Pediatric/Adolescent Gynecology is a very real and "official" field with a fellowship and board certification just like gyn/onc. Simply, there are many fewer programs than gyn/onc.
Here are the list of programs:
http://www.naspag.org/index.php/trainees
In fact NASPAG's website in it's entirety might be useful to you.
Another complimentary field is Adolescent Medicine which is a Pediatric fellowship. Both will fulfill your interest of sexual health and caring for sexually abused patients. (however, typically will not in the acute setting - ER doctors are the ones who examine and initially treat an abused patient. After that, whomever is the Ob/Gyn on call will be consulted to repair any genital trauma, etc, as needed. Depending on the hospital and location and city size, I suppose you could work out a deal with your hospital to be called for any teens, but as THP said this won't occur often enough to make your entire career.
Basically the difference is:
- Pedi/Adolescent Gyn education path: medical school --> ob/gyn residency (4 years) --> pedi gyn fellowship through obgyn departments
- Adolescent Med education path: medical school --> pediatric residency (3 years) or family medicine residency (3 years) --> adolescent med fellowship through pediatric departments
- Pedi Gyn - only care for female patients. will regularly do limited psychosocial counseling, will regularly perform office procedures. Can also cover general ob/gyn services in the clinic or hospital setting as desired.
- Adol Med - will care for both teen boys and girls. Will regularly do limited psychosocial counseling, will occasionally perform office procedures. Can also cover general pediatric/family medicine services in the clinic or hospital setting as desired.
You can find out more about adolescent medicine here:
http://www.adolescenthealth.org and info on fellowships can be found by clicking on Training and CME.
I am currently a 4th year medical student (MD) applying to residency with similar interests as you. It absolutely is a real field and, for me, very fulfilling. However, you should also know most places that offer fellowships are very competitive. This doesn't mean it can't be done with a DO degree (it can!!), just know that you will be at some disadvantage, and will need to be prepared to do a little bit of compensating just to get on equal footing. It's unfair and unfortunate, but true. This doesn't mean you can't do it, because you absolutely can!!! Just be prepared to hit the ground running.
Another option is to sit out a year and revamp your application, and go for an MD school. I know right now that might seem like a frustrating, exhausting, overwhelming prospect when all you want to do is be in doctor school already!! But just keep in mind that at every step of they way you may have to do frustrating, exhausting, overwhelming things to keep up with MD graduates.
And yes, you will hear everyone in their mother tell you to "keep an open mind because your career decision will change". And it might. But there are some of us who have had this passion from the very beginning, and in some ways it makes it easier to make decisions and plan ahead!! I felt the same way you do and with similar interests and it has worked out so far for me.
I wish you the best of luck in this application cycle!!!
