The Role of Business Education in the Orthopedic Curriculum

The field of orthopedics is becoming increasingly complex as the demands for success are not merely clinical competence and good interpersonal skills. To achieve practice stability strategic planning, contract negotiation, health care law, practice management, health care economics, and personal finance are all needed skills. Unfortunately, most of these areas of professional growth require some basic background in business principles. This is an area that most recent residency graduates feel is neglected as a core educational competency. In these changing times, it is imperative that orthopedic residents and fellows obtain some formal business education.