Abstract: Objective To evaluate the time span, space distribution, disease spectrum, professional and technical requirements of orthopedic surgeons for consultation in orthopedic department in a large comprehensive grade A hospital, so as to strengthen clinical teaching and improve the quality and efficiency of consultation. Methods The data of consultation received by the department of orthopedics in Peking Union Medical College Hospital from December 2020 to January 2022 were collected and sorted out by the hospital information system, and the correlation between consultation time span, department, consultation purpose, diseases involved, orthopedic treatment opinions, relevance of consultation to patients' main purpose of hospitalization was classified and summarized. Results In the statistical time range, a total of 1 528 consultations were completed by the department of orthopedics, involving 41 clinical departments. The consultation calling peak was from 8 am to 11 am and from 15 pm to 17 pm,and consultation on Monday was more than other days. The department of neurology submitted the most applications for orthopedic consultation, and the main diseases were degenerative diseases. There were also a large number of orthopedic disorders associated with hormone use. About 1/3 of the consultations were not directly related to the primary purpose of hospitalization. About 2/3 of the consultation cases required orthopedic intervention, while another 1/3 had incomplete preparation or only needed oral instruction. Conclusions The working load of in-hospital consultation can not be ignored. The time span and departments submitting the consultation application are unevenly distributed. The recommendation for consultants is to reserve sufficient time on Monday to ensure timely consultation. The consultation content mainly focuses on degenerative diseases and glucocorticoids related orthopedic diseases. In the future, the training of consulting physicians and the basic education as well as post-graduation education of common orthopedic diseases should be strengthened.

Key words: orthopedics, consultation, analysis, clinical teaching