I'd appreciate some advice on my situation. I'm a medicine resident who has had a change of heart and would like to pursue a career in orthopedics. I'm trying to figure out how to approach this. I had very little experience in orthopedics in medical school (no 4th year rotation), and have become interested through my experiences in my clinic and the hospital. Early on in my medical school career I was interested in ortho and was able to be a part of an abstract that was presented at a national meeting, but I became fixated on my career in medicine and did not pursue anything further.
I was wondering how to go about this. I do not have the clinical experience at this point to get letters of recommendation from orthopedic surgeons. I assume that I am too late for the current application cycle, so would a research year next year be a good idea?
Here's my info:
Top 3 medical school
AOA
Step 1: 245
Step 2: 255
Resident at what many consider to be the top medicine program, in good standing with the program.
Thanks in advice for your help. I am looking for any advice that people are willing to give.
1. You could consider nonoperative orthopedics and do a primary care sports medicine fellowship.
2. You could finish your medicine residency, so you have something to fall back on and jump into an orthopedic research fellowship and use that year to help launch yourself into orthopedics. Adds a few years, but if you fail to get into ortho, you can go out in to practice.
3. You try to match into orthopedics while a medicine resident. You may want to start hanging around the ortho conferences and talking with the ortho program director to see if someone local can help you out.
Just some thoughts. Whatever you decide, you should have a backup plan in place.
Do you happen to have any idea how I could get letters of rec? Is there any chance that I could make meaningful faculty contacts during an elective rotation?
If you have the time for an elective ortho rotation, you should be able to get a LOR. I would try to get at least a one month rotation. Also, if you get to know the program director or other faculty and spend some time with them and also time at ortho conferences, you may be able to get other LORs as well.
I like you completed an internal medicine residency and then spent time doing doing orthopaedic research and then matched in ortho. Its not easy, but can be done. You have to find a place to do research that might give you an opportunity. I would suggest research time at:
1) U Penn clinical orthopaedic oncology fellowship
2) Research w/ Michael Mont at Sinai Hospital in Baltimore.
