How OrthoCarolina is rethinking orthopedic recruitment, retention
By Admin | February 18, 2026
Every orthopedic group is feeling it now: the quiet squeeze between rising demand and a shrinking willingness to work the way the last generation did.
Patients are living longer. Musculoskeletal needs are growing. But the pipeline of surgeons, and the way surgeons want to practice, has fundamentally changed.
Leo Spector, MD, orthopedic spine surgeon and CEO of Charlotte, N.C.-based OrthoCarolina, sees the shift from both sides of the exam room.
“We have an aging population, people living longer, so there’s more demand for services,” he said. “That doesn’t necessarily change the supply side.”
What has changed, he believes, is the surgeon workforce itself.
In the wake of COVID-19, many senior physicians have begun recalibrating their priorities. At the same time, younger generations are entering practice with a different definition of sustainability.
“You’re seeing much more of an emphasis on work-life balance, life experience, as opposed to work accomplishment and financial accumulation,” Dr. Spector said.
He is careful not to frame the shift as decline, but as generational reality. “I’m not saying one is good or bad,” he said. “It just is reality.”
However, the operational impact is undeniable. To replace one retiring surgeon, practices increasingly need more than...(More)
For more info please read, How OrthoCarolina is rethinking orthopedic recruitment, retention, by Becker's Spine Review
