Medical School Choice?

[bep207]

I am certain that I want to be an orthopedic surgeon. I have shadowed an orthopedic surgeon in my home town for the past two summers.
I will be entering medical school in the Fall of 2008.
Are there any particular medical schools that have a reputation for putting out top notch orthopedic surgeons?
Any suggestions about particular schools to apply to?

Thank you
Blake

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[pedisurg]

Blake-

The hardest part of getting an ortho residency spot is getting into med school....worry about that first, then when you get in med school, work your butt off, make good grades and board scores, get on a REAL research project or two, and you should have no problem getting an ortho residency.

People get in "top tier" ortho spots all the time from med schools of all types.

 

[bep207]

very helpful insight

thank you very much
here 's hoping to tomorrow's MCAT scores

 

[Wahoos]

I won't say that the hardest part of getting an orthopedic residency is getting into medical school... but there is 2 bottle necks to the becoming an orthopod. One is getting into med school (and you have accomplished that) the other is getting a orthopedic residency spot, which is not something easy to do. Do well in your school, get into a research project early, find out who is well know or have an influence in the ortho dept at your school (usually the chairman or the program director) and do some research with them. Do well on the Step I, rock out 3rd year, and then impress the people on your ortho electives. Choose your aways carefully. Some of the medical schools with big ortho names are, Harvard, U Penn, Duke, HSS-cornell, UCSF, Hopkins, Thomas Jefferson, Rush, etc etc. But the bottom line is that if you do well, you will be able to get a good residency no matter where you go to school, as long as it is an allopathic school. Good luck with everything.

 

[PediBoneDoc]

i would have to agree with hat was previously stated. the most important thing for you to do is to get into medical school. because if you don't, then our discussion is moot. as for big name programs in different medical schools, that is also a moot discussion. we could go back and forth on which program is better and i could dispute wahoos list of top programs, but this is not the point. your objective should be

1 get into medical school
2 do well in your 1-2 years and USMLE step 1
3 research (this should begin during or before the 1-2 years of med school)
4 do well in your clinical year (3rd year)
5 away rotations (chosen based on your competitiveness)
6 orthopaedic application

my opinion, and yes it is only my opinion, is that you should prioritize them in that order. because if you don't do 1, 2 is moot; if you don't do 2, 3 is moot, etc.. these are just guidelines.

as for medical schools with programs that are well recognized, the programs that wahoos listed, as well as many others have nationally recognized members. that is important for LOR's and research experience. but, those experiences can also be gained with a summer research project.

if your goal is to be an academic giant, it is best to go to a very academic program (research). if you goal is to be a good/great clinical orthopaedic surgeon, then most programs will provide you with that education. very academic programs tend to have more well recognized names. for instance harvard will quote having many chairman coming from their program. but does that mean that the produce great orthopaedic surgeons or more surgeons that are politically motivated? some would argue that grads from very academic programs lag behind come community programs interims of surgical skill.

so, to answer the OP's question. you should go to the best medical school you are accepted to that fits you learning style and personality that has a good orthopaedic program.

 

[Mutt]

PediBoneDoc:

1. You mentioned that away rotations are "chosen based on your competitiveness" - can you elaborate? Are one's class grades or Step I scores used by departments to allow a student to do the away rotation or what?

2. Does the requisite research need to focus on topics specifically within the orthopedic world?

i would have to agree with hat was previously stated. the most important thing for you to do is to get into medical school. because if you don't, then our discussion is moot. as for big name programs in different medical schools, that is also a moot discussion. we could go back and forth on which program is better and i could dispute wahoos list of top programs, but this is not the point. your objective should be

1 get into medical school
2 do well in your 1-2 years and USMLE step 1
3 research (this should begin during or before the 1-2 years of med school)
4 do well in your clinical year (3rd year)
5 away rotations (chosen based on your competitiveness)
6 orthopaedic application

my opinion, and yes it is only my opinion, is that you should prioritize them in that order. because if you don't do 1, 2 is moot; if you don't do 2, 3 is moot, etc.. these are just guidelines.

as for medical schools with programs that are well recognized, the programs that wahoos listed, as well as many others have nationally recognized members. that is important for LOR's and research experience. but, those experiences can also be gained with a summer research project.

if your goal is to be an academic giant, it is best to go to a very academic program (research). if you goal is to be a good/great clinical orthopaedic surgeon, then most programs will provide you with that education. very academic programs tend to have more well recognized names. for instance harvard will quote having many chairman coming from their program. but does that mean that the produce great orthopaedic surgeons or more surgeons that are politically motivated? some would argue that grads from very academic programs lag behind come community programs interims of surgical skill.

so, to answer the OP's question. you should go to the best medical school you are accepted to that fits you learning style and personality that has a good orthopaedic program.

 

[PediBoneDoc]

PediBoneDoc:

1. You mentioned that away rotations are "chosen based on your competitiveness" - can you elaborate? Are one's class grades or Step I scores used by departments to allow a student to do the away rotation or what?

2. Does the requisite research need to focus on topics specifically within the orthopedic world?

how do you judge your competitiveness? it is based on your school, clinical grades, AOA (jr), USMLE. if you are a rockstar, then you can probably rotate where ever you want. if you are competitive, good USMLE, middle of the pack med school, good grades but not stellar, you are probably mid of the pack and you should rotate at a school where you think you may be able to get in. if you are a questionable candidate, you really have to be realistic about you rotation choices. as far as rotations, you can rotate anywhere you want.

research is best done with in the ortho world.