How to Become the Best Orthopedic Surgeon

Building a career in medicine won’t be easy for anyone. If you have decided to become a doctor, you must begin your preparation in your 11th and 12th grades. The route will be challenging from the MBBS entrance exam until you become a doctor or surgeon in any particular specialtyFrom the MBBS entrance exam until you become a doctor or surgeon in any particular specialty, the route will be challenging. You will have a stable career once you have overcome this hurdle. When aiming to become a doctor, you need to focus on several crucial factors, including sufficient preparation. An aspirant must know about the fieldfield or specialty he/she wants to practice surgery or the specialty they want to select. The orthopedic surgeon is one of the most well-liked selections out of the many available ones.

The orthopedics course focuses on correcting abnormalities in our musculoskeletal system, which includes our muscles and bones. The area of surgical medicine that is growing the fastest is orthopedics. An orthopedic surgeon may expect to make between INR 1,100,000 and INR 5,000,000 per month based on experience. They treat conditions like arthritis, birth defects, physical trauma, and injuries to the muscles and bonesmuscle and bones injuries. Prospective careers include an orthopedic professor, orthopedic surgeon, critical care specialist, clinical associate, or medical consultant. To pursue a career in this sector, MBBS graduates must enroll in an MS programme with a specialty in orthopedic trauma, hand surgery, elbow and shoulder surgery, joint reconstruction, etc., or enroll in TAU’s two-year MMed programme with a focus on orthopedics. The curriculum of the course is designed to assist medical professionals in honing their skills and specializing without giving up the clinical practice.

The orthopedic surgeon career path is one you can choose if you want to establish yourself as a specialist in the science of bones and muscles. Therefore, here is some useful information that will help you learn more about becoming an orthopedic surgeon and other relevant information including career and salary as well. 

Who is an orthopedic surgeon? 

One of the most well-known specialties in medical science is orthopedics. The branch deals with the study of the musculoskeletal system of the human body. The human skeletal system provides the body with total support and facilitates movement. A multitude of skeletal system abnormalities can be treated by an orthopedic surgeon. An orthopedic surgeon can correct abnormalities using a variety of surgical and non-surgical techniques.

In your capacity as an orthopedic surgeon, you will deal with:

  • Arthritis and osteoporosis
  • Bone tumors
  • Club foot and unequal length of legs
  • Damaged joints
  • Dislocations and fractures
  • Disorders of joints, nerves, ligaments, muscles, tendons, and skin
  • Pulled muscles
  • Spinal injuries
  • Tendon injuries
  • Torn cartilage

How to become an orthopedic surgeon in India?

Eligibility criteria: There are requirements that you must complete in order to be eligible to become an orthopedic surgeon. The eligibility criteria are as follows:

  • You ought to have graduated from a reputable MCI-recognized institution after higher and senior secondary school.
  • You should have completed your senior secondary education with a minimum grade point average of 60%.
  • Make sure that your key subjects in the 12th grade are biology, chemistry, and physics.
  • To get admitted into the MBBS programme, you must qualify for the NEET(UG) entrance exam with the required cut-off score.
  • You should complete the five-and-a-half-year MBBS curriculum, including the one-year rotational internship.
  • Once you meet all these requirements, you can apply for admission to a post-graduate programme to get trained as an orthopedic surgeon.

Admission process: The process is:

  • You should crack the NEET-UG entrance examination and score high.
  • Get admission to the MBBS course through counseling.
  • For admission to the Master of Surgery Orthopedic Surgeon programme, you must have at least a 55% average score in your MBBS.
  • Once your 5.5 years of MBBS study and internship are completed, you have to crack the NEET PG or INI-CET entrance exam with the required score.
  • You must participate in counseling after passing the entrance exam.
  • The MS Orthopedics study will last three years, and depending on the institute you select, the tuition fee would range from INR 5 lakhs to INR 60 lakhs.
  • Before beginning your practice, you must finish a residency programme under the supervision of a senior surgeon.

Some significant entrance exams

To enroll in any college to complete your Master of Surgery in Orthopedics, you must pass an entrance exam. There are two entrance examinations held for admission to PG courses:

  1. NEET PG: It is the most popular entrance exam required for admission to maximum medical colleges. This test is computer-based and is administered by the National Board of Examinations. It facilitates MS admittance and MD classes in various specializations. NEET-PG exam also offers admission to various post-MBBS DNB Courses & NBEMS Diploma Courses. A candidate will have three and a half hours to complete the 200 multiple-choice questions in the entrance exam. 
  2. INI-CET: This is a PG entrance examination for admission at all the INI institutes. The exam is CBT based comprising 200 MCQs of one mark each wherein every incorrect response leads to a -1/3 mark. The list of INI institutes:

 

  1. AIIMS, New Delhi
  2. AIIMS, Bhopal
  3. AIIMS, Bhubaneswar
  4. AIIMS, Jodhpur
  5. AIIMS, Nagpur
  6. AIIMS, Patna
  7. AIIMS, Raipur
  8. AIIMS, Rishikesh
  9. JIPMER, Puducherry
  10. NIMHANS, Bengaluru
  11. PGIMER, Chandigarh
  12. SCTIMST, Trivandrum

Best orthopedics courses available in India

You must complete your Master of Surgery (MS) in orthopedics in order to practice as an orthopedic surgeon. In addition to college classes, you can enroll in a variety of orthopedics courses online to begin your career. Some of the top orthopedics courses available are:

  • Two-year Master of Science (M.Sc.) in Orthopedics programme
  • Three-year Master of Surgery (M.S.) in Orthopedics programme
  • Two-year Diploma in Orthopedics (D.Ortho) programme that requires a Higher Secondary degree in the Science stream.
  • Three-year Diplomate of the National Board of Medical Exams in Orthopedics (D.N.B.) programme
  • Orthopedics Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) programme
  • Higher Secondary Education is required for certificate programmes in orthopedics, which last 6 to 12 months
  • Two-year Postgraduate Diploma in Orthopedics

Although the journey will be challenging, it will be worthwhile to travel that route. If you want to become a doctor, it is one of the best careers to pick. If you’re interested in orthopedics for UnderGrads, just go for it.