What I need to start my job: a wish list (positioning yourself for success in an academic or nonacademic environment).

Abstract

Beginning practice as an orthopaedic traumatologist is an important event, when the groundwork is set up for the next few years of hard work. Plans must be made, resources allocated, staff hired, etc. to optimally support the newly practicing surgeon. Academic and nonacademic practice settings are possible, where the facets of practice (i.e., clinic, operating room, floor work, education, and research) may be quite different. The goal of this article is to discuss these differences between relatively academic and nonacademic practices, ultimately to allow the young orthopaedic traumatologist to form a "wish list" with which to start planning the logistics of his or her career.