Working Life

What is an average day like?

While the working day can vary greatly, most orthopaedic surgeons spend their working week taking care of:

• outpatients clinics ( both elective and fracture clinics)
• operating sessions ( for both trauma and electivepatients)
• on–call duties
• administration
• clinical governance
• research and training.

What are the hours like?

There is a lot of on-call demand on account of the nature of the work of this specialty.

Where is the work based?

This work is split between theatre and outpatients clinics.

What people work in the same team?

This is a multi disciplinary team.

Types of patients

Patients of all ages who require trauma surgery; lower and upper limb surgery; hand, spinal and oncological surgery.

Number of patients seen in a day

This can vary greatly.

What is most enjoyable?

This is a highly varied specialty, with an extremely practical and direct approach to surgery.

What is most challenging?

The on-call rotas can be very demanding. 

Opportunities for flexible working

Trauma and orthopaedic offers opportunities for flexible working.

Opportunities for research and teaching

There are opportunities for research and training in trauma and orthopaedic surgery.

Join our social media sites.

facebook_link YouTube twitter

Quick links to top pages

events calendar
training abroad
self-assessment tools
case studies

Quick links to:

considering medicinemedical studentpostgraduate doctorTrainercareers specialist