An Orthopedic Physical Therapist is a specialist who deals with the treatment of bones, muscles, ligaments, tendons, and joints. Some of the things that he has to deal with are broken bones, torn ligaments, spasms, spinal injuries etc. An orthopedic basically deals with treatment of injuries and deformations of your bones and muscles. An orthopedic surgeon basically uses surgical means to treat patients. But there are some physicians who use non surgical means to treat the patients. Non surgical means include work outs, exercises, etc. Apart from surgeries, an orthopedic surgeon prescribes medicines and injections to the patients. Some of the common problems addressed by orthopedic doctors are arthritis, pulled muscles, fractures in bones and other such orthopedic related issues.
Some experienced and skilled orthopedic doctor's deal with a complex field of orthopedics called prosthesis. An orthopedic surgeon should be able to use these devices and also give some suggestions for further development of these devices. Another enticing branch that has evolved lately is plastic surgery. This is yet another budding field of orthopedics. Carrying out surgeries and educating the patient and his family about the treatment to be carried out at home to prevent further injuries are all part and parcel of an orthopedic doctors' job.
Excellent qualification is a must if you want to make a mark in this field as there is immense competition. You need to have 4 years of undergraduate education. At the undergraduate level, you must be well versed with subjects like biology, human anatomy, chemistry, pediatrics, math, and physics. Unlike other fields related to biology, here you need to have technical know how such as how to operate complex instruments. You also are in a position to suggest further improvements in orthotic devices. 4 years of undergrad is to be followed by 4 years of medical training. With this much qualification you can work as an assistant surgeon in some clinics. You cannot carry out surgeries of your own.
Orthopedic physical therapists should have a good command over human anatomy and also physics, math, and physiology. In addition to this, an orthopedic surgeon needs to have excellent hand eye coordination skills. He should give importance to the minutest details as one mistake during surgery can prove to be very fatal. He should not buckle under pressure as many a times he has to carry out surgeries where patients' limbs are at stake. This involves having lots of patience along with concentration. Also, updating your skills is very essential. This means that you must keep track of the latest developments as this field is highly evolving and there is practically a new invention every other day. So you have to keep yourself updated.
If you want to start your own practice, you need to have 5 years of residency training in orthopedic surgery. There are various orthopedic centers that provide this training. The residency training comprises 1 year of general training in surgery followed by 4 years of dedicated orthopedic surgery training. Getting into a residency training center is very challenging and requires excellent grades in graduation level. If a residency training program is followed by one year of specialization training, it will really make you stand out amongst the bunch of physicians. The various fields that you can specialize in are hand surgery, neural surgery, prosthesis, joint reconstruction, pediatrics, orthopedics, oncology, plastic surgery, and spinal injuries for which you can take training.
The career prospects in the field of orthopedic physical therapist are physiotherapy which will require gaining an additional education for two to three years.
Being an orthopedic surgeon can be a demanding job. It can be very tiring to be in the operating room for hours at a stretch. You cannot expect fixed working hours. In case of emergencies, you might have to come in at odd times as well. Being an orthopedic doctor might compel you to sacrifice your personal life. But given the compensation, it might be well worth it. If you have made your mark, even general surgeons can earn as high as well over $300,000 annually. This figure increases significantly if you have a specialization. Plastic surgeons earn around $400,000 annually whereas neurosurgeons earn a whopping $600,000+ annually.
The employment outlook is excellent. You will also get a chance to become associated with some high profile hospitals across the world.
