Possibly Switching to Ortho

Obviously, you cant change anything now that the nrmp match is closed. So you will end up in gen surg residency. The problem you gotta face is that very few PGY2 ortho spots pop up and those very few are taken already by insiders. So you may have to face the situation of applying for ortho again. The one thing going for you is that you are not a repeat ortho applicant even though you will go through match twice. So you probably arent gonna face the stigma of repeat ortho applier. your best bet would be ortho prog at same place where u end up for gen surg.

I wouldn't get my hopes up. I'm not sure with a 215 to begin with if you could get into an ortho prgram outside of your home program, and coming in from a g-surg program, it would be very rough. I did meet a guy at Stanfor who switched from the Stanford G-surg to the Ortho department, but I don't really think it would be possible unless someone drops out at the place you do G-surg and you have been buttering up the PD at that program.

if ortho is what you want to do just go for it. you don't want to regret not taking your shot.

dude, with 215/240, good recs and a strong intern year, you totally have a shot. the issue is not as much is it possible, but how to do it without burning bridges in both directions.
you do not want to burn your home program (assuming that's where you match.) you want them to say "gee, we think you're great. but, if you don't want to do what we have spent our lives doing, we will help you get into your new specialty." one way to get help is to make sure your elective months help you meet ortho intern req's.
also, with regard to ortho, no one wants an intern who's gonna leave. you are deciding this without even matching yet. i am not saying i don't understand (cuz i totally do) but 1) if ortho's so great why didn't you go for it before (i know you answered that, but i'm devils advocate here) and 2) are you sure you aren't just having a totally understandable case of buyer's remorse after choosing a specialty?
long post, sorry. i can just imagine how stressful this must be for you. good luck

cheers.
firegirl