The term “orthopedic” originally referred to physicians who treated pediatric bone related illnesses and injury. Today this specialty treats all aspects of the musculoskeletal system in children and adults. While this “all aspect” concept is good for medicine, it is not good for the average consumer who is in need of a specific treatment. These highly trained surgeons have specialized in recent years and this makes it more important to do your research and find the right surgeon who is specialized in YOUR category of orthopedics. In this guide we will discuss the steps to finding a qualified orthopedic surgeon that will ensure successful treatment and recovery of your condition.
Research
A good place to start is to ask your primary care physician. This usually will mean the surgeon you’re asking about is board certified and on your insurance plan. Those are two very important factors to consider. Another good source of information can be your friends and family.
- Who have they seen in the past?
- Did they have a good outcome?
- Did they like the doctor’s bedside manner?
At this point you should have a short list of prospective caregivers. You can now check online reviews. To go a little deeper, you’ll want to check the surgeon’s hospital affiliations, experience treating similar injuries to yours and see if you can determine their success rate and if they have worked with athletes or sports teams before.
Schedule a Consultation
After the research, this is the most important aspect of your search. This is where you will interact face to face with the surgeon, their assistants, nurses and office staff. You will get a feel for the practice as a whole, not just an individual. This is your opportunity to ask questions about their credentials, experience, and treatment approach/philosophy. You have to trust your gut with this. If something feels off or you don’t get your questions answered to your satisfaction, don’t feel bad about moving on to the next doctor on your list. In fact, having a few consultations lined up is not a bad idea. You are still in the decision step, so having more than one option is a good thing.
Make a Decision!
Finally, make a decision. If you have done your research, the 2-3 options you have at the end should all be qualified and none of them should be a bad choice. As we talked about before, this is where you have to trust your gut. You have to feel comfortable with your surgeon because you will be relying on them to help you recover from your injury. Did they answer all your questions? Did they take the time to explain the reason for the course of treatment? Are you comfortable with their nurse/assistant/office staff? If all answers are yes, then I think you have already made your decision.
Conclusion
In this Ultimate Guide to Finding an Orthopedic Surgeon, we talked about the importance of finding the right surgeon for your specific needs:
- How the role of the orthopedic surgeon has changed over time,
- How it is incumbent on you to do some basic research to find one that has experience treating your condition
- Making sure that they are board certified and they accept your insurance
- Asking around and finding out if you know anyone they have treated in the past
- How did they feel about them?
- The last step is actually meeting with a few of your choices
- Asking questions and seeing HOW those questions are answered
- Finally, trusting your gut and making a decision.
If you did your research and feel you have a good rapport with your choice, you will be well on your way to a successful journey to healing your orthopedic injury.