felt sorry...

This forum made possible through the generous support of SDN members, donors, and sponsors. Thank you.
sanfilippo

sanfilippo

El Gaucho Misterioso
15+ Year Member
20+ Year Member
Joined
Jun 5, 2002
Messages
245
Reaction score
0
felt sorry no one has posted here for ob/gyn, so here goes my "pity post":

does anyone know how competitive it's getting these days for this field? also, are male students at a disadvantage in applying? laparoscopic pelvic surgery is very cool and the pts. have been nice having me tag along on their cases. however, i know that this field is more than just surgery, but you can always subspecialize after the 4 years of gen. residency.


-s.
Members don't see this ad.
 
I'm glad someone started something here. My wife wants to go into OB so hopefully someone will be able to answer the questions posted above. :)
 
Hi, I may be able to help on one of your questions.

As far as competiveness, Ob-Gyn has decreased tremendously over the past few years. I attribute this to 2 main factors:

1. Lifestyle is *perceived* as being horrible, and
2. Males are discouraged from going to the field, as more women are requesting (and seeking out) female Ob's.

Hope this helps....
 
Members don't see this ad :)
BigFrank,
You said that there is a "perceived" poor lifestyle in OB/GYN. What do you mean? My understanding is that OB/GYN has one of the worst lifestyles. What sort of hours are you talking about?
 
Well, as an attending, let me tell you, I placed my first post a few weeks ago, then finally had a chance to check it today. I'm in private practice, do approx. 40 deliveries/week, and see approx. 80-90 patients/day. My rounds report looks like I should have done Internal Medicine. I slept 2-5 hours the last 3 nights, but, probably won't have a delivery for the next 3-4 days. Sleep is often at a premium. However, salary is based on productivity and business sense, if you don't want to work hard, you can join a group and make $180-200K/year MAYBE after med mal. But remember, no one is going to pay you well to work occasionally, and SOMEONE else will determine your worth, not you in a group. My med mal runs over 60K/year, in a region with low rates, and in 15 years, I'm still not listed in the National Data base and have yet to have a law suit - so that's a GOOD rate. My salary is over 500K/year after med mal, plus profit sharing, 401K, etc....so, you decide what lifestyle you want, and how many years you want to work hard. I was in the military for 12 years, paid off all my loans first year out and have busted arse for 7 years now, and plan to retire in another 5-10 comfortably.
 
KentuckyOBGYN said:
Well, as an attending, let me tell you, I placed my first post a few weeks ago, then finally had a chance to check it today. I'm in private practice, do approx. 40 deliveries/week, and see approx. 80-90 patients/day. My rounds report looks like I should have done Internal Medicine. I slept 2-5 hours the last 3 nights, but, probably won't have a delivery for the next 3-4 days. Sleep is often at a premium. However, salary is based on productivity and business sense, if you don't want to work hard, you can join a group and make $180-200K/year MAYBE after med mal. But remember, no one is going to pay you well to work occasionally, and SOMEONE else will determine your worth, not you in a group. My med mal runs over 60K/year, in a region with low rates, and in 15 years, I'm still not listed in the National Data base and have yet to have a law suit - so that's a GOOD rate. My salary is over 500K/year after med mal, plus profit sharing, 401K, etc....so, you decide what lifestyle you want, and how many years you want to work hard. I was in the military for 12 years, paid off all my loans first year out and have busted arse for 7 years now, and plan to retire in another 5-10 comfortably.
Click to expand...

Just curious what kind of split between OR and clinic days you do? And how many of the 80-90 patients are inpatient vs outpatient. That seems like a really high patient load.
 
sanfilippo said:
felt sorry no one has posted here for ob/gyn, so here goes my "pity post":

does anyone know how competitive it's getting these days for this field? also, are male students at a disadvantage in applying? laparoscopic pelvic surgery is very cool and the pts. have been nice having me tag along on their cases. however, i know that this field is more than just surgery, but you can always subspecialize after the 4 years of gen. residency.


-s.
Click to expand...
Ob/Gyn is middle of the road as far as competitiveness is concerned. I think it is getting more competitive the last couple of years.
You will not have a disadvantage as a male applicant, as a matter of fact it may help you because some programs like to have a balance of male and female residents.
You can do a lap surgery fellowship after your 4 years but there is no official board for it. You can also do Urogyn which is pelvic floor surgery with a fair amount of laporoscopy thrown in.
 
chrisisinnocent said:
Just curious what kind of split between OR and clinic days you do? And how many of the 80-90 patients are inpatient vs outpatient. That seems like a really high patient load.
Click to expand...
i noticed from a previous post by kentuckyobgyn that she has 3 offices and 14 employees...so maybe this is the case load per day at all 3 offices and she doesn't see ALL of these pt's personally. but i am curious to find out more about your lifestyle kentucky!
 
I agree with KentuckyOBGYN the lifestyle is harsh but you need to do what you enjoy. There also are choices such as the Public Health Service in which most have an average 40 hrs/wk c 1:5 call the pay scale around 150K-200K but location is often rural or prison based. I personally did not go into medicine or Ob/Gyn for the money it was what I enjoyed and I would not trade the experience despite the hours
 
bigfrank said:
Hi, I may be able to help on one of your questions.

As far as competiveness, Ob-Gyn has decreased tremendously over the past few years. I attribute this to 2 main factors:

1. Lifestyle is *perceived* as being horrible, and
2. Males are discouraged from going to the field, as more women are requesting (and seeking out) female Ob's.

Hope this helps....
Click to expand...

Actually, this is pretty far off. The last 2 years Ob/Gyn has been a more difficult match, with last year having a 98% fill rate. Many people did not match, and there was almost nowhere to scramble.

Men have no problems finding patients.

The post residency lifestyle is one of the more demanding. But, with the hospital laborist becoming more popular, this is less an issue in some locales. With the 80 hour rule, many more students are considering ob/gyn as a residency choice. Simply put, most residency programs work you at or near 80 hours a week. So the playing field has leveled out. Note that the recent surge in popularity with general surgery and ob/gyn has been concurent with the 80 hour rules being strictly enforced at all programs. And, post residency, you truly can make your own schedule in any field, if you are willing to take the financial cut that will come with it.
 
the OP started this thread many years ago so of course things have improved and become more competitive!
pruritis_ani said:
Actually, this is pretty far off. The last 2 years Ob/Gyn has been a more difficult match, with last year having a 98% fill rate. Many people did not match, and there was almost nowhere to scramble.

Men have no problems finding patients.

The post residency lifestyle is one of the more demanding. But, with the hospital laborist becoming more popular, this is less an issue in some locales. With the 80 hour rule, many more students are considering ob/gyn as a residency choice. Simply put, most residency programs work you at or near 80 hours a week. So the playing field has leveled out. Note that the recent surge in popularity with general surgery and ob/gyn has been concurent with the 80 hour rules being strictly enforced at all programs. And, post residency, you truly can make your own schedule in any field, if you are willing to take the financial cut that will come with it.
Click to expand...
 
pruritis_ani said:
Actually, this is pretty far off. The last 2 years Ob/Gyn has been a more difficult match, with last year having a 98% fill rate. Many people did not match, and there was almost nowhere to scramble.

Men have no problems finding patients.

The post residency lifestyle is one of the more demanding. But, with the hospital laborist becoming more popular, this is less an issue in some locales. With the 80 hour rule, many more students are considering ob/gyn as a residency choice. Simply put, most residency programs work you at or near 80 hours a week. So the playing field has leveled out. Note that the recent surge in popularity with general surgery and ob/gyn has been concurent with the 80 hour rules being strictly enforced at all programs. And, post residency, you truly can make your own schedule in any field, if you are willing to take the financial cut that will come with it.
Click to expand...

You do realize that bigfrank's post was 5 years ago.
 
Members don't see this ad :)
Well, its not great, yes, I have 3 offices, but I only go to one 2day/month, have another satellite office for fetal testing and ultrasounds to decrease patients in the main waiting room, and I really do see that many patients per day. Finally hired a ARNP which helps with rounds and has helped a little in the office, but it's the OB that kills ya. Learned to schedule a LOT of inductions so I can have the weekends off. My mix is 1 OR day, which normally I try to book 6-7 cases - 2-4 majors, avg 3, with 2-4 minors, avg 3. 3 full days in office.
 
Pruritis Ani is correct. There were only six spots that were not filled last year. There were quite a few students scrambling for those spots. The applicants over the past two years have been the strongest I have seen in a long time with more applicants being AOA and having higher USMLE scores. Also being a male is not a disadvantage. There are plenty of programs and patients who want male OBGYNs.
 
Hi residencycoord: what is the average percentage of male residents in an ob/gyn program as you know? thanks.
 
The percentage is small, maybe 1-2% but that is just my guess and I am also going by the programs that I am most familiar with. You may find some a little higher.
 
residencycoord said:
The percentage is small, maybe 1-2% but that is just my guess and I am also going by the programs that I am most familiar with. You may find some a little higher.
Click to expand...

According to the AMA Freida website 24% of residents currently training in Ob/Gyn are male.
 
residencycoord said:
I meant in an individual residency (the ones that I know), not as a whole. I hope this number goes up.
Click to expand...

I'm not sure about your stats... You are suggesting that you know about 100 OB/GYN residents, of which only 1 or 2 are male?
 
I am talking about individual programs - if there are 24 residents in a program, then they have maybe 1-2 males in that program. I know of some programs that have between 20 - 42 residents, and they only have a few males in each program.
 
residencycoord said:
I am talking about individual programs - if there are 24 residents in a program, then they have maybe 1-2 males in that program. I know of some programs that have between 20 - 42 residents, and they only have a few males in each program.
Click to expand...

OK, so closer to 5-10% rather than 1-2% as you originally stated. :)

I do find it odd that there aren't more men. (Indeed, my personal preference in my pre-medicine world was for male OB/GYNs)

Anyone aware if ACOG has any strategies regarding overcoming the gender imbalance?
 
our program is currently 50% male. the overall applications are about 30% male and 70% female, and the overal match rate is similar.
 
While males are far outnumbered by the ladies, the program I am transferring into is about 60% males.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Next unread thread

Similar threads

I
i am sorry
Replies
7
Views
2K
pruritis_ani
P
Top