Orthopedic Surgeon

An Orthopedic Surgeon is a Medical Doctor who deals with the musculoskeletal system. That’s the system that lets you run, kick, move, dance, and stand upright. It includes all bones, tendons, ligaments, cartilage, and muscles in the body.

Like any type of Doctor, Orthopedic Surgeons spend their days seeing and helping patients. The first time a patient comes to an Orthopedic Surgeon, it’s often because of a referral from their Primary Care Doctor. In this job, you meet with each patient to pinpoint the location of their pain, asking them questions like when it started and what their recent activities were.

Patients come to you with a host of problems. Hip replacement, torn rotary cuffs, broken bones that aren’t healing correctly, even neck or shoulder fractures are all within your realm of expertise. Once you have a better idea of what your patient is dealing with, you can then make recommendations. Sometimes, surgery is the best option, but this isn’t always the case, and you might suggest physical therapy or rest.

When surgery is recommended, you keep your patient educated. You let them know things like how the surgery will be done, what type of tools will be used, and how long the recovery will be. Some surgical procedures are quick and fairly noninvasive, while others will have you cutting a large area of the body open, and require a few weeks of recovery.

After the surgery, you schedule follow-up appointments to make sure things are healing as they should, and to answer any other questions the patient might have. Throughout all of your patient meetings, you keep detailed reports of their condition. These reports are included in patient medical records for insurance purposes or for reference when medical issues arise in the future.