Physical Demands

bone jock - sounds like you get scutted out to skiing the leg precisely because you are huge. i will proudly admit that i'm not strong enough to do some of things you've described. i am, however, smart enough to call for help when i need it, without a single adverse consequence to myself or the patient.

for the undersized out there - do not let this be part of the equation during your application process or career choice. do what you want to do for the hundreds of other good reasons out there.

rocket

In the words of one of my former teamates - "I got a six pack, it's just covered up by a bag of chips."

Translation:

Lots of muscle. . . . . . . . .and chub.

is that 270 muscle or chubb? I am kinda in the same boat. My six pack is now a full fledged keg!

I'll be controversial. . . . . . . .but truthful. I'm 6'3" and about 270 lbs. Former FB player, can bench over 300lbs. Have I had trouble performing some orthopaedic tasks. . . . .yes. But usually, if I couldn't do it. . . . . .no one else was going to be able to do it either. When I was a junior, if the hip couldn't get reduced by me in the ER, then we'd be booking it for the OR. No questions asked.

I have definitely seen some smaller residents struggle with things that come easily to me. Examples: Doing a Lachman's on a 350lb NFL lineman. Prepping a leg in a 350lb trauma patient with ipsilateral tibia and femur fractures. Hammering home a rasp down a supper tight femoral canal. Water skiing on a huge leg for hours (I could just lean my 270 lbs backwards w/o using much muscle activity) during a tough fracture case. This doesn't mean you should go out and start doing growth hormone. It just means you need to find ways to work with what you have.

In short. Is ortho a physically demanding field. Yes. 10x more so than ANY other medical field. But OVER 95% of what we do actually requires more brain and dexterity then braun. But the reality is I NEVER saw my size as a disadvantage. And if you're on the smaller size of the spectrum and actually believe that you have NO limitations, you're fooling yourself. It's like me thinking I'm gonna go out and win a marathon. Just my humble opinion.

its not the size of the equipment its how you use it. I have heard plenty of guys use this line but it never seems to work

Agreed. Ive seen plenty of smaller sized individuals do even better than those with larger folk with brute force because they know how to use their weight effectively via positioning and such. This is coming from someone on the other side of the size spectrum
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I'm stoked on all my interviews, I'm 5'9'', 125 lbs, female and a rock climber... so while I'm not buff I do know about body positioning for maximum efficacy. The result is I can hold my own with most guys I've worked with... and thus far no one has asked for proof of what I can bench press (and if they did they would probably laugh).
So basically it's not about the size of your equipment, but how you use it!

oh lordy. this again?

i'm 5'4" and around 125 pounds. i'm a biker and distance runner. and i'm a woman.

i can hold my own. not all stereotypes are true.

to get a residency interview at top ten places, you need certified proof that you can bench over 450...seriously