranked pretty low in importance to program directors when picking applicants, they indirectly influence some of the highest rated (Step 1 and AOA).
2. Study hard for step 1 and kill it. This may be the most important thing in terms of getting interviews because it is the only objective thing between med schools. Its not everything, but definitely the most important thing you do in your first two years.
3. Get AOA - Will not make or break you, but it is very nice to have. You must be in the top 25% of your class to be eligible. Find out how your school likes to pick AOAers. Its it purely grades (not supposed to be) or do they weigh heavily on community service and leadership activities. Whatever it is, make sure you do it. Get involved in things and be more than grades.
4. Get involved in some clubs. If you have an Ortho Interest group, join it and go to meetings. If you have a surgery interest group, join that too. Try and get a leadership position in something, but don't go crazy. You don't want to spread yourself too thin and have it affect your grades.
5. Meet your chairman early and get involved in research. Research takes time and the earlier you start the better. If you get involved, MAKE SURE YOU FOLLOW THROUGH. If you say you will do something and don't do it, that may hurt your more than not even trying. The summer between 1st and 2nd year is THE BEST time to do research. 2nd year I felt was the most demanding year of medical school and you probably won't get much done then (may be different based on your curriculum).
6. Third Year - Honor as many of your rotations as you can. This typically pretty high on the list of things PDs care about. Advice: Read every night. Don't be a know it all, but know it all when you are asked. Be a great team member and don't try and sabotage other students (residents will notice). Always be on time and enthusiastic. Study hard for the shelf at the end because this is the only objective measurement between students and will likely play a big role in who honors and who doesn't. Basically, study and don't be a tool.
7. Step 2 - Historically this has been seen as a "make up" test for a weak step 1. But now it is becoming more important and some programs are even requiring it before they rank you. The old philosophy was, if you did well on step 1 then wait as long as you can on step 2. If you did worse than you wanted on step 1, take step 2 early and kill it. My philosophy is different. Take step 2 early unless you feel like you did better than you should have/got lucky on step 1. Most people improve on step 2 if they spend 2-3 weeks studying. Its one less thing to worry about and shows that you aren't scared of a test and you are confident in your ability.
8. 4th Year - Do a home Sub-I followed by 2 or 3 away Sub-I's. Work your ass off because these are basically 1 month interviews. Same rules apply as for your 3rd year clerkships. Don't let the 80 hour work week apply to you unless the residents are telling you to go home. Take Q3-4 call. NEVER complain and NEVER try to make other rotators look bad. Find ways to be helpful (Start H&Ps, get supplies, ect...) Rotate at places you actually want to go to, not just to get a big name letter. Get 3 or 4 ortho letters and 1 non-ortho letter. In the past some places wanted a non-ortho letter but I didn't come across any last year.
9. Interview Season - Apply broadly. Its better to get too many interviews than get too few. Its not worth saving a couple dollars if it compromises your future. Interview season is mostly Dec - Jan (take those months off from rotations) with a few at the end of november and a few early february dates. Go through the websites and look at the interview dates of programs that you REALLY like so that you can try and schedule around those dates as interview offers come in. GET A SMARTPHONE/BLACKBERRY and check your email every 10 minutes or more. Interview dates fill up fast and to get the dates you want you will need to respond quick. Pick dates in the middle of the week if you can so they don't interfere with Fri/Sat interviews (most will be Fri/Sat). If you have a wife, get her in on it too. Do a rotation like radiology when the invites start coming (Most will come in November and a few in October. Ortho is usually later than other specialties so don't worry when your friends in other fields are done getting interviews in Oct)
Take notes on programs during interview season because by the end you will forget about the early programs and they will all start looking the same.
Go to all the socials you can, this is a great way to get the inside scoop on the program and to see if you will get along with the residents. But remember, everyone is trying to sell their program to you. Red Flags: Very few residents at social and residents that stand in a circle and talk only to themselves.
Be realistic and honest with what you want in a residency and you will start to get an idea while you are on the trail. Write these things down and how each program fulfills them.
If you have a wife or SO that will be coming with you, bring him/her with you to interviews so they can see what the location is like. An unhappy wife makes an unhappy life - keep your SO involved in the process.
Rank residencies in order of where you want to go, not where you think you can get in. The match will put you in the highest ranked program you can get into, there is no strategy with your rank list.
Thats all I can think of now. Go to
www.orthogate.org for more information and residency reviews. Read what people say about programs on the "ROL" threads to give you a starting point on programs. Remember anyone can say anything they want (make their program sound like gods gift to ortho or make programs that they didn't match at sound like crap). I usually put the most weight in the "Pre Match ROLs" because at that point there is less bias.
Good Luck
