Orthopedic surgeons are medical doctors who specialize in treating injuries and diseases of the musculoskeletal system and perform surgery on bones, joints and muscles. Becoming an orthopedic surgeon requires years of dedicated education and training, experts say.
“Orthopedics is a very interesting field because it is filled with innovation, ranging from new biomaterials to surgical techniques,” says Maveric Abella, a recent graduate of the University of Hawaii’s John A. Burns School of Medicine.
Growing up in Hawaii, Abella says she often helped her craftsman dad, a retired fireman, with handyman work in the community. Together with her brother, they would renovate houses on the weekends, repairing everything from flooring to windows. She says this experience eventually led her toward pursuing a career as an orthopedic surgeon, putting some of those skills to work in other ways.
“I could use the same tools and techniques, just on the body,” Abella says. “Orthopedics is the perfect blend of hands-on creative problem solving and my passion for helping people in the community.”
Becoming an orthopedic surgeon takes around nine to ten years after a four-year bachelor’s degree, experts say.
“It is a long process including undergraduate degree, medical school, residency training and often subspecialty fellowship training,” says Dr. Geoffrey McCullen, assistant teaching professor in the Department of Biomedical Sciences at the University of New England College of Osteopathic Medicine in Maine.
This means four years of medical school and five years of residency training, which includes a surgical internship followed by four years of orthopedic surgical training. He says students may also complete a one-year orthopedic specialty fellowship after that.
[Read: How Hard Is Medical School and What Is the Med School Curriculum?]
Despite the years of education and training required, McCullen says orthopedic surgery “is a popular field and is very competitive.” It’s among the highest-paying medical specialties, with a median salary of $378,250 in 2023, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Demand for orthopedic surgeons is expected to increase by 2% by 2032.
Here is a closer look at the steps to becoming an orthopedic surgeon.
Get a Four-Year Degree
To become an orthopedic surgeon, aspiring doctors will need to attend a four-year college or university and earn a bachelor’s degree. Students typically major in biology or chemistry and take other pre-med science courses.
Gabe DeOliveira, a third-year medical student at the UNE College of Osteopathic Medicine, says he became fascinated with human anatomy and biology after taking a few classes in high school. DeOliveira went on to complete a bachelor of science in biology before applying to medical school.
He says once he realized that a career in orthopedics would let him work with his hands to repair debilitating conditions and improve patients’ quality of life, “I haven’t wanted to do anything else.”
Apply to Medical School
Once students have completed their undergrad degree they will need to take the Medical College Admission Test, or MCAT, and apply to medical school.
“Most people such as myself take at least one gap year between graduating college and applying to medical school to study for the MCAT and prepare their application. I personally spent mine working in vascular surgery,” says Benjamin Mugg, a third-year medical student at the UNE College of Osteopathic Medicine. Medical school involves two years of classroom education and two years of clinical rotations through various medical specialties. Mugg, who is currently doing his third-year clinical rotations in Syracuse, New York, says he plans to take next year off to do orthopedics-focused research to strengthen his application for residency.
“Orthopedics remains one of the most competitive medical specialties to match into, and research years are becoming more and more common,” Mugg says.
Complete Residency Training
Students will need to match with and complete a residency training program to become an orthopedic surgeon.
“There is no one formula for success to match into an orthopedic residency training program,” McCullen says.
But, in general, he says to become a successful candidate for an orthopedic surgery residency, medical students should “excel academically, have done exceptionally well on clinical rotations in third and fourth medical school years as demonstrated in grades and letters of recommendation and achieve top scores on board examinations.”
Over the summer, Abella began her residency at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, where she will remain for a total of five years.
“I love working with patients and helping them take control of their health. I also love learning about new techniques and approaches to patient care,” Abella says.
Students will also need to pass all medical board and licensing exams.
McCullen says a state medical license is required to train and practice as an orthopedic surgeon. While most orthopedic surgeons also apply for board certification through the American Board of Orthopedic Surgery, he says board certification or eligibility “is not always required to practice orthopedic surgery, depending on the local hospital medical staff privileging criteria.”
Consider Fellowship Training
After completing residency, orthopedic surgeons may pursue fellowship training to further specialize in areas like sports medicine, spine surgery, pediatric orthopedics or hand surgery.
While that training is optional, most orthopedic surgeons choose to do a fellowship, McCullen says. “Having subspecialty training can be an important differentiator when applying for practice positions at the completion of training.”
Orthopedic fellowship types include hand, shoulder, sports, joint arthroplasty, pediatric, foot and ankle, spine, oncology and trauma, he says. Abella says she plans to look into fellowships after completing residency.
Whether pursuing a fellowship or not, Mugg says finding a mentor early on can be extremely valuable along the way to becoming an orthopedic surgeon.
“This can be a very long road,” he says, “and it is critical to have help from those who have gone through this path before.”
Build Your Career
Becoming an orthopedic surgeon takes a lot of time, but the job prospects are extremely favorable, experts say.
“The practice of orthopedics is not easy, is often stressful and requires true commitment,” McCullen says. “Orthopedic surgeons are busy in the clinic, the operating room, and covering the emergency room and hospital consultations. There are middle of the night emergencies, complex cases, postoperative complications and occasionally adverse outcomes.”
McCullen says the field is very promising, with “excellent job prospects and a very strong employment outlook. There are jobs throughout the U.S., in academic, hospital-based and private practice settings; in cities and in rural areas; and within all orthopedic subspecialties.”
Abella says she’s not yet sure where she would like to work after residency, but she hopes to be “helping and treating patients, including those who are underserved, to regain mobility and take control of their lives.”
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How to Prepare Academically to Become an Orthopedic Surgeon originally appeared on usnews.com
