A doctor who specializes in treatments for women is called an Obstetrician/Gynecologist (OB/GYN). An OB/GYN diagnoses and treats illnesses and disorders in women, which include breast cancer and cervical cancer, using different medical procedures. He or she also provides health services to manage a woman’s reproductive system, pregnancy and child delivery. In essence, an OB/GYN is an expert in women's health, and, like other physicians, spends years training to gain expertise. Here's what you'll need to become an OB/GYN Doctor.
- Bachelor's degree. Before becoming an OB/GYN, you first need to earn a bachelor's degree. During your undergraduate years, you must pay attention to your science subjects, particularly biology, anatomy, chemistry and genetics, to prepare you for medical school. Also, try to get good grades. An outstanding GPA is one of the requirements of all medical schools. Admissions committees look for well rounded students. While science classes are very important, your undergraduate degree can be in any discipline. Can you maintain good grades and do volunteer work? Have you done any hospital work? Have you volunteered at a homeless shelter? All of these activities look good to the admissions committee, so work them in during your four years of undergraduate work. Check with the medical school you want to attend for any prerequisite classes and make sure you take those. Also during the last two years of your undergraduate degree you will be studying for the Medical College Admission Test (MCAT) and applying to medical schools. Your academic advisor will help you decide how many schools to apply to. It is going to be a busy four years!
- Medical degree. Aside from a very good GPA, medical schools’ admission requirements include a good grade on the (MCAT). Medical school applicants are highly competitive. Excellent grades and an excellent MCAT score are extremely important to being accepted into school. An interview with a medical school faculty member is also conducted. When finally accepted into an accredited medical school, your extensive medical training begins. You will spend four years in medical school, two years of which will be devoted to general medicine such as anatomy, pharmacology, biochemistry and microbiology. The last two years of training is more exciting in nature, as this will include actual clinical practice. This is when you will do rotations at a hospital or clinic. During medical school you will be taking boards to ensure that you are learning the material and are capable of working with patients. In your fourth year specifically, you will have to decide on your specialty. After completing four years of medical school, you will graduate with a title of Doctor of Medicine (M.D.). In the last year of medical school you will apply to residency programs. These are highly competitive positions, especially in the top residency programs.
- Residency program. You will spend another four years in a residency program. This will expose you to the actual duties of a doctor in the field of obstetrics and gynecology and will require you to do diagnosis, execute surgeries and make a treatment plan, among other things. As a resident, you will also supervise medical students and will likewise be supervised by an attending physician when performing medical duties. Every year of your residency, you will have to perform more complicated surgeries and assume bigger responsibilities. When employed as a doctor within OB/GYN jobs, you have to work long hours during a week—sometimes as many as 100 hours—primarily because most of your patients will be pregnant women who could give birth any time of the day or night.
- Certification. After your residency program, you will take a board certification exam administered by the American Board of Medical Specialties (ABMS).
- Fellowship. If you want to practice in a subspecialty in gynecology such as maternal fetal medicine and gynecologic oncology, you need to undergo a fellowship program. This usually runs for two to four more years.
- Passion. A career in obstetrics and gynecology is grueling and stressful. OB/GYN doctors have to work long hours and manage high-risk situations. So if you aren't passionate about this job, you are more likely to give up in the first years of med school or into your practice. Although education and training are prerequisites, your passion will anchor you on the job.
- Salary range. The mean salary is around $200,000 per year. Keep in mind that most medical students graduate with around $150,000 in school loans to be repaid. Also medical mal-practice for OB/GYN can be extremely high primarily due to the obstetrics portion of the practice.
- Job prospects. The predicted growth rate for the next ten years is around 15%. Some physicians are choosing only to specialize in gynecology and not do the obstetrics in their practice due to the high malpractice rates.
An OB/GYN doctor realizes that the rewards of his or her job lies in the opportunities to bring a baby into this world, to save a mother, a child or both from potentially fatal consequences, to treat patients, and to promote lifelong friendships with their patients. The hours are long but the rewards are great.