How to Become an Orthopedic Surgeon

Orthopedic surgeons put professional athletes back together. They also replace entire joints worn out from a lifetime of use. They can operate through incisions just 2 inches in length. In the last 25 years, this medical specialty area has found almost-miraculous ways to keep people active and mobile. Follow these steps to see what it takes to become an orthopedic surgeon.

Difficulty: Challenging

Instructions

Prepare for a Medical Career

1. Explore a medical career. It takes long, hard hours and many years of education. You must be passionate about the field. Investigate orthopedic surgery at the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (see the Who Can Help section below).

2. Seek out your high school counselors to discuss medical careers. Discuss premed programs at colleges and universities where you plan to apply. Seek out an orthopedic surgeon in your community and spend a day with him or her.

3. Include the necessary premedical courses in your 4-year college curriculum.

4. In college, pursue personal interests and broaden your horizons.

5. Take the Medical College Admission Test (MCAT).

6. Investigate medical schools. Include schools of osteopathic medicine. Doctors of osteopathy (D.O.) have all the same rights and privileges as do doctors of medicine (M.D.).

7. In your senior year of college, apply for admission to the medical school of your choice and secure funding.

Become an Orthopedic Surgeon

8. Complete the third-year clinical rotations before you choose a specialty.

9. Take a clinical rotation in orthopedic surgery to test your interest. Some medical schools also have mentoring programs in surgical specialties, including orthopedic surgery. Consider one of these.

10. Use other elective rotations as an opportunity to build a strong background in general medicine. Just as you learned your science in medical school, you will learn orthopedics during your residency.

11. Decide on which orthopedic training programs to apply to. The American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgery is responsible for the resident-matching program in orthopedic surgery.

12. Participate in the residency-matching program.

13. Finish your residency. The standard programs are all 5-year integrated programs. After the 5-year training programs, pursue further specialization such as hand surgery, pediatric orthopedic surgery or spinal surgery through 1- to 2-year fellowships. The Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) must approve all training programs.

14. Pass Part I of the board-certification process administered by the American Board of Orthopaedic Surgery. This is a written exam.

15. Practice orthopedic surgery for 22 months after passing Part I of the board-certification process. You are then eligible to take Part II. This is an oral exam based upon your own clinical cases.

Tips & Warnings

• Orthopedic surgery is a specialty that has become increasingly subspecialized. It is possible, for example, to limit your practice to just adult shoulders and knees.
• While in training, develop a network that will assist you in securing employment. This network should include attending physicians, residents who preceded you in the training program and contacts gained through conferences and meetings.

Who Can Help Sponsored

• Earn your degree from industry experts at University of Phoenix. Take the next step in your career.

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