Ortho comparison question

[sdn4em]

Hello,

As our school does not have a substantial ortho component to its third year curriculum (ie. few days of ortho perhaps near the end of the year) I was wondering if anyone who has rotated through ortho or is actually an ortho resident/attending could comment on this?

I was trying to consider in my mind how vigorous ortho is, and as I have only ob/gyn as my most vigorous rotation to date to compare to, especially with night float hours, I had felt then, I was okay with those hours and the amount of tiredness I generally felt at the end of the week. I was wondering if that would be comparable to ortho, or if you would think it's more physically demanding/tiring??? I feel that if it is comparable, it would be acceptable, so was wondering if anyone could comment?

Second, I was wondering if anyone could comment on the relative competitiveness of wanting to match to an ortho program in the northeast or west coast - even though the avg national applicant needs is say 230s usmle, what is more realistic for those geographic locations?

Third and finally, how restricted are you to the niche you choose if you do a fellowship? I mean, how much in reality does it exclude you from practicing other procedures in ortho? If you did a fellowship in foot and ankle, could you do some sports too, if practicing in the denser northeast areas and west coast?

thanks again everyone!

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[dry dre]

Hello,

As our school does not have a substantial ortho component to its third year curriculum (ie. few days of ortho perhaps near the end of the year) I was wondering if anyone who has rotated through ortho or is actually an ortho resident/attending could comment on this?

I was trying to consider in my mind how vigorous ortho is, and as I have only ob/gyn as my most vigorous rotation to date to compare to, especially with night float hours, I had felt then, I was okay with those hours and the amount of tiredness I generally felt at the end of the week. I was wondering if that would be comparable to ortho, or if you would think it's more physically demanding/tiring??? I feel that if it is comparable, it would be acceptable, so was wondering if anyone could comment?

Second, I was wondering if anyone could comment on the relative competitiveness of wanting to match to an ortho program in the northeast or west coast - even though the avg national applicant needs is say 230s usmle, what is more realistic for those geographic locations?

Third and finally, how restricted are you to the niche you choose if you do a fellowship? I mean, how much in reality does it exclude you from practicing other procedures in ortho? If you did a fellowship in foot and ankle, could you do some sports too, if practicing in the denser northeast areas and west coast?

thanks again everyone!

My med school had no 3rd year ortho rotation experience. I gained my experience after hours or whenever I could sneak off to the OR for ortho cases. The surgeons were always willing to have me in. I had to do 4th year electives for 'real' ortho experience. When applying, it is understood that many schools, particularly primary care oriented schools, have little dedicated ortho experiences. This isn't so bad, but you will have to compete with a bunch of people who may have extensive ortho experience before even starting your rotations. So long as you do your reading/gain experience when you can, this isn't an unsurmountable hurdle. I'm now an ortho resident...

Ortho is the most physically demanding specialty (not to get into pissing wars). Not so much about reducing hips on fat folks but rather you put in a lot of hours that include a lot of physical work. In the OR, you're typically not holding up 12 ounces of bowel, you're cranking on bones and tools. When on call, you're lifting/cranking on extremities an applying a lot of splints. This work is within the physical capacity of most people of both genders, but it isn't for everyone. If you like the satisfaction that physical labor provides (i.e. like to feel like you 'work' for a living), ortho is a great field.

Regarding matching....don't hold your breath on the west coast. Frankly, everyone applies everywhere...you have to be willing to go wherever you match. You'll be working most of the time, so local geography will mean more to your significant other than you.

Regarding fellowship, unless you are part of a specialty group in a larger metro area, you will likely still do a regular amount of basic ortho...basic fracture management, hips, etc. Depending on your group, you may be helping your partners on a regular basis for complicated cases. In short, even if you do fellowship, you'll likely won't be stuck doing specialized cases unless you want to. If you are rural, you'll be doing everything you feel comfortable doing.