Preparing for the road ahead

The practice of orthopaedic trauma has been considered "a young person's game," but there are many before you who have maintained a fulfilling, successful, and long-lasting career in orthopaedic trauma. The keys to longevity are avoiding burnout and developing a supportive team of practice partners, mentors, and other colleagues. It is important to develop and continually refine a series of "5-year plans" to make sure that you are progressing toward your goals. Develop a specialized niche in 1 or 2 areas that fills an open gap in your community and in which you can really flourish. Finally, it is critical to maintain your skills in a trauma-related discipline that can be built into an elective practice that provides referrals, fills the gaps when trauma slows, and is something that you enjoy.