How To Become An Orthopedic Assistant: What It Is and Career Path

What is an orthopedic assistant and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

3 min read

The average orthopedic assistant salary is $55,766. The most common degree is a bachelor's degree degree with an biology major. It usually takes 6-12 months of experience to become an orthopedic assistant. Orthopedic assistants with a Certified Nurse Assistant (CNA) certification earn more money. Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 16% and produce 117,800 job opportunities across the U.S.

ScoreOrthopedic AssistantUS Average

Salary

4.4

Avg. Salary $55,766

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

7.9

Growth rate 16%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

4.8

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.80%

Asian 8.96%

Black or African American 9.83%

Hispanic or Latino 18.57%

Unknown 4.61%

White 57.23%

Gender

female 54.59%

male 45.41%

Age - 35

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 35

Stress level

7.9

Stress level is high

7.1 - high

Complexity level

6.4

Complexity level is intermediate

7 - challenging

Work life balance

8.6

Work life balance is excellent

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become an orthopedic assistant

Explore orthopedic assistant education requirements

Most common orthopedic assistant degrees

Bachelor's

43.4 %

Associate

16.4 %

Certificate

11.2 %

Start to develop specific orthopedic assistant skills

Skills	Percentages
Patients	35.38%
Patient Care	14.97%
EMR	6.33%
Injections	5.49%
Traction	5.25%

Complete relevant orthopedic assistant training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 1-3 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New orthopedic assistants learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as an orthopedic assistant based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real orthopedic assistant resumes.

Research orthopedic assistant duties and responsibilities

Manage patient files by making new charts, keying all encounters through ICD-9 coding procedures and posting in patient database.
Perform physical examinations of patients and conduct their medical interviews.
Apply and remove casts and splints to fractures.
Interpret radiographs, bone scans and MRI's.

Prepare your orthopedic assistant resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your orthopedic assistant resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on an orthopedic assistant resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable orthopedic assistant resume templates

Build a professional orthopedic assistant resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your orthopedic assistant resume.