Finding Your Job in Orthopaedic Trauma: A Survey Revealing the Cold Hard Facts

Abstract

Introduction: Finding a first job after fellowship can be stressful due to the uncertainty about which resources to utilize, including fellowship program directors (PDs), residency faculty and other sources. There are over 90 orthopaedic trauma fellows seeking jobs annually. We surveyed orthopaedic trauma fellows to determine the job search process. Methods: An anonymous 37 question survey was created online and sent to orthopaedic trauma fellows from the five fellowship-cycle years of 2016 – 2021. The primary questions were related to the job search process, current job, and work details. The secondary questions addressed job satisfaction. Data analysis was performed using STATA 17. Results: There were 159 responses (40%). Most respondents completed a fellowship at an academic program (84%). Many (50%) took an academic job and 24% were hospital employed. Sixteen percent had a job secured before fellowship and 49% went on 2-3 interviews. Word of mouth was the top resource for finding a job (53%) compared to fellowship PD (46%) and residency faculty (33%). While 82% reported ending up in their first-choice job, 34% of respondents felt they “settled.” The number of trauma cases was important (62%), ranked above compensation (52%) as a factor affecting job choice. Surgeons who needed to supplement their practice (46%) did so with primary and revision total joints (37%). Conclusions: Jobs were most often found by word of mouth. Most fellows landed their first job choice, but still a third of respondents reporting settling on a job. Case volume played a significant role in factors affecting job choice.