Career as an Orthopaedic Surgeon in India: Salary, Courses and How to Begin

The usual minimum is about eight and a half years: MBBS takes 5.5 years, including a one-year compulsory internship, and MS or DNB Orthopaedics takes three years. Many surgeons add a fellowship of six months to one year in a subspecialty such as joint replacement or spine surgery, which lengthens training. You can start practising once you have registered with the state medical council or the NMC.

No. MS Orthopaedics is a postgraduate course, so you need an MBBS degree first. After Class 12 you must clear NEET UG to get an MBBS seat, then complete the MBBS course, then prepare for NEET PG to qualify for an MS or DNB seat in Orthopaedics. There is no direct route from Class 12 to an orthopaedic surgery degree in India.

Both are three-year postgraduate qualifications that make you a specialist orthopaedic surgeon. MS is awarded by universities through medical college training, while DNB is awarded by the National Board of Examinations in Medical Sciences after training in accredited hospitals. Both are recognised for practice in India and both are admitted through NEET PG. Choose a seat based on the college's training quality, case volume and fees, not just the name of the degree.

There is no fixed score. Cutoffs for MS and DNB seats change with each year's paper, the number of seats, your category and the college, so a score that secures one seat may not secure another. Look at the previous year's counselling cutoffs for the colleges you want, and use the official counselling schedule for current figures. Orthopaedics is a competitive branch, so plan for a strong score and a backup choice.

Yes. Surgeons often stand for long operations, lift and position patients, and use fine motor control for hours. Emergency and on-call duty can mean night calls and irregular hours, especially in trauma and government hospitals. Many surgeons find the work rewarding because they see patients regain movement, but it helps to be physically fit and to plan for rest and family time.

An orthopaedic surgeon is a medical doctor who diagnoses conditions, prescribes treatment and performs surgery. A physiotherapist is a healthcare professional who treats movement problems through exercise, manual therapy and rehabilitation, usually after diagnosis and sometimes after surgery. Surgeons and physiotherapists often work together, but physiotherapy is a separate degree route.

No. An MS or DNB in Orthopaedics qualifies you to practise as an orthopaedic surgeon, including fractures, general joint problems and many routine surgeries. A super-speciality such as MCh Orthopaedics, or a fellowship in joint replacement, spine or sports medicine, is optional. It helps if you want to focus on complex or specialised surgery and may improve opportunities at senior centres.

Often yes, but you usually need to meet the licensing and registration requirements of the country you want to work in. These can include exams, supervised training and language tests, and the process differs by country. Start early, check the medical council rules of the destination country, and confirm whether your degree is recognised there.