Guest blinkin Posted June 24, 2003 Report Share Posted June 24, 2003 Hi everyone, I have a few questions about OB/GYN. Any insight would be greatly appreciated! 1. What proportion of OB/GYN residents are men? 2. Is it possible to focus your career on obstetrics, or do most OB/GYNs do work in both obstetrics and gynecology? Thanks so much! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest UWOMED2005 Posted June 24, 2003 Report Share Posted June 24, 2003 This is "any" insight as I haven't done much research into Obs/gyn, but. . . 1) My 'impression' is that the majority of Obs/gyn residents are now women, but there still are men that go into the field. We had at least 4-5 male obs/gyn lecturers this year. But my impression is that women are in the majority of this field. 2) Yes, it is possible to work almost entirely in obstetrics. I've worked with a few (male!) obs/gyn who do this. But it usually doesn't last for too many years. . . probably the greatest advance in obstetrics would be a safe method (ie not induced labour or caesarians!) of telling babies to only come out between 9 am and 5 pm (as opposed to the between 9 pm and 5 am that babies seem to enjoy!) As a result, obs/gyn is one of the most intense specialties "lifestyle-wise" and my impression is that many docs start out in the Obs and then later in life when they actually want to sleep some they move into gyne clinics. But that's just my impression, and probably isn't the rule. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest therealcrackers Posted June 25, 2003 Report Share Posted June 25, 2003 A large number of the med students interested in OB/GYN are right now in PEI at the Society of Obs/GYn of Canada (SOGC) annual meeting. You may want to check out their website to get additional information. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Ian Wong Posted June 25, 2003 Report Share Posted June 25, 2003 Ob/GYN has more female residents than males, but as a male applicant, you should be just fine in your application. Most Ob/GYN doctors that I've heard of go the opposite direction than what you are proposing, simply because the lifestyle in gynecology is much more controllable than obstetrics. That is, obstetrics tends to be done more while you are fairly young and active, and growing out your practice, and then as you age and start to value sleeping a bit more, your focus shifts towards gynecology where the work is more office-based and scheduled. There are also numerous areas within Ob/Gyn that you can go after fellowship: Maternofetal medicine/Perinatology, Gyn-Oncology, Reproductive/Endocrine/Infertility, Urogynecology, etc. Ian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest aneliz Posted July 2, 2003 Report Share Posted July 2, 2003 OB/GYN is quickly becoming a female dominated specialty. I was at the SOGC conference in Charlottetown last week and of the 50ish med students there, three were guys. But, many (if not most) of the consultants are male.... You will not be disadvantaged by being male, in fact, you may actually have an advantage...because males are rare, every program director is out trying to 'snag' one for their program to balance things out. All of the program directors that I spoke to last week were more than enthusiastic about matching male residents. As for direction you can take the specialty after: There are numerous subspecialties (fellowships) available after you have completed your five years in OB/GYN...maternal-fetal medicine, reproductive endocrinology, gyn-oncology, urogynecology, colposcopy, pediatric-adolescent gynecology and general OB/GYN.. and you can do tonnes of different stuff from being a general OB/GYN too! Most people tend to start off with an OB heavy practice in their early years, and gradually shift more towards gyne as they get older....simply because gyne is much more lifestyle compatible than obs is. However, if you love OB and want to focus on that, you can - either from a general ob/gyn pathway or from a maternal-fetal medicine fellowship. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest sassy101 Posted July 25, 2003 Report Share Posted July 25, 2003 I read an article recently that stated that OBGYN is becoming less popular as a residency choice because of the lack of sleep, being on call etc. The article also stated that for sometime physicians weren't being paid for being on call and that this was a big reason why OBGYN was less popular ( I guess the physicians didnt feel they were being adequately compensated for their time ) This lack of interest in OBGYN has apparently lead to a large shortage. However, the article went on to state that the numbers are increasing as a large effort was made to attract students into OBGYN and now " most physicians are paid for being on call in most specialties ". However, the article did not directly state that this was the case for OBGYNs. I am heavily considering this specialty and am wondering if the lifestyle is really that undesirable. Are OBGYNs getting paid for being on call? In particular are they paid to be on call in Alberta? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest therealcrackers Posted July 27, 2003 Report Share Posted July 27, 2003 Asking on this board for people with experience working as an OB/GYN is like asking a desert if there's water Moses can part for you. Not quite at that stage yet. Try the SOGC website, or try the residency programs at U of A and U of C (there's a recent Western grad who's a new PGY1 at U of A; she might be helpful). The fee schedules for the various provinces, under the provincial insurance plans, may also be available on government web sites. Hope that helps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest UofCMeds2005 Posted July 27, 2003 Report Share Posted July 27, 2003 O&G is more popular than ever - the evidence of that is in the 2003 CARMS match results. More and more people are choosing O&G. It used to be fairly easy to match to and now it is considered competitive. In addition, the feild has been changing since more women have matched there (ie. they typically like to spend more time with family and at home). The introduction of call groups has really improved O&G as well. For instance, being on call 3 nights a month as an attending is NOT bad - rumour here is that they get paid big $$$ for it too. Being interested in something early is great and gives you a head start - it gives you loads of time to decide if O&G is right for you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest sassy101 Posted July 27, 2003 Report Share Posted July 27, 2003 I was just curious if anyone had shadowed an OBGYN or had done an elective and had some info to share ..thats all. Perhaps I should have asked things differently. Sorry. I try not to bother Moses with such things...I appreciate he is a busy man. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest UofCMeds2005 Posted July 27, 2003 Report Share Posted July 27, 2003 I have shadowed & done an elective in O&G. So, I may be able to provide some insight to you - what sort of info are you looking for? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest sassy101 Posted July 28, 2003 Report Share Posted July 28, 2003 You've pretty much answered what I was wondering UofC...the article I read was recent but not from the best source. It painted sort of a dismal picture but 3 nights a month on call doesn't seem that bad at all. Thanks for the response. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest aneliz Posted July 28, 2003 Report Share Posted July 28, 2003 A lot of Ontario Ob/Gyn departments in academic centres are looking to go on an 'alternative funding plan' rather than billing for the patients that they see. I know that they have already converted over to this type of funding in Kingston. They are paid a set amount for the year and do not bill for each patient they see....so, I guess that they are getting paid for being on call... As for competitiveness...yes O&G is getting pretty competitive... there were over 50 students that went to the annual meeting in Charlottetown...and some of them came from as far as Vancouver... Last year there was only one unfilled O&G spot after the first round of the match...and there were more than a few people that ranked it as their first choice specialty and either didn't match or matched into their 'back-up specialty'. So while it has traditionally been viewed as an 'easy match', this doesn't seem to be the case anymore. Of course it will be awhile before you are in the match so things can always change. Each match year seems to have one 'out of left field' surprise competitive specialty...so it may get less competitive again....you never know. If you are interested in O&G, I suggest that you contact some of the people in the department and arrange to shadow a few docs or residents. Stay overnight and see what it is like to be on-call. That is the best way to get a real feel for the specialty... At UWO, the consultants are on call 1 in 10 (1 in 9 right now) so that works out to about 3 nights per month. However, this is IN HOUSE call (as opposed to some other specialties where you are at home when you are on call and come in if there is something going on.) And residents are not so lucky...they are on 1 in 4. If you chose to do go to a smaller centre, you may be on call much more often....in some rural areas, it is more like 24-7 call.... but it is your choice where you go to practice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest sassy101 Posted July 28, 2003 Report Share Posted July 28, 2003 Great info...thanks aneliz!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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