I think this might be a little important. Unlike Paeds and Medicine, for which there are the Paeds Protocol and various CPGs, there aren't any official guidelines for Orthopaedic management in this country. Apart from the following, I would suggest a small notebook in which you can jot down the common management seen in your hospital.
Look through your HO logbook and aim to complete it quickly. Some procedures are hard to come by and may not come by at all by the time you finish your posting!
As always, the following is based on my personal but honest opinion.
Books/Printed Documents:
Print This - A highly useful PDF document made by a great team. Has all the important fracture classifications, some important angles (to accept check x-rays), common dressings, implants and in the final page some important ortho emergencies to watch out for, amongst others. Try to memorize this by the end of the posting. To be The Ultimate HO, memorize the entire thing before the beginning of the posting!
'UIA Ortho Book' - It's actually titled 'Basic Fracture Management for Students and Housemans [sic]'.I don't know where you can officially get this, but since UIA/IIUM grads are everywhere, try asking them. This book came highly recommended by one of my specialists and a few MOs. The book is usually found photocopied. It is concise and has almost everything you need to know regarding some of the most common management points in the posting. If anyone has a means to get the original form or a way to contribute to the authors, I'd greatly appreciate you dropping me a line.
Netter's Concise Orthopaedic Anatomy - A great book for a quick look through important anatomical points, and concise information on some important injuries. It even shows x-ray techniques. This book saved my life (okay, more like reputation) quite a few times. Small enough to carry around (and lose :( ) in the hospital.
Apley's Concise System of Orthopaedics & Fractures - Get the concise version if the big one is too costly. Mind you, your specialist might tell you it's 'not enough'. It's more than enough for a HO not very keen on furthering in Orthopaedics (or too broke to afford the bigger book).
Websites:
1.
Orthobullets - Concise as the name, and highly useful for some accurate high-yield facts and management points.
2.
Wheeless' Textbook of Orthopaedics - Another highly recommended site.
Both of the above are more than adequate, and best of all they're absolutely free. And amazing.
God bless the contributors.
If you're not keen on getting the books suggested in the previous list, access to internet and the above sites, as well as the PDF document in the previous list, is more than enough most of the time.
Tools
1. Measuring tape
2. Goniometer
3. Tendon hammer
4. Don't forget your stets! And other basic HO stuff. Just because it's Ortho doesn't mean you don't review the patient holistically ;)
Actually these can be found- most of the time, anyway- in your clinics and wards. But it's better to have them handy. The goniometer? I've survived without one, but I could distinctly remember some MOs running around like headless chickens trying to find one in the clinic.
Conclusion
Some Orthopaedic departments are known to be the most chill departments in the hospital.
Some are known to be the most malignant.
Either way, it is always better to equip yourself in this posting, same as other postings. It may not be a major posting like medical or surgery, but once you become an MO, you may - MAY- be thrown into this department, and have no say in it. Furthermore, some basic management of orthopaedics is still important when you're the frontliners in medicine, working in a health clinic or the emergency department. So don't take this posting for granted!
Important topics?
Kindly ask your bosses. I might go into it later, if I have the time and motivation.
Counting down to the end of this posting...
