Career Development - Orthopaedic Surgery

Residency in orthopaedic surgery is typically five years in a categorical program, although some programs have an six year program, with the sixth year usually being a research year.

Hand, Foot/Ankle, Shoulder/Elbow, Sports Medicine, Spine, Oncology, Pediatrics, Total Joint Replacements, Trauma.

An attending's schedule can be quite variable depending on the subspecialty that you choose and the setting within which you choose to work. Nearly all graduating orthopaedic surgery residents (~90%) complete fellowships in a subspecialty which their career will be focused. Most attendings have clinic 2-3 times a week and operate the other 2-3 days with call responsibilities depending on the job you take. An academic career also includes additional time for research, education and didactics. Most orthopaedic surgeons spend time in the “on call” pool with their practice partners/hospital(s). Call schedules vary from practice to practice and often depend on subspecialty, and average 4-6 call nights per month.

Qualities recognized as important to orthopaedic surgeons include:

• Hard working
   
• Organized
   
• Honest
   
• Caring
   
• Efficient

There is an eight-week elective available to T1 and T2 students (Orthopaedic Pathways: Intro to Orthopaedic Surgery ORTH 5053) that provides an early shadowing opportunity with four clinical rotations of two weeks each. Once you are enrolled in the Pathways elective, you can contact the Ortho Pathways student coordinator and Ms. Elizabeth Wesley to confirm your particular shadowing schedule.

The Orthopaedics Interest Group can also help connect students with faculty to inquire about shadowing opportunities. 

Ortho Pathways Faculty Advisor: Dr. Leland McCluskey

The Orthopaedics Department has numerous research opportunities, including clinical, basic science, biomechanical, and education related studies. They hold in-person research meetings about every six weeks and any students interested in orthopaedics are welcome to attend. Students can find out about dates and news through the Orthopaedics Interest Group or by contacting the Residency Program Coordinator, Ms. Elizabeth Wesley. To inquire about ongoing research projects, students may also reach out to:

Dr. Bill Sherman, Research Committee Chair 

Dr. Chandra Vemulapalli

Additionally, students may want to pursue research opportunities through the DeBakey Scholars Program This program offers medical students the opportunity to pursue and complete a longitudinal, structured, closely supervised research experience culminating in a capstone presentation prior to graduation. For more information, contact Dr. Derek Pociask. 

The Orthopaedics Interest Group (OIG) is a student-run organization for medical students interested in orthopaedics. Students who are interested in orthopaedics are strongly encouraged to join the OIG.

Orthopaedic Grand Rounds are being held in-person and virtually on Tuesdays from 6 pm to 8 pm, and many OIG members attend. Please contact OrthoGrandRounds@tulane.edu directly if you'd like to participate. We look forward to each of you having the opportunity to develop your interest with us!

Dr. Leland McCluskey, Associate Program Director and Clerkship Director

Other orthopaedic department contacts:

TBA (Tara Desko) - Senior Administrative Program Coordinator

Dr. Michael O’Brien – Residency Program Director

Dr. Bill Sherman – Research Committee Chair

Dr. Leland McCluskey – Course Director, T1/T2 electives: Ortho Pathways and Intro to Orthopaedics

It is recommended that students take a clinical Orthopaedic elective early in their fourth year. The School of Medicine Curriculum Committee sets prerequisites for students for each course.  Please check the requirements to ensure you are prepared and eligible before 4th year. T3 students may be granted permission to take a two-week elective in Orthopaedics in rare circumstances.

Dr. Leland McCluskey  is the Orthopaedic Clerkship Course Director. 

Away rotations are very important. Students are encouraged to apply early for away rotations at other programs of interest.

Orthopaedic Research electives are also available to students.

Sample-T4-ORTH-Schedule.pdf

One of the most common questions we get asked is “How do I know if I’m competitive for this specialty?” There are a lot of metrics that are provided by sources like the NRMP’s Charting Outcomes report that can help you gauge whether you are a competitive applicant, and help guide your choices of activities. 

The table below shows the 25^th percentile, the median and the 75^th percentile for a number of the more regularly used metrics to gauge competitiveness. It’s important for you to understand what these numbers represent, and why they may be different from the averages you might see elsewhere.

• The 25^th percentile represents the lower range of “normal” for a successful applicant in this specialty.
• The median represents an average for successful applicants in this specialty.
• The 75^th percentile represents the higher range of “normal” for a successful applicant in this specialty.

Medical students are usually over-achievers, who have exceeded expectations throughout their educational years. However, it’s important to realize that overachievement is not always a good thing when it comes to match. Instead, you should aim for “fit.” This means that you should fall somewhere between the 25^th and 75^th percentile on these metrics. Below the 25^th percentile, and you have a relatively low chance of match (25% chance, to be specific). Above the 75^th percentile, and you also have a lower chance of matching (again, 25% chance), as program directors are typically looking for candidates who “fit” their profiles more so than those who exceed those profiles.

Between the 25^th and 75^th percentiles is the sweet spot. This range spans 50% of successful applicants, with only 25% of successful applicants falling above the 75^th percentile and 25% of successful applicants falling below the 25th percentile. The closer you fall to the median (i.e., the 50^th percentile), the better! This doesn’t mean you’re average, but rather that you are fitting the demands of this specialty!

A note about medians vs. means as a measure of “average”: We use medians to determine competitiveness rather than means for a simple reason. Medians are not as warped as means by outliers, or those successful candidates who fall very much outside the average on a particular measure. You may have heard that the “average” Step 2 score or number of publications for a specialty are incredibly high (or low), and you may wonder how it’s even possible to hit this “average.” These unrealistic “averages” are typically means that have been influenced by just a very small number of people who have incredibly high (or low) scores or numbers of publications, and often those high numbers of publications in particular, are the result of having earned a research Ph.D. or having spent years in a research career! This is NOT the expectation, but rather an exception!

Orthopaedics has a highly competitive application process. According to the NRMP 2024 Data Report, there were 218 orthopaedic resident programs, and 916 PGY-1 positions offered in the Match. 1,008 MD Seniors (1,492 including other applicants) applied for orthopaedic residency positions. 726 MD Seniors matched (915 including other applicants). All but 1 orthopaedic residency positions were filled in the first round.

Away rotations are critical. If you are interested in a particular residency program, make an effort to get to know them and apply there for an away rotation.

Start preparing for orthopaedics early in your medical school career if you are interested. This ensures you have appropriate research and other experiences.

Establish contact with orthopaedic faculty advisors and mentors. Enroll in orthopaedic electives. Reach out to get involved in research or other opportunities. Doing so is critical for earning strong letters of recommendation.

Get involved with research. Students applying for orthopaedic residencies are expected to have multiple research projects and publications by the time they submit their applications in their 4th year.

Most applicants apply to 66-102 programs.

You should discuss your specific application with a mentor or one of the ortho faculty advisors to determine what number is right for you.

• AAMC Careers in Medicine
• NRMP's Charting Outcomes in the Match 2026
• NRMP's Program Director Survey 2024
• Tulane’s Department of Orthopaedics
• American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons
• American Orthopaedic Association – Resources for Residents and Students
• AMA FREIDA residency database
• Dr. Katrina D’Aquin can put you in touch with potential mentors.

Recommended Readings

• Why Do Medical Students Choose Orthopaedics as a Career?
• Factors Motivating Medical Students in Selecting a Career Specialty: Relevance for a Robust Orthopaedic Pipeline
• Selecting the Best & Brightest: A Structured Approach to Orthopaedic Resident Selection
• Resident Selection Beyond the United States Medical Licensing Examination
• The Effect of Applicant Publication Volume on the Orthopaedic Residency Match
• Survival Guide for the Orthopaedic Surgery Match
• The Orthopaedic Surgery Residency Application Process: An Analysis of the Applicant Experience
• Optimizing the Orthopaedic Medical Student Rotation: Keys to Success for Students, Faculty and Residency Programs
• Matching in Orthopaedic Surgery
• CORD Orthopaedic Residency Information Network (ORIN)
• The Orthopaedic Match: Defining the Academic Profile of Successful Candidates