Orthopedic surgeons are physicians who have completed applied training in orthopedic surgery after the completion of medical school and attainment of the M.D. or D.O. degree. According to the latest Occupational Outlook Handbook (2006-2007) published by the U.S. Department of Labor, between 3-4% of all practicing physicians are orthopedic surgeons.

In the United States and Canada orthopedic surgeons (also known as orthopedists) complete a minimum of 10 years of postsecondary education and clinical training. In the majority of cases this training includes obtaining an undergraduate degree (a few medical schools will admit students with as little as two years of undergraduate education), a medical degree or osteopathic degree (4 years), and then completing a five-year residency in orthopedic surgery. The five-year residency consists of one year of general surgery training followed by four years of training in orthopaedic surgery.

Many orthopedic surgeons elect to do further subspecialty training in programs known as 'fellowships' after completing their residency training. Fellowship training in an orthopedic subspeciality is typically one year in duration (sometimes two) and usually has a research component involved with the clinical and operative training. Examples of orthopedic subspecialty training in the US are:

Hand surgery (also performed by Plastic Surgeons)
Shoulder and elbow surgery
Pediatric orthopedics
Foot and ankle surgery (Not to be confused with podiatry)
Musculoskeletal oncology
Surgical sports medicine
Orthopedic trauma
These are also the nine main sub-specialty areas of orthopedic surgery.

Hand surgery, and more recently Sports Medicine are the only truly recognized sub-specialties within orthopaedic surgery by the Accredited Council of Graduate Medical Education (ACGME). The other sub-specialities are informal concentrations of practice. To be recognized as a hand surgeon or sports surgeon, a practitioner must have completed an ACGME-accredited fellowship and obtained a Certificate of Added Qualifications (CAQ) which requires an additional standardized examination.