OB/GYN residency hard work?

[strandpige]

Does an OB/GYN resident really work much harder than other residents? Seems to me that FP rotators or IM residents are pulling just as serious hours. Am I loco?

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[Leukocyte]

I do not know if you are serious or not, but I will give you the benefit of the doubt and assume you are asking a serious question.

Well, I can only contribute my impression as a 4th year medical student, and I can tell you that the work, stress level, and lifestyle of an OB/GYN residency does not even compare to IM or FP.

I do not know about you, but when I did my core, I was at the hospital pre-rounding at 5:00am every day, and left the hospital at around 7-7:30pm (sometimes 9pm). Our call was q3 (which was identical to the call schedule of our interns).

I would have to say that OB/GYN is one of the "mean" residencies. To me, an Ob/Gyn residency is even more stressful than General Surgery (Ob/Gyn has far more "yelling and screaming" going on, both AT and FROM the residents).

However, If you truely like ob/gyn, then you will be able to tolerate the tough residency.

 

[mamadoc]

Does an OB/GYN resident really work much harder than other residents? Seems to me that FP rotators or IM residents are pulling just as serious hours. Am I loco?

Take it from an FP resident, OB/Gyn is one tough mother of a residency; mine doesn't begin to compare. I've done some of my OB training alongside the OB residents and they work their butts off. First of all, it's four years not three (FP and IM are 3). Secondly it is mostly in-hospital - few months are without call. Thirdly it doesn't get any easier - PGY-2's and 3's in medicine can show up for rounds at 8am (the interns will have done all the pre-rounding starting at 6am) but on OB, even the chiefs are there early. Fourth, it's a high-stress environment - try being reminded every day that every time you step into a delivery, you have two lives in your hands. It's like wearing the code pager ALL the time. And fifth, maybe because of the high-stress environment, the personalities are also kinda stressful and a lot of time the OB folks are unhappy. OB/Gyn should really be compared to surgical residencies rather than other primary care specialties IMHO.

Choosing a residency isn't about the hours, of course. It's about doing what really floats your boat. The happiest OB residents I've seen are the ones that loooove to step into the OR and thrive on stress. Me, I *like* clinic and I like kids and old people and a little gyn but not a lot.... so FP is a great fit for me. But in the end, you gotta like what you do.

 

[Global Disrobal]

Great post! Good luck with Attending-ship-dom

She is right. One other way of looking at it, is by comparing OB call to any other call in medicine. Notes every 2 hours essentially ensure no good sleep.

 

[deeq]

but with a solid nite float team in place for all four years, isn't call just every other weekend in ob?

 

[Leukocyte]

every other weekend

 

[sacrament]

I would have to say that OB/GYN is one of the "mean" residencies. To me, an Ob/Gyn residency is even more stressful than General Surgery (Ob/Gyn has far more "yelling and screaming" going on, both AT and FROM the residents).

This is absolutely true, and it appears to be the case just about everywhere. Ob/gyn attendings are, by and large, seriously nasty people. Residents get sh1t on to an absolutely absurd degree. Ob/gyn residency has got to be one of the most hateful experiences an individual can go through.

 

[Global Disrobal]

Generalization, generalization, generalization.

Last I checked, neither I, the other 19 residents, any of my OB-GYN friends had been sh1t on. Give it a rest and state the facts in this forum. This is the exact garbage that starts stereotypes of certain specialties.

Its a hard residency with very sharp personalities. Many are often overworked and "nasty" or "short fused" because of that. This is definitely a short coming with the specialty but something that hopefully the newcomers will change. As for attendings, in general they are supportive, but as with any specialty you get your mix.

 

[sacrament]

Generalization, generalization, generalization.

Certainly it's generalizations. But most generalizations exist for a reason. All I ever heard about ob/gyn before my rotation was how malignant it was, and I heard this from people at all sorts of different institutions. Then I start my rotation and, yep, it's totally malignant. So while I intellectually realize that this cannot be the universal experience, I have both vast anecdotal evidence and my own experiences telling me that by and large it's pretty damn rough. I'm glad that your experiences are different from what appears to be the norm.

 

[Global Disrobal]

I am actually sorry that your experience has been negative especially since the norm is not what you're describing. What you are describing is in fact generalizations stemming from your bad experience along with what you've heard.

I'm basing my opinion on different rotations in Ob-Gyn, current residency in the field, and the overall experience in medical school where anyone and everyone had an opinion specially about anything not involving their area of interest.

Anyhow, I will not turn this into an "internet argument" as I can't compete with your 7 "golden rules" of winning an internet debate (I enjoyed your posts on that thread)... Have a good night!

 

[Celiac Plexus]

Does an OB/GYN resident really work much harder than other residents? Seems to me that FP rotators or IM residents are pulling just as serious hours. Am I loco?

i'm a general surgery resident, and I have to say that I would not do an ob/gyn residency for all the tea in china. As far as hours go, ob/gyn is restricted to 80 hours/week like everyone else, and you'll find that nearly every program adheres to this, or they will get dinged by the rrc.

as far as residency length, it's only 4 years, the same length as ophtho, or anesthesia...

however, as a med student, i had no more miserable a rotation than my ob/gyn rotation. at my med school 95% of the residents were women... bitter, angry, pissed-off women. between the residents there was tons of yelling, whining, bitching, back-stabbing, and general misery for the entire time i was on the rotation. thus, i think the hardest part of ob/gyn is just dealing with your coworkers.

a number of residents said that they wish that they had picked different specialties. not a single resident encouraged us to pick ob/gyn.

be warned...ob/gyn residency is made harder by the residents themselves... as a general surgery resident, i have a tough schedule... but i enjoy going to work 'cos i get to work with my friends all day.

 

[Global Disrobal]

Hey Celiac, nice to see a post from you...

In response to your post, there are programs like that, but bottom line is:

residency is what you make it to be... You can be bitchy, grumpy, etc. or nice about it. After all what I don't get about the grouchy OB residents is the fact they fully well knew what they were getting themselves into when they signed the contract.

Anyhow, good night all

 

[DrBuzzLightYear]

my clerkship in OBGYN was the funnest one i've had all year.

i spent six weeks with 20 or so women who were doing something they loved more then anything (they had to if they chose OBGYN despite all its problems!).
I never heard anyone complain about having to get up to deliver a baby.

BUT, on my surgical clerkship, ive never heard so much bitching when people were called to the ER or OR for another appy case.

i spent three weeks in L&D and got half a dozen cuban cigars. i spent six weeks in general surgery and didn't get $#!&, just long hours and bunch of patients complaining that their chole had to wait while we operated on three gun shot wounds and a stabbing.

 

[Goober]

however, as a med student, i had no more miserable a rotation than my ob/gyn rotation. at my med school 95% of the residents were women... bitter, angry, pissed-off women. between the residents there was tons of yelling, whining, bitching, back-stabbing, and general misery for the entire time i was on the rotation. thus, i think the hardest part of ob/gyn is just dealing with your coworkers.

a number of residents said that they wish that they had picked different specialties. not a single resident encouraged us to pick ob/gyn.

.

Your experience pretty much mirrored mine in med school. I was completely turned off to OB/GYN from my med school rotation. The residents would sit around at dinner and talk about Derm/rads/anes/Ophtho. It was incredibly male unfriendly and everybody seemed miserable unlike the ortho and neurosurg. residents who have tough residencies but everybody seemed really into what they were doing and I never heard discussions about regret for not going into other specialties.

 

[juddson]

Can you moonlight in OB, and is that basically a non-starter?

Judd

 

[Mybell68]

Can you moonlight in OB, and is that basically a non-starter?

Judd

OB residency, is the hardest one by far. And yes, OB residents are dirty mean, back-stabbing individuals. I think the field attracts a certain number of them, so unless you are like them, you will stick out like a sore thumb. It is extremely cliquish and unless you are a part of the clique, you will most likely have a difficult life. I am currently an OB resident, for 10 more days, but thankfully, I have seen the light, and will be switching residencies shortly. The other bad thing about OB is that, unlike other residencies where the workload gets lighter, actually the seniors do more and more each year, and then as an attending, unless you plan to work in an academic facility, you will be called at all hours. In Illinois, the malpractice is so high, that 7 OB/GYNs at one of our training sites left in one week. All because they were unhappy with the field and with the malpractice insurance situation.

 

[snowinter]

Mybelle,

if I may ask-- what are you going to switch into from ob?

just curious-- i'm thinking about obgyn -- but there are many draw backs -- i know.

good luck!

snowinter!

 

[berkeleyboy]

everyone has a different experience. could you tell me what
program you are from or at least what state?
thnks

I am actually sorry that your experience has been negative especially since the norm is not what you're describing. What you are describing is in fact generalizations stemming from your bad experience along with what you've heard.

I'm basing my opinion on different rotations in Ob-Gyn, current residency in the field, and the overall experience in medical school where anyone and everyone had an opinion specially about anything not involving their area of interest.

Anyhow, I will not turn this into an "internet argument" as I can't compete with your 7 "golden rules" of winning an internet debate (I enjoyed your posts on that thread)... Have a good night!

 

[norbel]

my opinion thus far is that with my med school experience, career choice, residency application and now beginning of the residency process...is all different for most people involved...it's my general personal feel that most people get from a situation as much as what they bring to it...if you are a perseverating negativistic person...then you may see much of the same in your outlook through these things...this is not to say that there aren't real obstacles and differences in programs and residency choices...unfortunately there is a real cultural phenomena that exists for each specialty...the thing is how you react to it and whether you want to choose a career that fulfills your visceral needs and this is all up to you...if you decide to choose a career based upon lifestyle or earnings that is also a real choice you have to make...for me...i was deciding between an intense surgical specialty and ob/gyn which is also intense, surgical and uniquely different with it's continuity of care with patients involved on the ob side more specifically for my interests...i have always followed my gut...including the numerous times when several physicians had advised me to not go into medicine in general...you really have to figure out what is important for you...and how you think you see your career developing with family, etc...as for programs...i interviewed at several top notch programs...and it was the exception when those few programs made sincere gestures that exemplified how personable and supportive their residency program was and how it was geared towards the individual and not towards the name and statistics...overall my top three were ohio state, UNC and UPENN...ultimately my decision came down to gut feelings and geography...i would have to say my top two choices were the extreme exception of the lot of places i interviewed...places like Duke, Emory and some others left me feeling distant and at a loss for positive things to say...interestingly...some of my classmates actually ranked the other places that i didn't like highly...so this goes back to everyone gets a different feel at different times......at any rate...i can give specifics if you want later...but follow your gut and make sure to get a varied taste for different types of programs...best of luck...

 

[helm222]

I don't know how I came across this old thread but I find it interesting. If you can slog through the residency, MFM and REI are pretty amazing specialties. Bankers hours with large income potential. The MFM's I work with do diagnostic tests all day, and no deliveries with what seems like nonexistent call duties.

 

[Global Disrobal]

Use the search function on the forum, and you'll find a myriad of posts, albeit with many not providing much useful information & essentially comprising of personal attacks and misinformation.

To summarize for you what I've seen on this board over the past number of years: if you like the specialty, are willing to put in the hard-work that comes with an OBGYN residency, then go for it without worry about your gender or it's roles within the specialty. As a male, who is friends with numerous male OBGYN physicians (including subspecialists) and includes many who trained within last 5-10 years, I can wholeheartedly tell you that none of us regret our decision, we love what we do, and we have not seen the "anti-male" behavior that some claim exists within the field. Build a great relationship with your patients, and they'll come to you regardless of your gender, and equally important, they'll give you word of the mouth referrals as well.

Good luck!

 

[residencycoord]

One of our most popular attendings is a male and many women were upset when he stopped doing OB to just do Gyn. We had quite a few male applicants this year and ranked some of them extremely high, at least two in the top 5. Please do not let anyone discourage you from going into OBGYN because you are male. There are plenty of women who still want to see a male physician.

 

[anonperson]

I am sure this has been talked, but I have just started developing an interest in OB/GYN. Can anybody direct me to a productive thread or resource discussing males within OB/GYN?

There are none.

It will always be a challenge as a male becoming an OB GYN. A certain percentage of patient's will not want a male OB GYN regardless of how good/great you are for various reasons (cultural, personal, being nutty etc). It's just the nature of the business. Some will prefer a female while others will not care. If you are fine knowing that, then go ahead and apply. You can still have a successful career and make decent money.

You can mitigate this by sub specializing because at that point patients want the "best" and don't focus as much about gender.

 

[SoFlaOB]

There are none.

It will always be a challenge as a male becoming an OB GYN. A certain percentage of patient's will not want a male OB GYN regardless of how good/great you are for various reasons (cultural, personal, being nutty etc). It's just the nature of the business. Some will prefer a female while others will not care. If you are fine knowing that, then go ahead and apply. You can still have a successful career and make decent money.

You can mitigate this by sub specializing because at that point patients want the "best" and don't focus as much about gender.

I respectfully disagree. As a male MS4 going into OB/Gyn, I know I can be intimidating to look at and I may not have years of experience but I've spent about 5 months this year on OB/Gyn related services and have had only one patient ask if I had to be involved in her care (to preface the encounter, it was with a Middle Eastern woman). Otherwise, I have not had a single ill word spoken about me being a male. To the the contrary, I have had several attendings mention that several patients have left glowing compliments about how they were initially hesitant having a medical student in their care, but would have no qualms about having me being their physician in the future. I know it is a smaller sample size, but coming from the more conservative south and doing two aways in different regions of the country, there was really no difference in opinion at either of the 4 institutions I have rotated through during medical school.

In regards to residency, I felt like I was a very sought after applicant and had no problems with interviews or concerns from faculty or other residents. Like mentioned previously, most of the faculty at my home institution are male and are seemingly highly sought after and have many have had very successful 20+ year careers.

To the original poster, my advice for you is to do what you want to do. I switched from Ortho Surgery into OB/Gyn and have not looked back. I'm significantly happier and enjoy the specialty much more than any day I spent on Ortho, but again thats my two cents. PM me if you have any questions or you want to talk.

 

[anonperson]

I respectfully disagree. As a male MS4 going into OB/Gyn, who also happens to be 6' 5" and 260lbs, I know I can be intimidating to look at and I may not have years of experience but I've spent about 5 months this year on OB/Gyn related services and have had only one patient ask if I had to be involved in her care (to preface the encounter, it was with a Middle Eastern woman). Otherwise, I have not had a single ill word spoken about me being a male. To the the contrary, I have had several attendings mention that several patients have left glowing compliments about how they were initially hesitant having a medical student in their care, but would have no qualms about having me being their physician in the future. I know it is a smaller sample size, but coming from the more conservative south and doing two aways in different regions of the country, there was really no difference in opinion at either of the 4 institutions I have rotated through during medical school.

In regards to residency, I felt like I was a very sought after applicant and had no problems with interviews or concerns from faculty or other residents. Like mentioned previously, most of the faculty at my home institution are male and are seemingly highly sought after and have many have had very successful 20+ year careers.

To the original poster, my advice for you is to do what you want to do. I switched from Ortho Surgery into OB/Gyn and have not looked back. I'm significantly happier and enjoy the specialty much more than any day I spent on Ortho, but again thats my two cents. PM me if you have any questions or you want to talk.

You are an MS4. It's nice you have done a few months of Sub Is but lets be real.

I have completed residency and am a male. I have friends who are generalist and sub specialty attendings and what I say stands. Overall being a male won't be a huge deal, but a certain percentage of female patients will not want a male doctor. This is just how it goes. There may be some regional differences so I can't say what the exact number will be but a certain number of patients refusing to see a male OB GYN still stands. And being a sub specialist will minimize this issue to a larger extent.

Regarding interviews, men are sought out to a certain extent since they are less represented in OB GYN. I know I got interviews at a few places most likely based on being a guy, even though my Step 1 score wasn't great.

 

[THP]

I respectfully disagree. As a male MS4 going into OB/Gyn, who also happens to be 6' 5" and 260lbs, I know I can be intimidating to look at and I may not have years of experience but I've spent about 5 months this year on OB/Gyn related services and have had only one patient ask if I had to be involved in her care (to preface the encounter, it was with a Middle Eastern woman). Otherwise, I have not had a single ill word spoken about me being a male. To the the contrary, I have had several attendings mention that several patients have left glowing compliments about how they were initially hesitant having a medical student in their care, but would have no qualms about having me being their physician in the future. I know it is a smaller sample size, but coming from the more conservative south and doing two aways in different regions of the country, there was really no difference in opinion at either of the 4 institutions I have rotated through during medical school.

In regards to residency, I felt like I was a very sought after applicant and had no problems with interviews or concerns from faculty or other residents. Like mentioned previously, most of the faculty at my home institution are male and are seemingly highly sought after and have many have had very successful 20+ year careers.

To the original poster, my advice for you is to do what you want to do. I switched from Ortho Surgery into OB/Gyn and have not looked back. I'm significantly happier and enjoy the specialty much more than any day I spent on Ortho, but again thats my two cents. PM me if you have any questions or you want to talk.

I'm a male general OB/GYN in private practice for about 3 years now. Overall I love my job and patient volume is fine. Zero regrets with specialty selection. However, the women will always be busier and make more money per hour than a man - based on only their gender. In my practice we hired a woman recently right out of residency who within about 2 weeks had a completely booked out scheduled. I still am not completely booked out. It doesn't mean i'm not earning a good living or really busy - it just means I won't make as much money. I'm OK with that and knew it would be that way going in. Just be prepared for it. Its OK to be happy for your coworker who is successful.

 

[sia_simba]

Question: "is obgyn residency hard work"
Answer: "yes"

Male/female factor for obgyn and private practice depends on location and unfortunately type of insurance the patients have. (Some just don't have a choice)
When I was doing private practice, NEVER had any issue with being a male OBGYN. Matter of fact, there was a female obgyn 1mile away and we were always swapping patients.

Depending on the personality of individuals in the group, it could be smooth sailing, or it could be hell.
My group had 50% males, and 50% females for all 4 years. Everything ran smoothly.

I've helped graduated a few classes afterward, their group seem miserable.

Unfortunately, the stereotype of ob/gyn residents do stand. I've been with interaction with many obgyn residents across the country, majority of them does not "seem" as happy. Not because they hate their job, but because the job is stressful. Liability is high for the Attendings, so when something doesn't go as planned, the anger (which is normal in human beings) gets trickled down. And for OBGYNs, the term "something doesn't go as planned" could change in a matter of seconds. So maybe that's why our mood changes so frequently.

 

[Rajayray2019]

One of our most popular attendings is a male and many women were upset when he stopped doing OB to just do Gyn. We had quite a few male applicants this year and ranked some of them extremely high, at least two in the top 5. Please do not let anyone discourage you from going into OBGYN because you are male. There are plenty of women who still want to see a male physician.

This was great to see!! I love OBGYN I've worked in the field for six years and that's what I want to do when I graduate!

 

[Lostin_space]

This is absolutely true, and it appears to be the case just about everywhere. Ob/gyn attendings are, by and large, seriously nasty people. Residents get sh1t on to an absolutely absurd degree. Ob/gyn residency has got to be one of the most hateful experiences an individual can go through.

Absolutely agree. I found Ob/gyn attendings to be the nastiest, most foul, disgusting people and physicians I have ever encountered in my medical existence and I know plenty of nasty and mean attendings. The level of pure, unadulterated level of hatred and meanness at the core was quite shocking. The Obgyn attendings would make their residents cry, I was even made to cry by the chief. No reason for them to be so mean, they were just hateful, spiteful people and every person I've talked to has had the same experience. Comparatively the rest of my med school rotations were a breeze, including Surgery, Cardiothoracic surgery, Neurosurgery! everyone was a sweetheart compared to Obgyn. I think that's why other drs not only cannot stand most OBgyns in general but why no one feels bad when OBs get sued.

 

[22031 Alum]

Absolutely agree. I found Ob/gyn attendings to be the nastiest, most foul, disgusting people and physicians I have ever encountered in my medical existence and I know plenty of nasty and mean attendings. The level of pure, unadulterated level of hatred and meanness at the core was quite shocking. The Obgyn attendings would make their residents cry, I was even made to cry by the chief. No reason for them to be so mean, they were just hateful, spiteful people and every person I've talked to has had the same experience. Comparatively the rest of my med school rotations were a breeze, including Surgery, Cardiothoracic surgery, Neurosurgery! everyone was a sweetheart compared to Obgyn. I think that's why other drs not only cannot stand most OBgyns in general but why no one feels bad when OBs get sued.

Sorry you had a bad experience! Good luck with your fellowship applications.

 

[Lostin_space]

Sorry you had a bad experience! Good luck with your fellowship applications.

Long in the past and not your fault but thanks! What this rotation taught me (and the promise I made to myself!) after finishing the rotation was that I would never be a nasty, hateful creep to my future residents/jr residents. I have certainly kept that promise, and when I see nastiness or inappropriate behavior from other residents, I typically intervene. I personally feel as drs there is no place for that attitude.