Occupation · SOC 29-1242
Orthopedic Surgeons, Except Pediatric
Diagnose and perform surgery to treat and prevent rheumatic and other diseases in the musculoskeletal system.
Median wage
$239,200
$83,390–$239,200
Projected growth
—
—
Annual openings
—
per year
Employed (US)
14,160
Job Zone 5
Typical preparation
Extensive preparation
Stackable credential programs
55 mapped
Core skills
Active ListeningCritical ThinkingReading ComprehensionSpeakingSocial PerceptivenessMonitoringJudgment and Decision MakingWriting
Knowledge areas
Medicine and DentistryCustomer and Personal ServiceEnglish LanguageBiologyPsychology
Technology & tools
Graphics or photo imaging softwareMedical softwareHuman resources softwareOperating system software
Representative tasks
Analyze patient's medical history, medication allergies, physical condition, and examination results to verify operation's necessity and to determine best procedure.Conduct research to develop and test surgical techniques that can improve operating procedures and outcomes related to musculoskeletal injuries and diseases.Diagnose bodily disorders and orthopedic conditions, and provide treatments, such as medicines and surgeries, in clinics, hospital wards, or operating rooms.Diagnose or treat disorders of the musculoskeletal system.Direct and coordinate activities of nurses, assistants, specialists, residents, and other medical staff.Examine instruments, equipment, and operating room to ensure sterility.Examine patient to obtain information on medical condition and surgical risk.Follow established surgical techniques during the operation.Manage surgery services, including planning, scheduling and coordination, determination of procedures, or procurement of supplies and equipment.Operate on patient's musculoskeletal system to correct deformities, repair injuries, prevent and treat diseases, or improve or restore patient's functions.Order and interpret the results of laboratory tests and diagnostic imaging procedures.Prepare case histories.Prescribe preoperative and postoperative treatments and procedures, such as sedatives, diets, antibiotics, or preparation and treatment of the patient's operative area.Provide consultation and surgical assistance to other physicians and surgeons.Refer patient to medical specialist or other practitioners when necessary.
Competency framework
Skill expectations by proficiency level.
emerging
Patient medical histories — collect and record systematically under attending supervision in an inpatient orthopedic unit.Neuromusculoskeletal examination findings — recognize and categorize basic patterns using standard chiropractic and orthopedic diagnostic criteria during supervised clinical rotations.Health and medical history questionnaires — administer and review with patients under direct attending oversight in an outpatient orthopedic clinic.Diagnostic imaging reports — read and interpret foundational radiographic findings with guidance from senior surgeons in a hospital setting.Manual adjustment techniques — perform introductory spinal and articular mobilizations on supervised cases in a structured clinical training environment.Patient-reported symptoms — document and summarize accurately in electronic medical records software under clinical supervision.Active listening and social perceptiveness skills — apply during initial patient intake consultations to identify musculoskeletal complaints in a residency program setting.Clinical judgment protocols — follow established decision trees for triaging common orthopedic conditions under attending direction in an emergency orthopedic clinic.Medical terminology and written documentation — produce accurate clinical notes aligned with departmental standards during supervised rounds.Basic biology and anatomy knowledge — apply to correlate physical examination findings with underlying musculoskeletal structures in a supervised surgical scrub environment.
developing
Neuromusculoskeletal system evaluations — conduct independently using validated orthopedic and chiropractic diagnostic systems across a routine caseload in an ambulatory surgery center.Patient medical and surgical histories — obtain, verify, and integrate into differential diagnoses with reduced oversight in a private orthopedic practice.Spinal and articular manual adjustments — perform a full series of techniques on low-to-moderate complexity cases, adapting approach based on patient response in an outpatient setting.Health problem diagnoses — formulate by synthesizing history, physical examination, and imaging data for common musculoskeletal disorders in a community hospital environment.Electronic medical records platforms — utilize efficiently to document clinical encounters, track outcomes, and retrieve longitudinal patient data in a multi-provider practice.Critical thinking and deductive reasoning — apply to distinguish between musculoskeletal and referred pain etiologies during routine clinic encounters with minimal supervision.Patient education communications — deliver clear verbal and written explanations of diagnoses and treatment plans to diverse patient populations in an orthopedic outpatient clinic.Intraoperative monitoring — perform structured assessments of neuromusculoskeletal status before and after orthopedic procedures in a surgical suite.Clinical findings — synthesize across multiple body systems to support surgical versus conservative treatment decisions in a standard orthopedic referral setting.Interdisciplinary care coordination — contribute effectively to team-based management of musculoskeletal cases by communicating clearly with physical therapists and primary care providers.
proficient
Neuromusculoskeletal and spinal system function — evaluate autonomously using advanced chiropractic and orthopedic diagnostic frameworks across complex, non-routine presentations in a tertiary care center.Comprehensive differential diagnoses — develop independently by integrating patient history, clinical observation, physical examination, and multimodal imaging for the full scope of orthopedic conditions.Complex spinal and articular manual adjustment series — plan and execute for medically challenging patients, modifying technique in real time based on intraoperative and clinical feedback.Detailed patient medical histories — obtain and critically analyze for subtle risk factors and comorbidities that influence surgical planning in a high-volume orthopedic practice.Non-routine clinical judgment — exercise autonomously when standard protocols are insufficient, drawing on inductive reasoning to manage atypical orthopedic cases.Medical imaging software and clinical analytics tools — leverage to produce thorough pre- and post-operative assessments and identify outcome trends across a patient panel.Clinical documentation — author precise, legally defensible operative and consultation reports that meet hospital credentialing and payer standards.Patient-centered communication — conduct nuanced shared decision-making conversations with patients facing high-stakes surgical choices in an academic medical center.Psychological and social factors affecting recovery — assess and incorporate into individualized orthopedic treatment plans using counseling and behavioral health knowledge.Evidence-based orthopedic literature — critically appraise and translate into updated clinical protocols that improve patient outcomes across a surgical practice.
advanced
Organizational diagnostic and treatment standards — establish and continuously refine for an entire orthopedic surgery department, integrating emerging evidence and regulatory requirements.Surgical residency and fellowship trainees — mentor systematically, modeling advanced neuromusculoskeletal evaluation and spinal adjustment techniques in a university-affiliated teaching hospital.System-level quality and patient safety initiatives — lead by designing and implementing outcome measurement frameworks across a multi-site orthopedic health system.Strategic clinical programs — develop and launch for complex spinal and joint disorders, aligning surgeon expertise, technology investment, and patient access goals at the executive level.Institutional policies for medical history acquisition and documentation — author and champion, ensuring compliance with accreditation, legal, and ethical standards organization-wide.Interdisciplinary clinical leadership — provide across surgery, rehabilitation, radiology, and primary care teams to coordinate comprehensive musculoskeletal care pathways at an academic medical center.Advanced medical software and health information technology platforms — evaluate and direct implementation of, improving diagnostic accuracy and operational efficiency across a large orthopedic service line.National and professional society guidelines — contribute to authoring by translating clinical expertise and outcomes data into consensus-based standards for orthopedic surgical practice.Research and innovation agendas — define and fund for neuromusculoskeletal diagnostics and surgical interventions, guiding a team of investigators in a research-intensive institution.Organizational culture of integrity, dependability, and clinical excellence — cultivate by modeling professional standards and building accountability structures that sustain high performance across the orthopedic enterprise.
Also known as
435 alternate job titles map to this occupation.
Spinal SurgeonResidency Trained Flight Surgeon, Airlift (Air Force 48R4T)Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeon, Temporomandibular Joint (Air Force 47S1A)Otorhinolaryngologist - Head and Neck Surgeon, Pediatric Otolaryngology (Air Force 45N3C)Surgical Technologist Helper (Air Force 4N111)Surgeon, Oncology (Air Force 45S3H)Pilot-Physician, General (Air Force 48V1W)Orthopedic Specialist (Army 68B)Surgical Technologist Helper, Urology (Air Force 4N111B)General Medicine Officer (GMO) Flight Surgeon, Bomber (Air Force 48G4R)Residency Trained Flight Surgeon, Tanker (Air Force 48R4S)Pilot-Physician, Tanker (Air Force 48V4S)Pilot-Physician, C2ISREW (Air Force 48V3Z)Aerospace Medicine Physician Specialist, Space Medical Operations Experienced (Air Force 48A1X)Surgeon, Peripheral Vascular (Air Force 45S4E)Aerospace Medicine Physician Specialist, Tanker (Air Force 48A3S)General Surgeon (Army 61J)Aerospace Medicine Physician Specialist, Bomber (Air Force 48A3R)Gynecologic Surgeon and Obstetrician, Minimally-Invasive Gynecologic Surgery (MIGS) (Air Force 45G4F)Surgical Technologist Journeyman, Orthopedics (Air Force 4N151C)General Medicine Officer (GMO) Flight Surgeon, C2ISREW (Air Force 48G3Z)Ophthalmologist (Air Force 45E4)Aerospace Medicine Physician Specialist, Airlift (Air Force 48A3T)Surgeon, Neurological (Air Force 45S1F)General SurgeonOphthalmologist, Neuro-Ophthalmology (Air Force 45E3D)Ophthalmologist, Pathology (Air Force 45E3E)Family Physician (Air Force 44F3)Endodontist (Air Force 47E4)SurgeonResidency Trained Flight Surgeon, Board eligible in emergency medicine (Air Force 48R4E)Surgeon, Thoracic (Air Force 45S1A)Pilot-Physician (Air Force 48VX)Aerospace Medicine Physician Specialist, Airlift (Air Force 48A1T)Residency Trained Flight Surgeon, Special Operations (Air Force 48R1Y)General Medicine Officer (GMO) Flight Surgeon, C2ISREW (Air Force 48G1Z)Critical Care Medicine Physician (Air Force 44Y1)Surgical Technologist (Air Force 4N1X1)Residency Trained Flight Surgeon, Board eligible in pediatric medicine (Air Force 48R1K)General Medical Officer (Army 62Z)