Ortho vs ER

it's not

there's a lot more to the profession than just joints - you may've gotten a skewed view on your away. but i suspect the residency is too brutal to have 2nd thoughts. besides, ER is fun and has nice hours and good pay.

I agree that you may have a skewed view of ortho if you just base it on experience in joints. Maybe you just picked something to make your example, but if you base it all on experience watching joints you may try seeing another side of ortho. Total joints are very technically involved. You have to know landmarks on where to make cuts, you have to understand the components, you have to understand the tool set...my point being that total joint surgery is something that is, from a technical standpoint, way over our heads as students. I did a joints month as a 3rd year and was bored out of my mind. But later I did other rotations and found other things that I really liked.

Bottom line is, you have to find what makes you the most happy. The biggest mistake of your life would be to not be totally dedicated to your chosen field and end up miserable later. Get with people like your advisor, mentor, friends, anyone whose opinions you value, take some time and find what you can be happy with for the rest of your life. Good luck!

They are very different fields. In ER, you will be handling lots of medical patients with acute MI's, GI bleeds, AMS/confused senior citizens and the grand prize - drunk homeless people. For the most part it's treat & street or consult a specialty. There is no follow up of the patients as well. You may due minor procedures (suturing, shoulder reductions) but no OR time. On the flip side, you work a number of shifts per month, take no call & can usually find someone else to pass the patients off to.
For Ortho, you will be in the OR 2-3 times per week, will take call and have some in-patients, some sub-specialities more than others. You work in a specific field which is very technical, unlike ER where you do a little of everything. You usually follow your patients for years and are able to follow your results long-term.
You need to select a field you envision yourself enjoying 5,10,20 years from now. I thought I would go into ER when I started med school but was turned off by the current climate of ER triage medicine, where you basically see a pt briefly and start paging various specialities. This is the reality and unless the medicolegal climate of medicine improves, the future of ER medicine will follow down that path.