Orthopedics is one of the most “appealing” for the next three years, and pessimism in the speciality is on the lower end, according to Medscape’s “The Race for Relevance: Medscape Most Popular Specialties for Doctors Report 2026.”
Medscape surveyed 5,916 full-time physicians in the U.S. across 29 specialities from Sept. 5 to Dec. 17.
Three things to know:
1. For the short-term future, 58% of orthopedic surgeons are optimistic. In the long term, that number fell to 48%.
2. Only 17% of orthopedic surgeons felt pessimistic about the specialty’s short-term future. Long term, 33% of orthopedic surgeons feel pessimistic.
3. Still orthopedics was tied with dermatology as the most appealing specialty (54%).
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