If you're going to do orthopedic surgery residency, I think that there are some things you should know before you choose to do it. I didn't really consider a lot of the things that are involved in the residency and I don't necessarily regret that because there was no other field of medicine that I felt extremely passionate about. So for me, all of these things do not outweigh the positives, but there are definitely some things to be aware of that can really affect your life. You will be exposed to a lot of radiation in residency. You should be supplied with lead by your hospital and your program that adequately protects you. But at the same time, you're still being exposed even if you're wearing the lead and the lead doesn't always fit. I don't have an auxiliary shield and we know that women have breast tissue that often goes outside of the lead vest that we typically wear. There is no way to avoid being exposed to this radiation. We use a lot of intraoperative fluoroscopy. Another thing which applies to many surgical residencies in general is that you will lack a lot of sleep in residency. And lacking sleep can do a lot of bad things for your health and your mental health. There's really no way to get through surgical residency, especially orthopedic surgery residency and some of these really competitive specialties without being sleep deprived. Another thing which applies to many surgical residencies in general is that you will lack a lot of sleep in residency. And lacking sleep can do a lot of bad things for your health and your mental health. There's really no way to get through surgical residency, especially orthopedic surgery residency and some of these really competitive specialties without being sleep deprived. Another thing that I've had to consider which I really didn't think would be a huge problem is the timing of when I want to have children. Definitely want to have kids in residency, but a lot of people have told me that there are strategic times to have kids in residency and so you really have to think about when you want to do it. And if you do get pregnant in residency, you have to avoid certain things that you might encounter in the operating room like cement for example. Another thing that is important to know is that as an orthopedic surgeon when you finish residency and fellowship, it can be really difficult to get a job when you're starting out in certain major cities. Networking is extremely important. So if you're not someone who likes networking or you're not someone who's willing to force yourself to do that networking, it can be difficult to get somewhere in the field. Just a few things that I've noticed as I'm starting out in residency and observing what the field is really like both in residency and beyond. And I'm going to share more information as I get it, but I just think it's really good to know because these are things I did not know when I was applying and I didn't know anyone in medicine and I especially did not know anyone in orthopedic surgery. With that being said, I think it's one of the absolute coolest fields in medicine, so I don't regret my decision at all. Another thing that is important to know is that as an orthopedic surgeon when you finish residency and fellowship, it can be really difficult to get a job when you're starting out in certain major cities. Networking is extremely important. So if you're not someone who likes networking or you're not someone who's willing to force yourself to do that networking, it can be difficult to get somewhere in the field. Just a few things that I've noticed as I'm starting out in residency and observing what the field is really like both in residency and beyond. And I'm going to share more information as I get it, but I just think it's really good to know because these are things I did not know when I was applying and I didn't know anyone in medicine and I especially did not know anyone in orthopedic surgery. With that being said, I think it's one of the absolute coolest fields in medicine, so I don't regret my decision at all.
