Physical Demands

my strength is purely ego!!!

its a physically demanding job, period. as previously mentioned, endurance and forearm strength are probably most important. your average medical student (be it male or female) does not have what it takes (physically) to do the job. every applicant i've ever seen has an athletic background of some sort. maybe there are exceptions, but certainly not the norm.

I've been reading this ... very amused. The "jacked" guys are like that partly because of ego not necessity. I am a 5'4" 105lb female in year 4 of my residency. Yes, I am stronger than most girls (and many guys) my size and yes I run/rock climb - but come on, at 105lbs I am certainly not even close to the 'typical' ortho res even with my heaviest winter gear. As the smallest person in the program, I believe I have held my own just fine. I have held and manipulated the legs in the 350 lb THA patient and lived to tell about it. Twice I haven't been able to reduce a hip dislocation, but then each time our 240lb chairman and a 220 muscular resident couldn't either. So, no you don't have to be "jacked" but you also can't be a wimp. It's also a lot of forearm, back, and appropriate use of lever arms. Don't let anyone tell you that you can't . This is an awesome job so go for it. Besides, it is SO much fun to prove everyone wrong that doubts you because of size !!
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I'm 5'8" and a swimmer...and a girl. I'm as tall as or taller than the majority of residents at my home program, including the guys, and I was taller than a good number of attendings with whom I interviewed on the trail. I think that your height should be the least of your worries; they make steps and adjustable OR tables for a reason! I do agree, though, that grip and forearm strength are a huge advantage...moreso than benching in the 350 Club.
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I'm more worried about my height. I'm only 5'9", but can bench about 290. Every ortho resident I've seen has been taller than me.
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Wise words, Earthdawg



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BoneHard
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Well said..........................
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Yes, Obra, it is a well known scientific fact that you can't put in a total knee unless you can "bench more than a gnat" like hardboner above. I think he can at least bench more than a rat. You should hit the gym now, and not even THINK about applying to ortho until you can bench over 350 lbs. I also think you should get your squat over 400 before you could consider yourself a candidate to become a resident at a "big northeast program". And above all, DON'T be a "tool".

Yes.



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BoneHard
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i think i want to meet the 5'9", 125 lb girl...where did she go?????

what the hell is an AO distractor?? j/k. strength NEVER hurts as long as you know how to use it. period

I agree with several of the various opinions stated so far. having strength cant hurt, especially if you how how to efficiently apply it.

I have only met one surgeon that I thought actually had a noticably harder time of things b/c of his poor strength. He was a great surgeon, things were just alittle harder but he still got the job done and I would allow him to operate on me in a second.

I have met several surgeons/residents who attempt to "muscle" through things rather than using a more proper efficient way of doing things. It usually ends up a big struggle/mess. there is a reason we have things like AO distractors and fracture tables.

In the end, I dont think it really matters that much. Some people may just have a little harder time with certain things but still get the job done

many who are apply to ortho think to much like Cobra Kai

and you need to think more like Mr. Miyagi
having strength is only part of ortho. practicing orthopaedics is not holding a leg for hours. are there things that require some physical strength, sure. can people learn leverage techniques, most definitely. beyond the physical strength, stamina tends to be more beneficial than strength. even more important than physical stamina is mental stamina. most cases will not physically fatigue you, but they will mentally fatigue you. if you are going to train for the demands of surgery, concentrate on your physical stamina, more so than strength. hand and forearm strength is probably helpful as well. you really can't train for mental stamina required in a long case 5+hrs.

You dont have to be jacked to meet the demands of an orthopedic residency, but there are some things to be said about maintaining a healthy lifestyle to get you though the long hours without fatigue. Oftentimes, its more of a stamina game than a strength game.

If you absolutley insist upon hitting the gym, work on your grip and forearm strength. This will help you more during the daily activities of holding stuff, reducing fractures and driving screws in without slowing down.

Mr_M

Amen to that

yeah, like you would ever see tornetta skiing on a leg. if you are small, you just have to get to a point in your career where you have a band of meatheads following you around to lift legs and what not.

Just because I like to play devil's advocate, I would like to point out that there are plenty of great trauma/joint surgeons of small or medium stature: Tornetta, Koval, Scott, Harris, etc.

Can't say I can think of too many humongous hand surgeons though. I can certainly think of many great "small and nimble" hand surgeons.

sounds like a reasonable compromise


big and strong helps with trauma and total joints. on a 250+lb total hip patient, you need to be able to range the hip with one arm, and feel in the joint for impingement/etc. with the other.

small and nimble is probably better for hand surgery, foot and ankle, etc.

either way, the career seems physically demanding when it comes to general stamina. if you're 400+lbs and way out of shape, you better have good help

Honestly, I have never seen a situation in ortho where being huge was a disadvantage, and many situations where being huge was an advantage (this from the perspective of a small guy).

That said, many great orthopods out there are not huge guys. Being huge helps with many of the tasks of daily living in ortho, but not being huge is not a great disadvantage either.

Young grasshopper. . . . . .never got scutted out because of my size. Every one will spend some time water skiing. . . . . .even attendings. Not exactly scut. Most times it was for the junior to do the case, as was done for me when I was a young jedi. More like being a team player.

My partner is the Orthopod, not me.

She's 5 foot exactly and her size hasn't stopped her doing anything so far.

Cheers