An Orthopaedic Surgeon is a medical professional specializing in musculoskeletal diseases and issues, treating patients whose bones, joints, muscles, and ligaments are somehow affected by an injury, infection, or disorder.
Of course, due to the very nature of their job, they must consult and examine patients to understand their issues and decide on a treatment method. They may need to collaborate with other specialists and administer anesthetics. Obviously, the surgeries they perform include plating broken bones, fixing tendons and broken ligaments, and replacing hips or joints.
A person hoping to begin work as an Orthopedic Surgeon should have a Bachelor's degree in Biology or Physical Sciences, or a similar subject, as well as a Doctor of Medicine degree. Several years of internships and residency training are also necessary, as well as a valid medical license and certification. It is also necessary that the Surgeon stay updated on all new research and advancements in their field of medicine.
There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being an orthopaedic surgeon. For example, did you know that they make an average of $161.76 an hour? That's $336,455 a year!
Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 7% and produce 55,400 job opportunities across the U.S.
There are certain skills that many orthopaedic surgeons have in order to accomplish their responsibilities. By taking a look through resumes, we were able to narrow down the most common skills for a person in this position. We discovered that a lot of resumes listed communication skills, compassion and detail oriented.
When it comes to the most important skills required to be an orthopaedic surgeon, we found that a lot of resumes listed 37.3% of orthopaedic surgeons included trauma, while 20.9% of resumes included surgeons, and 12.6% of resumes included patient care. Hard skills like these are helpful to have when it comes to performing essential job responsibilities.
When it comes to searching for a job, many search for a key term or phrase. Instead, it might be more helpful to search by industry, as you might be missing jobs that you never thought about in industries that you didn't even think offered positions related to the orthopaedic surgeon job title. But what industry to start with? Most orthopaedic surgeons actually find jobs in the health care and non profits industries.
If you're interested in becoming an orthopaedic surgeon, one of the first things to consider is how much education you need. We've determined that 28.0% of orthopaedic surgeons have a bachelor's degree. In terms of higher education levels, we found that 8.0% of orthopaedic surgeons have master's degrees. Even though most orthopaedic surgeons have a college degree, it's possible to become one with only a high school degree or GED.
Choosing the right major is always an important step when researching how to become an orthopaedic surgeon. When we researched the most common majors for an orthopaedic surgeon, we found that they most commonly earn bachelor's degree degrees or associate degree degrees. Other degrees that we often see on orthopaedic surgeon resumes include doctoral degree degrees or high school diploma degrees.
You may find that experience in other jobs will help you become an orthopaedic surgeon. In fact, many orthopaedic surgeon jobs require experience in a role such as resident. Meanwhile, many orthopaedic surgeons also have previous career experience in roles such as medical officer or fellow.