Finding a Job in Canada

Emil H. Schemitsch, M.D., FRCSC
Editor in Chief

If you're an orthopaedic resident looking for work as a surgeon in the United States, don't worry. The hospital recruiters will find you. After sifting through multiple offers with impressive salaries, signing bonuses and no end of perks, your people will haggle with their people until you sign a contract with the winning institution. It's virtually the same process the Americans use to hire top athletes from universities. "Welcome to the majors, kid."

But if you're looking for work as an orthopaedic surgeon in Canada, now that's a different story. In a marketplace where resource restrictions are the norm and many orthopods are consequently working at less than full-time equivalent capacity, there is no standard process, no army of recruiters seeking you out, no sure thing. Nevertheless, as you'll discover in the advice offered in the following articles by five surgeons who all recently found their niche, where there's a will there's a way. Fellowships and locums, word-of-mouth and journal postings, serendipity and synchronicity, allies and mentors, gentleman's agreements and handshake deals - all have their part to play in finding the workplace that suits you best.