Before you start that long journey to match day, you really need to ask yourself - do you really want to be an Orthopaedic Surgeon? Back in the day, Orthopaedics was were they sent the guys in the back of the class who couldn't cut it in General Surgery residencies. The General Surgeons were the smart guys and the Orthopods weren't. In this day and age, the tables have turned. Orthopaedic residencies are among the most competitive and popular to attain. Residency programs can pick the cream of the crop in applicants. Attracted to the glamour of Orthopaedic Surgery and the prospects of large salaries relative to other specialties, many young medical students start down the road to Orthopaedics without knowing for certain it is a good career match.
We advise medical students early in medical school to consider and get exposure to all surgical and medical specialties. You don't want to invest time and energy into such a narrow focus and then find that you aren't enjoying yourself. It is imperative to take a personal inventory of your personality, work ethic, enjoyment of the operating room, enjoyment of the subject material, and lifestyle of an Orthopaedic Surgeon. If you are looking for an easy lifestyle with high income and shift-type work, then Ortho is not for you. You might want to try ER or Anasthesia. If you want an office-based practice, then Ortho is not for you. You might want to try Ophtho or Derm. If you don't like talking to patients, then Ortho is not for you. Try Rads. If you need lots of sleep to be happy, then Ortho is not for you. Orthopaedic Surgeons work long hours in training, like to work with their hands, and enjoy the comraderie associated with team oriented residencies.
Orthopaedic Surgeons deal with the entire musculoskeletal system from birth until the end of life. The amount of subject material is enormous, ranging from hand, upper extremity, spine, sports, joints, pediatric, tumor to foot/ankle, caused by degeneration, deformity, and trauma. By undergoing training in Ortho you are pledging yourself to learn how to surgically treat and manage all of the above - not an easy task in five years.
With that said, Orthopaedic Surgeons are among the happiest with their career choice in most surveys of medical specialties. They get the satisfaction of seeing their patients get better. They do not usually have to deal with chronic medical management. They earn decent salaries. They are also able to be involved in a specialty that uses the cutting edge of technology in hardware and the move toward arthroscopy and minimally invasive procedures.
Some cons include the long work hours, rigorous training, relatively low percentages of women in the field, as well as some stigma and stereotype within the medical community about not being the best at medical management of patients.
