OSOrthopedic Surgeon
OS
Career

Orthopedic Surgeon

By the numbers
Typical pay
$358,550 / yr
Education to start
Doctoral or professional degree
Future demand
+4.1% by 2034
People in this job
14K
Figures shown for ·1 O*NET occupation
The work
Watch · day in the life
A day, hour by hour
06:15
Pre-op rounds

Check on today's surgical patients — vitals, nerves, last-minute questions.

07:00
Imaging review

Study X-rays and MRIs; confirm exactly where to cut and what to fix.

07:45
First surgery

Open the OR — total knee replacement, three hours on your feet.

11:00
Surgical decision

Torn meniscus case: save the tissue or remove it? Call it in the OR.

12:30
Clinic consults

See six patients — diagnose, explain options, decide who actually needs surgery.

14:30
Post-op checks

Walk the ward; flag one patient whose swelling looks wrong.

15:15
Recovery planning

Coordinate with PT to build a rehab plan for two post-surgical patients.

16:00
Pre-op counseling

Walk tomorrow's patient through the procedure, risks, and what recovery looks like.

17:30
Trauma call

ER pages: bad car crash, femur fracture — scrub in for emergency surgery.

Things you do
  • Cut open joints and bones to repair, replace, or rebuild them.
  • Fix broken bones by setting them with rods, screws, or plates.
  • Examine X-rays and MRIs to figure out what's wrong with a patient.
  • Decide whether a patient needs surgery or can heal without it.
  • Walk patients through what their surgery involves and what recovery looks like.
Decisions you’ll make
  • Does this patient actually need surgery, or can we fix this without cutting?
  • Is what I'm seeing on the imaging bad enough to operate on right now?
  • Should I try to save this damaged tissue, or remove it and start fresh?
  • Is this patient healthy enough to handle the risks of going under anesthesia?
  • Is my patient's slow recovery normal, or is something going wrong?
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