Specialty ideas for someone who loves everything about OB/GYN except...

[PinkyPiePony]

Hi!

I'm an incoming MS1 and so far I feel like OB/GYN is the only specialty I could really enjoy. I like the mix of medicine, surgery, procedures, and primary care. I've had enough exposure to OB/GYN that I know I would be really happy doing it for the rest of my life.

However... I want to keep an open mind to other specialties because let's face it--when I'm 50 + years old waking up in the middle of the night will get old. The liability is also a huge turnoff. So what are some other specialties that offer the same mix that OB/GYN does?

I've already ruled out:

Emergency Medicine--The ER stresses me out (I've worked as a scribe long enough to know this). I don't like not knowing what will come in the door. With OB/GYN there is a finite number of surgeries/problems that I could face. I like the idea of being an expert in one field/body part rather than a jack of all trades.

Anesthesia--I'd be either bored to tears or terrorized out of my mind, depending on the situation. I'm already an extremely intense person and I don't think it'd be a good mix.

Psych-- Crazy people scare me. But maybe I'm just jaded from the people that come to the ER? Plus I'm a "fixer/doer" personality type and I think I'd get really frustrated in this specialty.

Peds--Parents drive me nuts. I've worked in the childcare industry for over three years and I just don't see myself as a general pediatrician. I do love kids but it's the helicopter parents and neglectful parents that would get to me. Plus I cry when kids cry.

Any advice? I know it's early but I'd like to have at least 2 other specialties in mind and not put all my eggs into the OB/GYN basket.

Thanks in advance!

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[joker2400]

Hi!

I'm an incoming MS1 and so far I feel like OB/GYN is the only specialty I could really enjoy. I like the mix of medicine, surgery, procedures, and primary care. I've had enough exposure to OB/GYN that I know I would be really happy doing it for the rest of my life.

However... I want to keep an open mind to other specialties because let's face it--when I'm 50 + years old waking up in the middle of the night will get old. The liability is also a huge turnoff. So what are some other specialties that offer the same mix that OB/GYN does?

I've already ruled out:

Emergency Medicine--The ER stresses me out (I've worked as a scribe long enough to know this). I don't like not knowing what will come in the door. With OB/GYN there is a finite number of surgeries/problems that I could face. I like the idea of being an expert in one field/body part rather than a jack of all trades.

Anesthesia--I'd be either bored to tears or terrorized out of my mind, depending on the situation. I'm already an extremely intense person and I don't think it'd be a good mix.

Psych-- Crazy people scare me. Plus I'm a "fixer/doer" personality type and I think I'd get really frustrated in this specialty.

ENT, Optho-- I don't want to do small surgeries on small body parts. I'd be terrible at it.

Peds--I'm not nice enough and parents drive me nuts. And I completely lose it whenever a kid gets hurt. I do love kids but I have a hard time keeping my act together when a kid is screaming in pain.

Any advice? I know it's early but I'd like to have at least 2 other specialties in mind and not put all my eggs into the OB/GYN basket.

Thanks in advance!

It looks like you've used your extensive experience to rule out half of the specialties, why not keep the other half in the maybe pile?

 

[raiderette]

My gyno office has at least two doctors that won't do obstetrics. If you no longer want to work with pregnant women you could limit your practice. Maybe specialize in something like endometriosis or a surgical subspecialty, or deal with adolescents.

 

[dadaddadaBATMAN]

Hi!

I'm an incoming MS1 and so far I feel like OB/GYN is the only specialty I could really enjoy. I like the mix of medicine, surgery, procedures, and primary care. I've had enough exposure to OB/GYN that I know I would be really happy doing it for the rest of my life.

However... I want to keep an open mind to other specialties because let's face it--when I'm 50 + years old waking up in the middle of the night will get old. The liability is also a huge turnoff. So what are some other specialties that offer the same mix that OB/GYN does?

I've already ruled out:

Emergency Medicine--The ER stresses me out (I've worked as a scribe long enough to know this). I don't like not knowing what will come in the door. With OB/GYN there is a finite number of surgeries/problems that I could face. I like the idea of being an expert in one field/body part rather than a jack of all trades.

Anesthesia--I'd be either bored to tears or terrorized out of my mind, depending on the situation. I'm already an extremely intense person and I don't think it'd be a good mix.

Psych-- Crazy people scare me. Plus I'm a "fixer/doer" personality type and I think I'd get really frustrated in this specialty.

ENT, Optho-- I don't want to do small surgeries on small body parts. I'd be terrible at it.

Peds--I'm not nice enough and parents drive me nuts. And I completely lose it whenever a kid gets hurt. I do love kids but I have a hard time keeping my act together when a kid is screaming in pain.

Any advice? I know it's early but I'd like to have at least 2 other specialties in mind and not put all my eggs into the OB/GYN basket.

Thanks in advance!

Ok, I have some advice. Chill. You are an incoming ms1. Focus on doing well and keeping options open.

And scrap these preconceptions you have of each of these fields. None of them appear to be accurate.

For starters, in Ob there are growing practices that hire "laborists" which is shift work. There's also subfields like Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility which have totally different hours. There are also large practices whee you have limited call responsibilities.

Each of your other rationales is more silly than that one. Keep an open mind, rotate through each one and consider it.

If you have to be super anxsty, then shadow.

 

[PinkyPiePony]

Ok, I have some advice. Chill. You are an incoming ms1. Focus on doing well and keeping options open.

And scrap these preconceptions you have of each of these fields. None of them appear to be accurate.

For starters, in Ob there are growing practices that hire "laborists" which is shift work. There's also subfields like Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility which have totally different hours. There are also large practices whee you have limited call responsibilities.

Each of your other rationales is more silly than that one. Keep an open mind, rotate through each one and consider it.

If you have to be super anxsty, then shadow.

True, the rationales I listed might not be entirely accurate but I do know enough about myself and my weaknesses/strengths to know what I will/won't be good at. I'm an older married-with-kids non-traditional student. Maybe my rationale is silly about ENT/Optho so I'll edit that out---I really don't think I'd be good at anything that requires extreme manual dexterity though.

I guess I'm just worried about going into a field where the general consensus on SDN is "don't go into OB/GYN unless you can't see yourself going into anything else".

REI, Maternal Fetal Medicine, urogyn, and gyn onc all interest me a lot. Those are paths I could see myself taking eventually. But what are examples of other unrelated fields that offer the same things OB/GYN does but without the deliveries/high liability? I've had no exposure to ortho, uro, IM, family med, pm&r, general surgery, plastics, rads, pathology, neuro, etc. I can't shadow everything. I know that's what third year is for but I'd like to narrow it down a little bit more. I wish I could shadow everything but I just won't have the time.

 

[PinkyPiePony]

My gyno office has at least two doctors that won't do obstetrics. If you no longer want to work with pregnant women you could limit your practice. Maybe specialize in something like endometriosis or a surgical subspecialty, or deal with adolescents.

Are the docs you work with happy about their choice to pursue OB/GYN?

 

[dadaddadaBATMAN]

True, the rationales I listed might not be entirely accurate but I do know enough about myself and my weaknesses/strengths to know what I will/won't be good at. I'm an older married-with-kids non-traditional student. Maybe my rationale is silly about ENT/Optho so I'll edit that out---I really don't think I'd be good at anything that requires extreme manual dexterity though.

I guess I'm just worried about going into a field where the general consensus on SDN is "don't go into OB/GYN unless you can't see yourself going into anything else".

REI, Maternal Fetal Medicine, urogyn, and gyn onc all interest me a lot. Those are paths I could see myself taking eventually. But what are examples of other unrelated fields that offer the same things OB/GYN does but without the deliveries/high liability? I've had no exposure to ortho, uro, IM, family med, pm&r, general surgery, plastics, rads, pathology, neuro, etc. I can't shadow everything. I know that's what third year is for but I'd like to narrow it down a little bit more. I wish I could shadow everything but I just won't have the time.

I don't think narrowing it down is really a good idea at this stage honestly. And knowing yourself is pretty irrelevant when you don't know the other half of the equation (the specialty). Your criteria are kinda vague.

I know people in gyn onc surgery who haven't delivered since the 80s, so that isn't really mandatory past residency.

But if you're looking for a blend of surgery/procedures, medicine and clinic then there are still many different specialties available. The classic answers would probably be ENT/Uro/optho/ob gyn.

Most of the interventional specialties and several im specialties (ir, interventional cards, electrophys in cards, interventional neuro,gi, pulm crit) would qualify as well depending on what you're going for in terms of the mix (and with a flexible definition of surgery).

 

[Crayola227]

Hi!

I'm an incoming MS1 and so far I feel like OB/GYN is the only specialty I could really enjoy. I like the mix of medicine, surgery, procedures, and primary care. I've had enough exposure to OB/GYN that I know I would be really happy doing it for the rest of my life.

However... I want to keep an open mind to other specialties because let's face it--when I'm 50 + years old waking up in the middle of the night will get old. The liability is also a huge turnoff. So what are some other specialties that offer the same mix that OB/GYN does?

I've already ruled out:

Emergency Medicine--The ER stresses me out (I've worked as a scribe long enough to know this). I don't like not knowing what will come in the door. With OB/GYN there is a finite number of surgeries/problems that I could face. I like the idea of being an expert in one field/body part rather than a jack of all trades.

Anesthesia--I'd be either bored to tears or terrorized out of my mind, depending on the situation. I'm already an extremely intense person and I don't think it'd be a good mix.

Psych-- Crazy people scare me. But maybe I'm just jaded from the people that come to the ER? Plus I'm a "fixer/doer" personality type and I think I'd get really frustrated in this specialty.

Peds--Parents drive me nuts. I've worked in the childcare industry for over three years and I just don't see myself as a general pediatrician. I do love kids but it's the helicopter parents and neglectful parents that would get to me. Plus I cry when kids cry.

Any advice? I know it's early but I'd like to have at least 2 other specialties in mind and not put all my eggs into the OB/GYN basket.

Thanks in advance!

You didn't mention Family Practice. Only other one I can think of you deliver babies. You don't have to see that many kids in your practice. You'll have some psych but that's true in any primary care field including ob/gyn.

 

[dadaddadaBATMAN]

,


-I really don't think I'd be good at anything that requires extreme manual dexterity though.

I guess I'm just worried about going into a field where the general consensus on SDN is "don't go into OB/GYN unless you can't see yourself going into anything else".

.

Oh and two other things:
1. Ffs don't rule out a specialty based on sdn. It's where the crazy people are.
2. you say you're worried about manual dexterity, then mention you want to go into a field dominated by laparoscopy, minimally invasive surgery and robotic procedures. What gives?

 

[Crayola227]

You'll likely figure out quickly if you are really a cutter or not. That's usually the big divide. Also "generalist jack of all trades" vs "specialist." The next is whether or not you want direct patient contact. The next question for me was could I give up ever seeing kids, which I found to be an easy question to answer.

Try this pathway:

 

[Crayola227]

 

[Donald Juan]

First things: I agree with above, you're very early on, take it one step at a time, you're gonna change your mind 10,000 times, blah blah blah.

For reals answers: I've worked with private practice ob/gyns who had reasonable multipractice group call schedules, and they had strict rules against coming in on someone else's call (so that they weren't sharking the cash grab for a delivery). It seemed to work out to give them a good lifestyle and their patients were very understanding of the reason.

Also, uro/ent/ophtho are all up the surgical/medical road, but realize that all are very competitive and if you go into either thinking it will be some cakewalk compared to general surgery or ob/gyn...you're gonna have a bad time.

 

[*brobro*]

I worked with an attending this year who stopped doing any OB by the time he was 40 and now just has a cushy outpatient gyn practice with very nice hours. It's always good to be prepared but you're making some big assumptions about other fields pretty early in the game.

The first thing you should worry about is being a strong student. Then, try shadowing a number of fields (this is easier said than done...I always had good intentions to shadow a bunch and just never did it). Try to get involved in some kind of research early on, especially if you think you might be interested in any of the more competitive specialties. Don't ever fall into the trap of thinking that just because you are wanting to do a "less competitive" specialty that it's ok to slack. It's always better to have a solid application and then be able to comfortably choose what you want and not feel excluded from or forced into some specialty.

I know very few students that came in from day 1 with a specialty in mind and are still set on applying to that specialty now that 4th year is starting. Many students, including myself, change multiple times and end up in a very different place than they ever could have imagined.

 

[PinkyPiePony]

First things: I agree with above, you're very early on, take it one step at a time, you're gonna change your mind 10,000 times, blah blah blah.

For reals answers: I've worked with private practice ob/gyns who had reasonable multipractice group call schedules, and they had strict rules against coming in on someone else's call (so that they weren't sharking the cash grab for a delivery). It seemed to work out to give them a good lifestyle and their patients were very understanding of the reason.

Also, uro/ent/ophtho are all up the surgical/medical road, but realize that all are very competitive and if you go into either thinking it will be some cakewalk compared to general surgery or ob/gyn...you're gonna have a bad time.

Yeah I know...I'd be crushed if I discovered I loved a competitive specialty too late! Would those ob/gyns you worked with go into ob/gyn if they could do it all over again? Are they happy??

 

[PinkyPiePony]

I LOVED her book! I fit the stereotype for OB/GYN **sigh**. Maybe the stereotype for ortho, too...Although I only squat 150-175 and I definitely don't bench press

 

[PinkyPiePony]

I worked with an attending this year who stopped doing any OB by the time he was 40 and now just has a cushy outpatient gyn practice with very nice hours. It's always good to be prepared but you're making some big assumptions about other fields pretty early in the game.

The first thing you should worry about is being a strong student. Then, try shadowing a number of fields (this is easier said than done...I always had good intentions to shadow a bunch and just never did it). Try to get involved in some kind of research early on, especially if you think you might be interested in any of the more competitive specialties. Don't ever fall into the trap of thinking that just because you are wanting to do a "less competitive" specialty that it's ok to slack. It's always better to have a solid application and then be able to comfortably choose what you want and not feel excluded from or forced into some specialty.

I know very few students that came in from day 1 with a specialty in mind and are still set on applying to that specialty now that 4th year is starting. Many students, including myself, change multiple times and end up in a very different place than they ever could have imagined.

Agree 100%. Would you say any research is acceptable? For example, would it matter if I did OB/GYN research and then applied to ortho? Or does it have to be specialty specific?

 

[sloop]

If you dislike "crazies", my experience was that, other than psych, the two places where I saw the most "crazies" were OB GYN and trauma surgery. It turns out that many people with serious mental disorders will somehow find their way to the hospital for the first time in years when they have a gunshot wound to the chest or are having a baby.

 

[Donald Juan]

Yeah I know...I'd be crushed if I discovered I loved a competitive specialty too late! Would those ob/gyns you worked with go into ob/gyn if they could do it all over again? Are they happy??

Yes.

 

[*brobro*]

Yeah I know...I'd be crushed if I discovered I loved a competitive specialty too late! Would those ob/gyns you worked with go into ob/gyn if they could do it all over again? Are they happy??

Well...(long story short) he basically made a really smart investment in the early 90s which paid off big time and he immediately stopped delivering babies ASAP. He said operating was more pressure than he expected and that he was taking his work home with him more than he liked...so, no, he didn't really end up liking operating or delivering babies. Thus, he now does purely outpatient gyn. This is just one man's story though. He told me if he could do it all again, he would probably have chosen medicine and/or one of it's subspecialties.

Edit: Just realized you were quoting a different poster. Oh well, there's your unsolicited answer.

Agree 100%. Would you say any research is acceptable? For example, would it matter if I did OB/GYN research and then applied to ortho? Or does it have to be specialty specific?

I'm just a 4th year myself, so take my opinion with a grain of salt. Any research is generally better than no research. Obviously, research in the field you're applying to would be best. I think that if you have a reasonable story of why you changed your mind then people will understand and probably still give you some points for hard work. Just get involved early so you learn how to do the work and how to play the game. That way, if you end up changing your mind, you'll be more equipped to pick up a project in your newly chosen field and might be able to crank out something decent at the last minute.

 

[chibaddie]

Lol. I commend you for looking into all this so early, but like, it's very easy to get ahead of yourself in this game...