While in medical school, students must decide on one of the numerous careers within the healthcare profession. This can be a daunting task due to the countless areas a doctor can specialize in. One profitable and rewarding area is in orthopedic surgery. An orthopedic surgeon is a doctor who specializes in treating the musculoskeletal system. Take a look at the top benefits of becoming an orthopedic surgeon.
1. The work schedule
It takes a long time to become an orthopedic surgeon, about 13 years of higher education. But fortunately, those years of jam-backed residency leads way to a relatively light workload. Though orthopedic surgeons have a stressful job performing hundreds of surgeries each year, their average work week is only 4 days long, which is less than the average American. Orthopedic surgeons also get 4 to 6 weeks of vacation time per year. However, they may also be required to complete a certain amount of time on-call depending on their hospital's policy, so it's not all a cakewalk.
2. A large paycheck
Orthopedic surgeons are some of the most highly paid doctors in America with a median salary of $519,000, though many can make much, much more.
3. A healthy lifestyle
Maybe it's all the running around the hospital, or many it's the weeks of vacation time, but orthopedic surgeons tend to lead a much more active and healthy lifestyle than most. In a 2012 study, about 75% of the orthopedic surgeons surveyed listed exercise as their favorite out of office pastime. This is reflected in their low rate of obesity: Nearly 35% of American adults are obese, but only 4% of orthopedic surgeons in the US suffer from obesity.
4. A happy life
The above mentioned study also took note of orthopedic surgeon's happiness levels, and what they found was some cheerful people: over 60% said they would rate their lives as happy or very happy, and the average married surgeon rated their marriage's happiness levels a 4 out 5.
5. The career options
Because orthopedic surgeons are specialists, they usually work with other health care providers as consultants or at hospitals and multispecialty groups. Though some may work at special orthopedic centers or go into solo practice, many others will become professors, teaching medical students and researching health issues.
The very best thing about a career in orthopedics is the life changing care that they provide. Look into studying orthopedics if this rigorous, yet rewarding career seems right for you.
Share30 March 2015
My parents taught me healthy eating habits and I played outside a lot as a kid. Once I was old enough to work, I got a job as a waiter at a restaurant and kept waiting tables throughout high school and college. After college, I got my very first desk job, and my health started declining. I soon realized that even though I had never stepped foot in a gym, I was living a sedentary lifestyle for the first time in my life. I wasn't getting exercise playing outside or running around at work, so I decided to commit to going to the gym. My health began to improve and I now greatly enjoy bodybuilding. I know many other people are in ill health and can't figure out why, so I decided to start a blog to share my health tips and inspire everyone improve their health!
