ORTHOPEDIC SURGEON SALARIES
An Orthopedic Surgeon fixes broken and ailing bones.A single sweep of your eye on the figures below are enough to convince that bones are big money!
Here are sample mid-career, annual base salaries :
A.
It ain't too easy for International Medical graduates, especially who need US visas, to land a orthopedics position. Most programs will need you to do a preliminary year - and usually visa for a single year is not always sponsored (green card holders / Citizen IMGs) obviously have an advantage here). And ofcourse, American Medical Graduates prefer the field (it's highly satisfying paying) !
NOTE: Salaries here are the 50th Percentile Salaries and may apply to mid-career levels - the lower percentile salaries (for fresh physicians) may actually be lower by 30,000- 40,000 $
Also Read:
Google keywords to this blog article: - "Average Wage for Orthopedic surgeons in America" - "how much money are orthopedic surgeons earning"
Here are sample mid-career, annual base salaries :
- Houston, TX: $322,000/-
- Los Angeles, CA: $350,000/-
- Miami, FL: $315,000/-
- New York, NY: $367,000/-
- Seattle, WA: $342,000/-
A.It ain't too easy for International Medical graduates, especially who need US visas, to land a orthopedics position. Most programs will need you to do a preliminary year - and usually visa for a single year is not always sponsored (green card holders / Citizen IMGs) obviously have an advantage here). And ofcourse, American Medical Graduates prefer the field (it's highly satisfying paying) !
NOTE: Salaries here are the 50th Percentile Salaries and may apply to mid-career levels - the lower percentile salaries (for fresh physicians) may actually be lower by 30,000- 40,000 $
Also Read:
Google keywords to this blog article: - "Average Wage for Orthopedic surgeons in America" - "how much money are orthopedic surgeons earning"
Labels: Orthopedic Surgeon, Orthopedic Surgery, Orthopedician, Orthopedics
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posted by Digitaldoc, MD at 5:41 PM
Comments on "ORTHOPEDIC SURGEON SALARIES"
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Anonymous said ... (4/05/2009) :
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Jeremy said ... (6/24/2009) :
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Sean said ... (6/28/2009) :
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Mark and Sasha said ... (7/03/2009) :
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Anonymous said ... (7/04/2009) :
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Digitaldoc, MD said ... (7/05/2009) :
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SKelnerMD said ... (7/18/2009) :
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Anonymous said ... (8/08/2009) :
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Dre + Drew - Southern Living - Georgia said ... (8/13/2009) :
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Natalie future orthopedic surgeon said ... (8/27/2009) :
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stoker said ... (8/29/2009) :
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Anonymous said ... (8/30/2009) :
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Katie Thomas said ... (9/07/2009) :
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Anonymous said ... (9/13/2009) :
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Anonymous said ... (9/18/2009) :
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Anonymous said ... (9/22/2009) :
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Anonymous said ... (9/23/2009) :
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Natalee said ... (10/08/2009) :
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Anonymous said ... (10/08/2009) :
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Anonymous said ... (10/20/2009) :
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Anonymous said ... (11/08/2009) :
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Anonymous said ... (11/08/2009) :
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Anonymous said ... (11/20/2009) :
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Anonymous said ... (11/29/2009) :
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Anonymous said ... (12/07/2009) :
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Digitaldoc, MD said ... (12/08/2009) :
Post Your Comment !I have heard that orthopedic spine surgeons in Orange County can make 800,000 to 1.7 million dollars!
Thats just Wrong! Doctors should Not be getting paid that much! I feel the people who want to get into orthro, urology, derm, etc are money hungry. That is why those specialties are hard to get into...Help people my ASS!!!
Well Jeremy i must say that i believe regardless of whether those types of surgeons want to help people or not, a pay of that amount is little compensation to what a person after 12+ additional years of schooling upon highschool deserves
Yeah, let's give all the money to the professional athletes instead. They deserve that and then some, right?
What training is required after med school to become an orthopedic surgeon?
After Medical School, apply for a Orthopedic Surgery Residency Program, which is a 5-year program
To Jeremy,
Once you swallow as much shit as we have, dealing with noncompliant patients, passing test after misserable test, staying up all night taking care of patients regardless of whether its Tuesday or Christmas, the constant threat of baseless malpractice lawsuits, you too will want a bit more than minumum wage. Not to mention the schooling of course.
I could not agree more with the person above me.
Dude jeremy,
only if you would know the amount of crap we put up with during the premedicine undergrad years, then go thru hell to get into med school and then residency .. this looks like just bare minimum wage to me. Why does it sting you guys so much that doctor, lawyers hence the educated people get paid so much. I don hear half the fuss when yall pay millions to uneducated movie actors. No to mention the athletes.. THAT is just wrong.
Could not agree more with the last two comments. I am a wife of a doctor and to have gone through the sacrifice with him since medical school is eye opening. What the doctors choose to give up, time, sleep, hobbies basically everything to become a doctor. He is now applying for a two year fellowship which is two more years added on from undergrad, med school and a 4 year residency! You want quality care you pay for it, they deserve it they studied their @#!!$ off!!! Many weekends and nights forsaking family and friends and personal times with a book in their faces. Don't get me started.
Caring for the sick must be one of the most rewarding and honest jobs. Unfortunetly, many medical schools discriminate towards who truly has the passion. Probability is that they are going to pick the straight A student rather than someone who is really devoted to caring for the sick. We don't have control over that so let's just make the best out of it. The salary is reasonable and they deserve more credit. Id rather have someone who's curing me making that money rather than celebrities and athletes who have poor education. Right, like let's throw all our money to britney spears hahaha that's insane and ridiculous how the media has people attached to the television rather than a good book.
I am an orthopaedic surgeon very far away from you,from an other part of the world but I will be working in US for a while beginning from this december than I will come back to home.I see that the argument is similar whole in the world.What I could all say was said by Georgia so I thank her.That is really right my friends not for US doctors but for all the world's doctors and especially for the orthopaedic surgeons.
Jeremy,
I am an Orthopaedic resident in my third year. I can tell you that after 4 years of college {where you have to be in the top 10% of your class to get into medical school}, 4 years of medical school, again where you have to be in the top 10%, it was nothing but hard work. Add on top missing your close friends weddings because of a rigid call schedule ,hundreds of thousands in debt, living month to month on a salary where you earn for 40 hours of the over 80 hours you are working a week. I am not whining. I LOVE what I do, and I certainly do not think for one second that ANY physician goes into his/her specialty thinking their patients are potential dollars. I believe most physicians try to do the right thing. Finally, I will ask, suppose you are a carpenter, your hands are your livelihood...and you are in an accident where both bones in your forearm are broken, in your dominant arm...how much is it worth to you for that arm, that moneymaker, to be fixed? I can tell you that the physician compensation to meticulously fix a complex injury such as the aforementioned is around $500. How much do you pay when a major part of your car goes?
To those above who knows what it takes to get through med school and a residency alive,
I am working on my pre-med degree as we speak. I am VERY interested in become an Orthopedic surgeon. Any suggestions for my future?
jeremy i think your just jealous b/c you havent done anything w/ your life
Jeremy don't talk about things you know nothing about. I went through 5 years of college, worked low paying jobs to gain experience, went with out jobs so that I could volunteer to do research, did another year of post-bac work, and am in my second year of medschool. While you and friends go on vacations, have fun, go party with your friends, Im up past midnight trying to pass classes and be in the top % of the boards. I don't see my wife and children as much as I nearly should. I will graduate with 200K+ of debt, and then go on to do a 5 year residency with minimal pay. Every day I will face the threats of whinny butts thinking that they might get rich by filing baseless lawsuits. Im sorry but if you want a profession just for money, medicine isn't it. I will work harder than any lawyer, athlete, musician, or actor ever will. While my friends have been their professions for 6 years, I'm still in school, and have never had a steady income. Why would anyone sacrifice this much? Because they love what they do. I will be 35 before I start earning a real sallary. This puts me 14 years behind most college graduates. Thats 14 years with out money, retirement funds, investments, and returns on interest. Don't tell me I make too much, because i will never make enough, the job is the real reward.
Justification for a higher education. Anyone that doesn't agree with how much this profession makes should attempt to attend college, get into medical school, earn the residency positon, and compete for their fellowships. If you don't have the time, education, or motivation, keep your over-paid opionions to yourself and appreciate the fact that these surgeons have the ability to save you or a loved one's life after an unexpected accident.
Katie,
A few thoughts: I recommend you fully explore other career options before deciding to jump into medicine. Orthopedics is an excellent job and a lot of fun, but I am fairly convinced I could have found an equally rewarding job with a lot less personal sacrifice. Consider spending some time on the wards in the hospital, spend some time in the ER, and if you just think it is the greatest thing since sliced bread, go for it. It may be quite an eye opening experience. Taking care of people is nothing like what I imagined it was.
It has been great to read about similar experiences of others through pre-med, med school and residency as I move through my orthopedic residency. Other people have described the perils of our career choices better than I can. Good luck.
Hi,
My huge goal is to become an orthepedic surgeon. After reading all these comments I question my goals... Is it worth all the stress and work? Do you have time to live your life a little during med school? I am a straight A student, but how do I get accepted into med school? This is a huge dream of mine, so let me know what you think!! thanks
Natalee,
I'm currently an Orthopaedic Resident in training, and like many other of the comments I would recommend you shadow someone first hand. The hours are long and I have missed almost every family vacation and friend's wedding while working. At times it is possible to attend important functions, but people within your residency program/medical school will have to pick up the slack while you are gone. You will see that it is not quite fair to ask them to do it and people will resent you for missing too many days of work (everyone is understaffed as is and overworked). If you truly want to do surgery after seeing people work from 5:30 AM till 7/8 PM everyday, then do not let anything stand in your way. The other thing is that just because you get accepted to medical school doesn't guarantee you an orthopaedic residency. There were over 900 applicants this year and only 400 + matched. That figure does not include the people that wanted to apply and then didn't secondary to grades. Think long and hard prior to going to medical school, as it will change dramatically once new legislation is passed. With all that said, I do not regret any of the choices I made and I would certainly do it all over again. Any orthopaedic surgeon would be happy to let you shadow them and give you their personal opinion and advice. Good luck!
Hey guys my name is Erin and I and I also have the dream of becoming an orthopedic surgeon because at a young age I got a serious injury and fell in love with the feild. I am only a college sophomore. Any tips on how to make it threw the next decade of my life
If you are a doctor you wouldn't be complaining on how much doctors make. You should be yelling at insurance companies and pharmaceutical companies who try to act like they went to medical school. If you haven't trained in the field please do not complain about their salary. I think movie stars and athletes shouldn't be making billions of dollars, why don't you complain about that?
To Jeremy,
Don't talk the talk unless you've walked the walk. And I know you haven't by your comment. You should know better than to disrespect the medical profession by your comment. If you knew any better you would blame insurance companies and pharmaceutical companies. Or maybe you work for them and that's why you're bitter and ingnorant. Why don't you complain of movie stars, tv stars, musicians and athletes making billions? ...
You are both right. It is obscenely unfair...on the surface. But what makes it so unfair is what makes this country great. "Capitalism is the worst form of government....except for all the others" -Winston Churchill
My husband is an Orthopedic Surgeon and I'm not ashamed to say that he normally earns close to the average (but in 2009 he earned 1/3 the norm). College, medical school, internship and fellowship were only part of the price tag for his earning power. 60 hour work weeks, 1 night's call in 4, and NEVER being able to go anywhere without the possibility of having to turn around and go home, is the rest of the price tag (to say nothing of the days of depression that follow amputations.)
To all those who are hoping the government limit his earnings? Be careful what you wish for. If too many restrictions are placed on his earnings (like in Canada) I will not allow him to work one minute more than he has to to get by. Ergo; Anyone needing a new hip or ACL repair can wait 6 months (as they do in Canada) until the docs go back to work. And when all the old orthopedist retire, no new ones will be there to take their place. There will be no incentive.
to jeremy
i agrre with all of the above im an orthooedic surgean workin in new york. yes i make quite alot of money but i hardly get to see my kids because of all the work im doing so doent complain you are just a stuborn child who wishes you could have done something with your like
As the mother-in-law of an Orthopedic Surgeon who regularly goes to help my daughter who often seems like a single parent as her husband works all the long hours described by others. The word that best describes the process is 'sacrifice and selflessness.'
Salary is absent during med school and low throughout residency and fellowship, this adds up to 10 years of time. Time, it seems to me is a key factor of what our lives consist of--the years of our 20's and 30's are precious and doctors and their spouses give up these years in essence to pursue the difficult study and training they embark on.
Not to mention the debt, and the lost time in earning an income and saving for families and self.
Frankly, I think people are very poorly informed when they 'blame' doctors for making high salaries.
Look around and see what 'skilled' professionals are making in other careers! Careers that do not require the level of training or 'sacrifice' or loss of years of one's life, or risk that physicians are required to make. Look at salaries and then factor in the hours doctors work once they finish all the training.
Is the U.S. health care system messed up? I think so, but I don't blame the doctors. How about looking at all the highly paid MBA's and medical care executives along with the high profit insurance
'experts'.
The question for the future is why a bright capable person who could excel in many careers and probably make more money per hour would pick medicine? As we try to repair our U.S. system we need to be very thoughtful for all our sakes.
Appreciate your well-worded input and further enlightening readers ...