Orthopedic surgeons are healthcare professionals that are responsible for performing surgical operations that have to do with bones. Like other healthcare professionals, they are an elite group of professionals in the USA and they are very well respected and remunerated. If you or any member of your family have ever had a fracture, a congenital disorder, or any other bone disease, you might have come in contact with an orthopedic surgeon. If you have come in contact with an orthopedic surgeon and are wondering how much they earn and what it would take for you or any member of your family to be an orthopedic surgeon, this article would provide you with the information you need. Let’s learn about ‘Salaries For Medical Orthopedic Surgeon’.
Salaries For Medical Orthopedic Surgeon
According to ziprecruiter.com, orthopedic surgeons in the USA earn an average salary of $370,843 per year. If you were to break it down, Orthopedic surgeons earn an average of $30,000monthly, $6918 weekly, and $175 hourly. Some Hematology Oncologists earn far higher than the average salary, while some other Orthopedic surgeons earn far lower than the average salary. Some earn up to $420,000 per year, while others earn $264,000, very much lower than the national average salary for an orthopedic surgeon. Many factors account for the discrepancies in salaries for Hematology Oncologists, some of them are:
1. Experience: The more experience you have as an orthopedic surgeon, the more you climb up the orthopedic surgery career ladder, and the more your earnings increase. This is because as you accumulate experience as an orthopedic surgeon, you are perceived to be an expert in orthopedic surgery, so you are therefore paid higher than entry-level orthopedic surgeons and other Orthopedic surgeons who are junior to you. Most senior orthopedic surgeons can earn as much as $600,000.
2. Geographical location where you work as an orthopedic surgeon: The location where you practice orthopedic surgery can influence your earnings as an orthopedic surgeon. This is not a strange phenomenon as different cities in the USA have different wages for professionals in different fields, and the cost of living varies across the country. If you work as an orthopedic surgeon in New York, you would earn an hourly wage of $183, and a yearly salary of $379,547. In California, an orthopedic surgeon earns as much as $356,040 annually and an hourly wage of $171. In Boston, Massachusetts, you would earn far higher than in the two cities earlier mentioned, you would earn an annual salary of $420,467 and an hourly wage of $202.15.
3. Responsibilities taken as an orthopedic surgeon: The more responsible you take as an orthopedic surgeon, the higher chances you have of earning a high salary. Adding responsibilities like participating in research, and teaching classes on orthopedic surgery to medical students would result in an increase in your earnings as an orthopedic surgeon.
Taxes for Orthopedic Surgeons
Orthopedic surgeons in the USA pay about 37% of their annual salary as social security, Federal income tax, and State income tax. As an orthopedic surgeon, you should take these taxes into account when planning your monthly budget, and also plan the amount of your student loan payment per year against your anticipated income.
How to become an orthopedic surgeon?
The road you would take on your way to becoming an orthopedic surgeon is a long one. To become an orthopedic surgeon, you would first have to go to college for a scientific degree, before having to jostle with several other candidates to get into medical school after finishing college, after finishing medical school you would have to intern in a medical institution before getting accepted into a residency program. Let’s talk about each step
Undergraduate Degree
The first step that takes you to become an orthopedic surgeon is to first get an undergraduate degree with a major in the sciences. It would take you between 2-4 years to get a degree that would qualify you to be admitted into medical schools around the country. While you are in college, you should get the highest grades you can get and maintain a very strong GPA, it is also advisable for you to volunteer for programs in the medical setting, maybe as an assistant or lab in medical outreaches around the globe, this would give you an advantage over your competitors for a place in Medical school.
Medical school
After you have obtained your undergraduate degree, the next thing for you to do is to apply for and write entrance exams (MCAT) to medical schools. You should apply to several medical schools across the USA and Canada because they are very competitive and applying to several schools would give you many options. After you have gotten into medical school, you would spend your first two years studying basic medical science courses like Biochemistry, Anatomy, Physiology, Pathology, and Pharmacology. After your first two years, you would write your first licensing exam, called USMLE step 1. This exam is comprised of over 300 MCQs( Multiple choice questions). You should prepare very hard for this exam as it would be used to determine if you would get interviewed for residency programs after you have finished medical school.
In your third year in Medical school, you would begin to take practical classes in the hospital. You would rotate through different departments: Pediatrics, Radiology, Obstetrics & Gynaecology, Nephrology, General Surgery, etc. Then in your final year at Medical school, you would take your second licensing exam, called USMLE step 2. This exam is divided into two parts: a clinical knowledge part called Step 2CK, and a clinical skills part called Step 2CS. These exams would determine if you would be licensed as a doctor in the USA.
Residency
After finishing medical school, the next step for you to take is to undergo a residency in orthopedic surgery. The orthopedic surgery residency program usually runs for a minimum of five years.
Fellowship in Orthopedic Surgery
After you have finished your residency in orthopedic surgery, you would have to enroll in an orthopedic surgery fellowship, where you would specialize in a specific area (for example, ankle/foot surgery, Knee/thigh surgery, etc).
Conclusion
Becoming an orthopedic surgeon is hard, but it is very fulfilling. Not only would you make a good salary as an orthopedic surgeon, but you would also be respected. On your way to becoming an orthopedic surgeon, you would have to sit for several examinations both in college and in Medical school, but the entire sacrifice is worth it as this article has explained how much you would likely earn in wages and salaries as an orthopedic surgeon.
FAQs
1. Can my gender affect my salary as an orthopedic surgeon?
No, it can’t. Institutions do not consider the gender remuneration of orthopedic surgeons.
