OTA Playbook for Career Satisfaction/Combating Moral Injury and Burnout

Download the PDF version of the OTA Playbook to your device for convenient, on-the-go access.

**Note—some links may require OTA or AAOS login**

Looking for contributions—please contact OTA with recommended content at OTA@ota.org

OTA Wellbeing Public Service Announcement

OTA Resource Website

• Moral Injury and Well-Being | Orthopaedic Trauma Association (OTA)
• Moral Injury | Orthopaedic Trauma Association (OTA)
• Suicide Prevention | Orthopaedic Trauma Association (OTA)
• Self-Care Tips | Orthopaedic Trauma Association (OTA)

• Self-Assessment (Wellbeing)

  • Self Assessment | Orthopaedic Trauma Association (OTA)

• Additional Resource:

  • AAOS Wellness for Healthcare Professionals Toolkit:
    • AAOS Toolkits | American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons

Personal

• Moral Injury:

  • “Moral injury describes the plight of tough, resourceful, and resilient clinicians who feel trapped between the patient-first values of their Hippocratic oath and the business imperatives of a broken healthcare system.”—fixmoralinjury.org
    • Moral Injury | Orthopaedic Trauma Association (OTA)
    • What is Moral Injury — Fix Moral Injury
  • OTA Webinar: Drivers of Burnout and Moral Injury & How to Combat Them
    • Wendy Dean, MD and Simon Talbot, MD - 
      Orthopaedic Trauma Association: Drivers of Burnout and Moral Injury & How to Combat Them (ota.org)

• Personal Wellbeing:

  • OTA Webinar:
    • Orthopaedic Trauma Association: Surgeon Well-Being: Practical Strategies and Life Hacks (ota.org)
  • OTA Annual Meeting Breakout Session:
    • Orthopaedic Trauma Surgeons Thriving (and Not Dying): A Mid-Career Forum
  • Early OTA Physician Well-Being Index Results:
    • Early Results of the Physician Well-Being Index Across OTA Membership, OTA 2023
  • AAOS Now: Michael Archdeacon, MD
    • Institutional Approach Combats Physician Burnout and Promotes Wellness (aaos.org)
  • AAOS Physician Wellness Article Collection:
    • Committee on Healthcare Safety - Physician Wellness Collection
  • The Bone Beat Podcast (AAOS):
    • Physician Mental Health: Conversations with Congress, Part 3 - The Bone Beat Podcast | American Association of Orthopaedic Surgeons (aaos.org)
  • ACS Surgeon Well-being
    • Surgeon Well-Being | ACS (facs.org)

• Burnout:

  • Primarily considered to have three components:
    • Emotional exhaustion
    • Cynicism and detachment or depersonalization
    • Perceived lack of efficacy/accomplishment
  • Young Practitioner’s Forum Lecture:
    • How to Avoid Burnout | Orthopaedic Trauma Association (OTA)
      • Young Practitioner’s Forum Lecture
  • JOT Article:
    • Avoiding Burnout in an Orthopaedic Trauma Practice : Journal of Orthopaedic Trauma (lww.com)
  • JAAOS Articles:
    • Orthopaedic Surgeons Have a High Prevalence of Burnout, Depression, and Suicide: Review of Factors Which Contribute or Reduce Further Harm - PubMed (nih.gov)
    • Identifying and Addressing Burnout in the Orthopaedic Surgeon - PubMed (nih.gov)
    • Institutional Approach Combats Physician Burnout and Promotes Wellness (aaos.org)
  • OTA Breakout:
    • Orthopaedic Trauma Surgeons Thriving (and Not Dying): A Mid-Career Forum
    • Cultivating Courage for a Sustainable Surgical Career
  • OTA Webinar:
    • Orthopaedic Trauma Association: Drivers of Burnout and Moral Injury & How to Combat Them (ota.org)
  • Leadership impact:
    • Impact of organizational leadership on physician burnout and satisfaction - PubMed (nih.gov)

• Friends/mentors/support structure:

  • OTA Early Career Website
    • Early Career Resources | Orthopaedic Trauma Association (OTA)
  • Early Career Mentorship Program
    • Early Career Resources | Orthopaedic Trauma Association (OTA)
    • YOTS Early Career Mentorship Program | Orthopaedic Trauma Association (OTA)
    • AAOS Webinar:
      • Tips for a Successful First Two Years of Practice
  • Research Mentorship Program
    • OTA Research Mentoring Program | Orthopaedic Trauma Association (OTA)
    • The OTA Podcast: The Early Years: Research – Building a Program (libsyn.com)
  • Annual OTA Young Practitioner’s Forum
    • Register along with Annual Meeting

• Stress management:

  • Delivering Bad News:
    • The OTA Podcast: Topics Relevant to Young Physicians: Delivering Bad News (libsyn.com)
  • Common work stressors
    • Orthopaedic Trauma Surgeons Thriving (and Not Dying): A Mid-Career Forum

• Practice Management (Personal):

  • AAOS Webinar:
    • Tips for a Successful First Two Years of Practice
  • OTA Webinars:
    • Orthopaedic Trauma Association: New Attendings - Practice Management (ota.org)
    • Orthopaedic Trauma Association: The Business of Orthopaedics (ota.org)
    • Orthopaedic Trauma Association: Successfully Building an Elective Practice in Orthopaedic Trauma (ota.org)

• Social Media Management:

  • OTA Webinar:
    • How to Use Social Media and Not Get Into Trouble
  • JOT Article:
    • Social Media and Digital Footprints in Orthopaedic Trauma: A... : Journal of Orthopaedic Trauma (lww.com)
  • JAAOS Article:
    • Social Media: How to Use It Effectively - PubMed (nih.gov)

Professional

• Practice Management (Professional):

  • General Information:
    • Practice Management : Journal of Orthopaedic Trauma (lww.com)
  • OTA Practice Management & Coding Resources:
    • Practice Management & Coding Resources | Orthopaedic Trauma Association (OTA)
  • Billing and Coding
    • An Introduction to Orthopaedic Coding and Billing : Journal of Orthopaedic Trauma (lww.com)
    • Practice Management & Coding Resources | Orthopaedic Trauma Association (OTA)
  • OR Access:
    • OTA OR Access Position Statement, 2020 (ota.org)

• Early Career Strategies:

  • OTA Podcast Series
    • The OTA Podcast: Topics Relevant to Young Physicians: Things I Wish I Knew (libsyn.com)
    • The OTA Podcast: Topics Relevant to Young Physicians: Delivering Bad News (libsyn.com)
    • The OTA Podcast: Topics Relevant to Young Physicians: Financial Management (libsyn.com)
    • The OTA Podcast: Topics Relevant to Young Physicians: Contract Negotiation (libsyn.com)
    • The OTA Podcast: The Early Years: Surgical Education: Balancing Trainees and Myself (libsyn.com)

• Career Choice:

  • OTA Career Center
    • Orthopaedic Jobs - Orthopaedic Trauma Association Career Center (careerwebsite.com)
  • OTA Webinar:
    • Orthopaedic Trauma Association: Successfully Building an Elective Practice in Orthopaedic Trauma (ota.org)
  • JOT Articles:
    • Building a Successful Trauma Practice in Academics : Journal of Orthopaedic Trauma (lww.com)
    • Building a Successful Trauma Practice in a Community Setting : Journal of Orthopaedic Trauma (lww.com)

• Career Transition:

  • The OTA Podcast: The Early Years: I Changed Jobs (libsyn.com)

• Contract Negotiations

  • AAOS
    • Personal Contract:
      • Negotiating your orthopaedic employment contract (aaos.org)
    • Payor Agreements (Series):
      • Negotiating contracts (aaos.org)
      • Making your pitch for higher payments (aaos.org)
      • Implementing contract negotiations: Let the games begin (aaos.org)

• Reimbursement:

  • Salary Survey | Orthopaedic Trauma Association (OTA)

• Retirement Preparation

  • AAOS Now Articles:
    • Retirement: An orthopaedic surgeon’s perspective (aaos.org)
    • Planning for Retirement: What Orthopaedic Surgeons Need to Know (aaos.org)
    • Bringing someone in: A succession planning primer (aaos.org)

• Life/Disability Insurance

  • AAOS Now Articles:
    • Disability:
      • Securing Your Financial Future: The Importance of Occupation-specific, Long-term Disability Insurance for Orthopaedic Surgery Residents and Fellows (aaos.org)
      • Disability insurance for orthopaedists (aaos.org)
    • Life:
      • Planning Your Life—And Your Life Insurance (aaos.org)
      • How Much Life Insurance Do You Need? (aaos.org)
      • Using Life Insurance for Estate Planning (aaos.org)

• Financial Planning

  • AAOS Now Articles:
    • Residency Training Lacks Financial Education (aaos.org)
    • Asset Protection Planning for the Surgeon (aaos.org)
    • Asset Protection 101: More Than Malpractice (aaos.org)