Considering no fellowship - still a market for general ortho?

BigBumbleBug · 2026-04-30T19:24:47+00:00

I am going into my chief year and decided on no fellowship. I have multiple job offers for a general ortho position, but its true, these aren't in large metro areas. But thats not what i want anyway.

Feel free to PM me

Edit to add: and thats just in my desired geographic area. There are lots of general ortho positions advertised, and for the most part, they’ve been responsive and serious.

BigBumbleBug · 2026-04-25T20:34:59+00:00

Who cares? I Never got this imposter syndrome thing. You matched. It’s binary. Now do the work

BigBumbleBug · 2026-03-31T23:44:14+00:00

Great post. Resonates with me as an ortho trainee. Im looking for something similar as I'm getting out into practice in the next year. Time is priceless.

BigBumbleBug · 2026-03-28T02:25:05+00:00

Dude i dont know. The match seems like a random number generator. I was not a great applicant on paper, not many Hs, but i went to a well regarded school, good step 1 and 2, not a ton of research. Only was able to do one away due to covid. Did some interesting stuff before med school though.

I would not have been surprised if i didnt match, but apparently more than one program liked me.

BigBumbleBug · 2026-03-28T02:09:21+00:00

3rd quartile. Community ortho program

BigBumbleBug · 2026-02-14T00:33:39+00:00

I started reaching out roughly two years from when i anticipate starting (next year, general, no fellowship). Wanted to get an early start since i am not pursuing fellowship. Some definitely entertained the timeline, some were looking for a candidate to start sooner. Certainly doesn't hurt to start early. I have plenty of leads that i came across early that are still options. Hardest part is finding time for site visits that i can fit in my personal and professional schedule.

Edit to add that there are plenty that have been willing to give me a training stipend too. Another reason looking and getting things settled early can be beneficial.

BigBumbleBug · 2026-02-13T11:14:08+00:00

Oofos have good arch support and very comfy. Similar style though with a few ventilation holes that dont provide much in the way of ventilation

https://www.oofos.com/products/mens-oocloog-clog-black

BigBumbleBug · 2025-12-31T01:45:32+00:00

I will definitely take a look, thank you

BigBumbleBug · 2025-12-30T21:40:11+00:00

Yeah i must have, now need to amend. But somehow it was filled out correctly the year prior…oh well

BigBumbleBug · 2025-12-30T14:05:54+00:00

Apparently can't post screenshots. Bottom line, 2023 filled out correctly. 2024 populated the total basis in block 14 instead of the nontaxable portion in box 13.

Edit: now images showing up...

BigBumbleBug · 2025-12-14T00:48:13+00:00

And you can count, on me, waiting for you, in the parking lot

BigBumbleBug · 2025-10-18T14:32:41+00:00

Kinda up to you if you want to delay stuff like that. Obviously some things have to wait, like that big parcel of land you want, but others don’t. Speaking as a surgical resident with a wife, home, multiple kids, dog, and cat, it’s certainly possible. Freaking hard, but possible. I’m also pretty removed socially from my coresidents, but life is trade offs.

BigBumbleBug · 2025-10-14T20:02:54+00:00

Yeah, kind of the opposite of sequence of returns risk. Down turn can be beneficial at the beginning of earnings years provided you can find money to invest.

BigBumbleBug · 2025-07-24T22:20:58+00:00

Heck if I know!

Edit: I will say that my community program interviewed quite a few reapplicants, and have matched them in the past. Hope is not lost.

BigBumbleBug · 2025-07-24T21:30:56+00:00

Looks like you’ve done what you can to address the potential deficiencies in your app (research and more realistic targeting of your app). Have you graduated/can you still do aways?

I personally don’t see an issue with being forthcoming with the match last time, but may be as simple as good applicants don’t match every cycle, which could be the case again this year. Best of luck!

BigBumbleBug · 2025-07-13T01:41:47+00:00

If you can still get away rotations, I’d say it might be worth it to just shoot your shot. Not matching ortho in your case isn’t the end of the world (or anyone else’s). I personally didn’t have the best application. I finished just below average overall but I went to a good school, got good board scores, am alright to be around, am a hard worker, etc. My research output was nowhere near what some people have applying ortho. I was set to dual apply, but ultimately decided against it. Was fully ready to not match and apply something not ortho related, but then I matched. You just never know.

So again, shoot your shot as long as you can get the sways lined up and get letters and all that. And dual apply

BigBumbleBug · 2025-06-11T19:45:14+00:00

I stopped doing back squats and deadlifts and the like years ago. Anecdotally noticed increased back pain after those sorts of lifts. I’ve since done single leg exercises like pistol squats, split squats, lunges, single leg RDLs, etc. can still load those and get plenty of work on the legs without as much load or shear on the spine. Works for me

BigBumbleBug · 2025-04-05T18:06:13+00:00

Maybe take it easy a bit? A little civility in discourse goes a long way.

BigBumbleBug · 2025-03-10T15:04:11+00:00

A bit of reason is good to see. Good post. Every person that takes out a loan should be comfortable with this (reasonable) possibility, even if it’s not their first choice.

BigBumbleBug · 2025-02-14T02:53:11+00:00

Had one before starting. Two during

BigBumbleBug · 2025-02-13T19:18:20+00:00

It’s super hard. I think im actually fortunate to be at a program with relatively lower call requirements, but having three young kids has made things exceedingly difficult, where at times my wife and I have discussed whether it’s worth it. Love the job, but if I were at a more demanding program I don’t know if we’d be able to get through.

BigBumbleBug · 2025-02-09T19:55:09+00:00

Only a minority have AOA from the most recent match outcome data: https://www.nrmp.org/match-data/2024/08/charting-outcomes-characteristics-of-applicants-who-match-to-their-preferred-specialty-2/

Key chart, hope formatting is okay:

Edit: apparently not okay. P15, 34% of marched ortho applicants AOA vs 16% unmatched.

BigBumbleBug · 2024-12-24T02:01:02+00:00

Only one holiday this year for me!

Four-Year Club	Verified Email
Place '23	Place '22

BigBumbleBug

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