The Training of an Orthopedic Surgeon

Being an Orthopedic Surgeon is not for the faint of heart.  (It’s actually borderline cra-zy). My husband went to school for literally 29 years. Let’s just take a moment to appreciate that together.

…

We’ve been together for 15 of those, so I think we should take a moment to appreciate me and my support for him, too.

…

That felt nice. Thanks 🙂

So anyway, if you’ve ever wondered exactly how old those doctors actually are that look impossibly young, or the steps in the educational process to be an Orthopedic Surgeon, I’m here to clear all of that up today.

The Early Years

Let’s start at the very beginning. For most docs, the educational path starts like everyone elses:

Age 6	Kindergarten
Age 7	1st Grade
Age 8	2nd Grade
Age 9	3rd Grade
Age 10	4th Grade
Age 11	5th Grade
Age 12	6th Grade
Age 13	7th Grade
Age 14	8th Grade
Age 15	9th Grade
Age 16	10th Grade
Age 17	11th Grade
Age 18	12th Grade

College

The next part is pretty standard, too. Wannabe docs head to a four-year undergraduate college, like a lot of people do.

Age 19	Undergraduate Year 1
Age 20	Undergraduate Year 2
Age 21	Undergraduate Year 3
Age 22	Undergraduate Year 4

Now you have a Bachelor’s Degree! Awesome. Nailed it.

Medical School

Next, you continue on to Medical School for 4 MORE YEARS!  And man, it is no small feat to even get into medical school. According to the US News & World Report, the top 120 Medical Schools have a 7% acceptance rate. So you have to be a stellar scholar (among the other qualities they look for) in college to even be considered. Another difficult hurdle is the MCAT (Medical College Admissions Test), which you have to take and CRUSH IT to be considered for the best schools (or even not the best). If you’re able to tackle all that, here’s how the next four years look:

Age 23	Medical School Year 1
Age 24	Medical School Year 2
Age 25	Medical School Year 3
Age 26	Medical School Year 4

Alrighty, now you’re 26 years old and FINALLY a real, live doctor! Slap that MD at the end of your name. However, if you actually would like to practice medicine, you have to continue on to the next episode in this saga, RESIDENCY.

Residency

Now here’s where the paths start to branch off into different directions. Some residency programs are 2 years, others are 4 or even 5. Some are a 3-year residency, but then require a 3-year fellowship so you’re actually making a 6 year commitment at this stage. It is incredibly variable by specialty.

Planning for Residency starts early. A couple of years into Medical School, you have to 1. Decide on a specialty (i.e. Family Practice, Pediatrics, Internal Medicine, Cardiology, Emergency Room, Anesthesia, Orthopedic Surgery). And then, 2. Apply and get in to Residency by way of this whole insanity called the Match (more on that at a later date!). But let’s pretend you had some great Residency interviews, survived Match Day, and are headed to a Residency Program you think you’ll love (just kidding, no one LOVES Residency). For Orthopedic Surgery, you complete a 5-year Residency. So here’s what my guy did:

Age 27	Residency Year 1 (Intern Year)
Age 28	Residency Year 2
Age 29	Residency Year 3
Age 30	Residency Year 4
Age 31	Residency Year 5 (Chief Year)

Whew. Glad that’s over. (No, but seriously).

Fellowship

Now it’s time to choose a subspecialty within Orthopedic Surgery. My husband chose Trauma. Yes, you can be an Orthopedic Surgeon without doing a Fellowship, but most Ortho Surgeons now will choose to do a Fellowship to be super great at one specific part of Orthopedics (i.e. Hand, Sports, Shoulders, Spine). My husband chose to do 2 Fellowships, actually. I guess this is a good time to mention that there is ALSO a Match for Fellowship, which requires you to decide which subspecialty you’d like to do well before the completion of residency. In some cases, you haven’t even rotated on all of the services, which makes it difficult to decide. My husband went with Trauma, thinking he would practice at an academic training hospital. Then, after Match Day, my husband decided to pursue Joint Replacements, in addition to trauma, and needed some additional training to do that and do it well. So, we went off to Fellowship #2 (which was orchestrated outside of the official Match, since his decision was made after the Match took place). So here we have it:

Age 32	Fellowship 1
Age 33	Fellowship 2 (traveling Fellowship)

And now, it’s time to break out the champagne! You have finally made it to your first “real” job – ha!  

But even then it’s not over…to become Board Certified, you have to practice for a couple of years, then apply to take an oral test and pass it. My husband does his in a few months, so more on that soon! Anyway, it’s a wild ride, becoming an Orthopedic Surgeon.

Wow…that was a lot, and it was BARELY the Cliff’s Notes version. 

Oh, and let’s not forget that some people take time off at different stages in the process, which may not make the ages here accurate for every striving surgeon 🙂

Did anything surprise you? It’s a long, arduous journey, but worth it in the end to have a lifetime left to serve others in a most special way.

Hope your week is incredible!

XO!

Honestly,

AM 🙂

More About Me: Hi! I’m Ann Marie, a blogging mama of 3 tiny gals, and a wife to a busy Orthopedic Surgeon. You can find me right here for a weekly smattering of inspiration for your motherhood journey, home, marriage (I see you other medical wives!), style, and beauty. You’ll find me most active on Instagram or Facebook for life between blog posts. And I truly can’t wait to see you there, friend. ❤️💋

To connect, shoot me an email at honestlyannmarie@gmail.com ❤️