Ortho or General Surgery?

What do you mean by "basic sciences"? I assume you mean basic science research. If that is your interest, you could definitely do this type of research as an orthopod. I would not let that be your decision maker.

Your post leaves me confused as well. Basic Science???
I think you mean basic medical stuff like balancing electrolytes, reading EKG's, pretending to see silhouettes and other "spotty things" on chest x-rays other than the central line that somehow dropped the lung... Is that what you mean by BASIC science?

Sorry about the ambiguity. By basic sciences I meant maintaining the ability to manage issues of electrolytes, pressures, I/Os, sugars etc. These are headache issues for most pods, while I sort of like keeping up with the physiology involved. At the same time, in my short time in medicine, I've yet to meet a pod that likes dealing with this stuff.

I'm certain that the ortho programs that I'd rank high on my list don't train to manage these issues (there of course is data/literature against the practice of pods playing internist) and I assume given the long trend in orthopaedics that the other programs don't either. I don't mean to knock the field for consulting everything out to medicine, it's just that I want to maintain some of those skills. And I don't want to be the only knucklehead in residency program trying to manage issues that every other resident wants sent out.

I have a strong desire to do regular intl relief work...while there most likely would be other assets around to manage these issues, I would like to have the skills if needed. In the end, this is the core concern about going ortho.

If those are the types of problems you like to deal with, ortho may not be for you. Orthopaedics is a very technical field, and the field is incredibly broad compared to other specialties. There is a tremendous body of knowledge you'll have to learn during your residency, and 99% of it you have not learned in medical school...the 1% is anatomy you covered 1st year which you've forgotten. Compare this to other specialties like medicine, general surgery, peds, etc., in which you already have a basic fund of knowledge you acquire in medical school before you start residency, and build on that during your training.

Orthopaedics, like other fields like ophthalmology, ENT, neurosurgery, is highly subspecialized and there so much new information to be mastered during your ortho residency that it really leaves very little time to keep up with general medical conditions. If that's what you like to do, then I don't think ortho is the right specialty for you.

You have to have the mindset of a "specialist" to enjoy ortho...if you don't have this mindset, you may be happier elsewhere.

consider the audience you are asking, i doubt you will find many people here telling to you should do General b/c its better. I agree somewhat with the previous post about having a mindset of a specialist. You really learn very little of the surgical subspecialties in med school (how much opthomology do you know vs basic internal medicine stuff). I actually know quite a bit of Int Med type stuff and frequently correct some of the medicine interns who think they are so much smarter than the dumb orthopod who only knows how to fix bones
Another thing to take into consideration is not only the specialty itself, but the your future colleagues. Most ortho guys i know are WAY better to interact with professionally and socially vs general surgery (this is obviously a generalization)

At the end of the day ask yourself
1) Do i like the material/field/patholgy
2) Do i find the work rewarding
3) Do I "fit in" with the people i will be working with the rest of my life.

I'm a little confused. From your original post, it sounds like you're about to graduate and filling out your rank lists now. How could you be this far along, with months of ortho sub-I's, months of gen surg experience, and all of those interviews, and not have any idea what you want to do with the rest of your life? Do you really not have a passion for either one? I mean, when I was rounding at 4:30am on Ortho, I realized that I was still happy doing it -- that's when I knew for sure. I can't believe that with such different fields, you had no difference in your exeriences. Deep inside you must know what you really want -- it just sounds like you're trying to justify the alternative for some reason.

as a first year ortho resident, suffering through gen surg rotations, I can tell you that I would rather not be in medicine if I had to do general surgery. As a 3rd year I toyed with the idea of cards or urology, but I cannot state how much better ortho is vs. everything else. You get snowed in med school by the gen surg, IM people in an academic setting and get very little idea about what life is like for these people out in the real world. It sucks. Also, you are so busy in residency that the joy of buffing labs or messing with the PEEP you may have fostered in med school is long gone. I can't think of a single ortho resident I know at my program or those I stay in touch with at other programs who would even think about gen surg as a better option. When you are a resident you see how different these two fields really are.

I'm gonna have to agree with everyone else's advice above. Ortho is very different from general surgery. It is a very technical and specialized field. I didn't realize the amount of knowledge that's required for Ortho until I did my 4th year ortho rotations. I think that's the reason we as orthopods get a bad rap from other specialties for not managing our patients. Since most of our patients are generally healthier, and we're so concentrated in our specialization, we don't manage complicated diabetes, pneumonia, and other problems. Also like TexasOrtho said, I'm doing general surgery right now, and these bowel disasters are so painful. It's miserable....can't wait to be a full time ortho resident. My advice for a friend of mine who's a 3rd year was that the first thing you should is to take a really close look at yourself and evaluate what you enjoy doing and the kind of person you are. Then see what specialties fit with who you are and what you're looking for.

In response to your reply and to the rest... I have attempted the ortho match (did not match) an truly love ortho... but for someone such as aslblablabla to try and pin you into not knowing what you want is absurd. This is not what ortho nor the rest of the medical profession is about. This posting, I would think is the perfect forum to try and figure out if ortho is right for you. I agree ortho has become a specialty of "specialists". I am currently at a private hospital doing a general surgery internship, and ortho definitely "turfs" everything to medicine. But, this is not to say ortho attendings/residents can't deal with these issues, but usually out of a true time constraint they choose not too. Ortho residents in these days are either at or near the top of there classes. They are a very talented group of doctors. They can deal with the basic sciences and often choose to do research in this area, as can you... It is true, when you have to round on 30-40 patients before meeting your 7:00 lecture you would rather deal with the surgical intervention you have done rather than think about a 1200/3000 I/O, but you still can, and that is the beauty of being in ortho or general surgery or neurosurgery... the idea that you can is worth it. But don't knock other subspecialties or medicine in general, because that would definitly go against what orthopods are about. When outside of academic medicine you will all actuallly realize there are brilliant, happy people in every field... the true goal is to figure what you will be happy in.