Top names in orthopedics

There are a lot of things that come into play in who is considered a "big name." One major factor is regionalism... a "big name" on the East Coast could be largely unheard of on the West. Here are some things that generally make someone well known.

1) Major textbooks in their area of expertise
2) Major publications (think of the kind of pubs that are often cited by others)
3) Past, present, future big wigs in the AAOS, OTA, other "big name" organizations
4) Chairmen of distinguished programs

Those are the major ones that I can think of off-hand. Hope that helps.

Thanks for the info - that definitely helps.

However, no one has answered my first question: Who are the big names in orthopedics?

Nobody answered the question probably because it's kinda dumb. It's like asking "who are the tops names in the business world, or politics?" It's such a broad group of people that it's hard to define who the top guys are.

Why the interest anyway?

Come on, Sawbones - Orthopedics is a mere fraction of the healthcare industry. The healthcare industry is just one industry in a long list that comprises "business." Don't try to say that orthopedics is as general a term as business because that truly is dumb, to put things in your words.

I understand that there are lots of great orthopedic surgeons. Just like residencies and many other things, there is no top ten list. I am merely asking who some big names are because I'm curious. I don't think that's a dumb question.

I think what Sawbonz was trying to relate is that the question has a million different answers depending on what exactly you mean. Let's not forget that orthopaedics is divided into 8 or so subspecialties. The "big name" in spine might not be known as well outside that circle. Also, like I said previously, the "big name" on the West Coast may not be as well known on the East.

So, my suggestion would be to redefine the question... e.g. who are the top academic people in Pediatric Orthopaedics on the West Coast (this has a more easily defined answer).

I'm assuming you are wanting to know this because you want "big names" for your letter of recs. Again let me say this is relative. Your best letter of recs will come from people your interviewer knows well. Now, this is not something you will generally know. But, if your interviewer knows the LOR writer and has a high opinion of him, that will transend to you if the letter strongly supports you. If you have a "big name"... and your interviewer thinks this particular guy is an ass... or whatever, than do you think that big name is going to help you? Use your judgement rather than simply look to beef up your LORs with names.

I will give my opinion on LOR advice, others can elaborate.

1) Ortho letters matter most, you will need other letters in your file to meet program requirements. I recommend 1 non-ortho (pref non-surgical ) letter in your packet, supplemented by the rest all ortho. This shows that you can be a part of the "team" and interact well with non-ortho, non-surgical people you will consult.

2) A person who knows YOU well, and will write a strong letter is better than someone who is well known and writes a "this guy worked with the residents on my service... I assume he is an OK guy because I didn't hear any complaints about him and he didn't obviously screw anything up that came to my attention."

I strongly suggest you to read a book by Dr. Augusto Sarmiento "Barebones. The price of success in American medicine" (2003). The very name of this person is legendary for most orthopedic surgeons; the book, among other merits, has very worthy feature - the author, vividly describing his experiences, virtually places the reader among many top-names of American and world orthopedics, letting you to draw your own opinion.

Thanks for the responses, guys. I am an MS1, so LOR's aren't really on my mind right now. I was just kinda looking for a Who's Who for reference later and because I'm curious. But I understand the question is subjective.

I will look into reading that book - thanks for the recommendation.

In the meantime, I saw a "big names" thread yesterday on a different website. Here is the link for those of you that are curious:



It's certainly not comprehensive, but it's a few people's opinions.