A Practical Guide to Finding the Best Orthopedic Doctor in Your City

A Practical Guide to Finding the Best Orthopedic Doctor in Your City
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Most, if not all of us, will experience bone and joint problems at least once in our lives. For this reason, it’s never a bad idea to have an orthopedic doctor on your contacts list, especially since joint and musculoskeletal injuries usually arise after you suffer an accident or an emergency.

Since orthopedic doctors play an important role in the treatment of fractures, sprains, and even chronic joint pain, you need the best orthopedic specialist you can find in your area — that way you know where to go whenever you need something diagnosed or treated with your bones or joints.

Here are the most important considerations to look at when searching for the best orthopedic doctor in your city:

Take a Look at Credentials

When you put it out there that you are in search of an orthopedic doctor for whatever reason, you will surely be bombarded with recommendations and referrals from almost everyone you know. When it’s not an emergency case, do take the time to take a look at the credentials of each of these doctors to find one whose achievements and accolades in the field of medicine make you confident about the quality of medical service and professionalism they offer.

For example, it wouldn’t hurt to look at clinics that only employ the top surgeons produced by a specific batch of orthopedic centers that have very high standards when it comes to their hiring policy.

Consider your Surgeon’s Experience

The best orthopedic doctors have a long history of patients who leave their clinics with smiles on their faces. Aside from credentials, rich experience dealing with actual patients gives doctors skills — both technical and soft — that can’t be picked up in school.

Luckily, we live in an internet era where not one service or establishment goes unchecked or un-reviewed. Take a look at the available hospitals and orthopedic clinics in your area and find out what past clients and patients are saying about the doctor you’re thinking of consulting.

Keep in mind that orthopedic treatment is rarely a single-visit ordeal. In many cases, you will have to return to the doctor you choose a couple of times in the next couple of years, so make sure you’re putting your health and safety in the hands of someone who already has satisfied patients vouching for them.

Factor in your Surgeon’s Gender

Believe it or not, there are actual studies that prove that whether your doctor is a man or a woman may actually be a matter of life and death. Apparently, patients fare better in the hospital when placed under the care of a female internist rather than a male one. Notably, females treated by male doctors are the least likely to recover or survive.

Though it’s always good to take these statistics with a grain of salt, it is very important to take into account the gender of your surgeon of choice. At the end of the day, you have to be absolutely comfortable with your internist, may they be male or female.

You must be able to talk to them about any issues you have without feeling embarrassed or awkward. Likewise, your doctor — male or female — must be able to identify any gender-based concerns that may be affecting your road to recovery.

Research Details about the Hospital and their Facilities

Sometimes, doctors are only as good as the facilities available in their clinic or the hospital they work in. Technological advancement has made it entirely possible for treatment options to be an almost 50-50 collaboration between man and machine, so trust that you have better chances of full recovery in a hospital that has all the latest, up-to-date medical tech that can help your bones and joints heal faster and without much risk for complications.

Do an Initial Checkup

Given all these tips, probably the most important thing you can do to find the best orthopedic doctor available in your city is to shop for the right one before you even need one. After all, a routine orthopedic checkup never hurt anyone. This way, you can find a good doctor you’re comfortable with before an emergency situation ever takes place.

Finding good doctors you can trust with your life is an inevitable part of adulting. It may be tedious, but the moment you actually need the services of a doctor, you’ll be thanking yourself for doing your homework ahead of time.


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Anna is an avid blogger with an educational background in medicine and mental health. She is a generalist with many other interests including nutrition, women's health, astronomy and photography. In her free time from work and writing, Anna enjoys nature walks, reading, and listening to jazz and classical music.

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