Choosing an Orthopaedic Surgeon

When you need an orthopaedic surgeon, it helps to know something about how to compare the training and experience of the different orthopaedic surgeons who are available to you.

How are Orthopaedic Surgeons Trained?

Orthopaedic surgeons are medical doctors or osteopaths, which means that after college they attend medical school for four years to receive an MD degree or a DO (Doctor of Osteopathy) degree. There they receive general training in medicine and choose the area of medicine in which they will receive further training after graduation from medical school.

Following medical school or osteopath school, orthopaedic surgeons must complete a "residency" in orthopaedics. This is usually a minimum of five years and may last longer at some medical centers that require research or extra training. While in residency, the orthopaedic surgeon learns much more about the bones, joints and muscles of the body. It is here that the orthopaedic surgeon-in-training learns to operate and perfects the surgical skills under the guidance of the professors of orthopaedic surgery.

Once the orthopaedic surgeon satisfactorily completes the required residency training, he or she is able to begin practice. The new surgeon must then obtain "surgical privileges" at the hospitals where surgery will be performed. An extensive process of "credentialing" by the hospital is usually required to obtain surgical privileges. The surgeon’s background and training are thoroughly checked.

What is Board Certification?

Orthopaedic surgeons are certified by the American Board of Orthopaedic Surgeons (ABOS). To become "board certified" following completion of a residency program, the orthopaedic surgeon must first pass a written test and a grueling oral examination that is given two years after entering practice. During the oral examination, the surgeon is questioned by a team of orthopaedic surgeons to assess his/her understanding of orthopaedic medicine and surgery. The surgeon must present the results of the surgical procedures he/she has performed to date for the team’s review. To maintain "board certification," the surgeon must take an additional test every ten years and prove that he/she has attended a minimum number of hours of continuing education.

What is Fellowship Training?

Many orthopaedic surgeons choose to specialize even further and obtain special training in a specific area of orthopaedic surgery. This requires even more training in the form of a "fellowship". A fellowship usually lasts six months to one year. During the fellowship, the orthopaedic surgeon works with one or several experts in a specialized field of orthopaedic surgery. This allows the orthopaedic surgeon to become even more experienced in certain areas, such as joint replacement, spinal surgery, hand surgery, children’s orthopaedics or sports medicine to name a few. Following fellowship training, some orthopaedic surgeons limit their practice to those areas in which they are most highly trained. The larger the town, the more likely you will find orthopaedic surgeons who are "subspecialists" that limit their individual practice to just a few areas.

Last Updated: 10/16/2007