How old is too old for OB/GYN?

[bumblebee611]

Apologies for popping in here, but it really did seem like the best forum for the question ... I will be turning 44 shortly before I start medical school this August. I spend a lot of time thinking about what field I'd like to end up in, and what career I'd like to have, and I am very interested in OB. The one thing that worries me is whether I'll simply be too old to start the grueling 4 year residency at 48, and then whether I could sustain the career (again, physically) as I age. I'd like to work to my early 70s to make this whole life reboot worth it. Is that even possible with OB? I consider myself in excellent health for my age (very high energy and physically fit), and my kids will be in their late teens by the time I start residency.

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[22031 Alum]

Congratulations on your acceptance.

I know someone who started med school at 40 and finished their Gyn Onc fellowship at age 51. So I wouldn't say what you're hoping for is impossible- it just may be tough. OB is only a year longer than the shortest residencies, but it's pretty exhausting. You'll hopefully be able to get a better idea of what you can handle when you're doing your rotations. If you are at an osteopathic school, try your best to do rotations with residents to get a real idea of what it's like.

 

[bumblebee611]

Congratulations on your acceptance.

I know someone who started med school at 40 and finished their Gyn Onc fellowship at age 51. So I wouldn't say what you're hoping for is impossible- it just may be tough. OB is only a year longer than the shortest residencies, but it's pretty exhausting. You'll hopefully be able to get a better idea of what you can handle when you're doing your rotations. If you are at an osteopathic school, try your best to do rotations with residents to get a real idea of what it's like.

Thanks for your thoughts! You always seem to have such wonderful advice for students. I will be at an established allo school so I will be around plenty of residents on rotations.

 

[22031 Alum]

Thanks for your thoughts! You always seem to have such wonderful advice for students. I will be at an established allo school so I will be around plenty of residents on rotations.

That's good. Residency doesn't necessarily look ANYTHING LIKE life as a practicing Ob/Gyn, least of all academic Ob/Gyn. But you can't get to practice without going through residency. I'm of the belief that it's really unfair to students to only expose them to the lives of those who've "made it" and leave them clueless about what they'll have to go through to get there themselves.

It goes without saying that the OB portion of the specialty is the more exhausting part. There are definitely gyn-only practice opportunities out there, but they tend to be practice settings that aren't for everyone, like prison medicine or federally-funded clinics. I know several 70+ year olds who retired from private practice in order to this. If you want a fancy private practice that is gyn-only, it will be harder to get: most of the time, that comes from having a busy OB practice and then "aging out" of OB along with your patients. I don't know anyone who has done that without at least ten years in practice combined with exceptional luck. Most of the time it's closer to twenty years in practice.

You never know, you may fall in love with peds and none of this will matter. Good luck!!

 

[bumblebee611]

That's good. Residency doesn't necessarily look ANYTHING LIKE life as a practicing Ob/Gyn, least of all academic Ob/Gyn. But you can't get to practice without going through residency. I'm of the belief that it's really unfair to students to only expose them to the lives of those who've "made it" and leave them clueless about what they'll have to go through to get there themselves.

It goes without saying that the OB portion of the specialty is the more exhausting part. There are definitely gyn-only practice opportunities out there, but they tend to be practice settings that aren't for everyone, like prison medicine or federally-funded clinics. I know several 70+ year olds who retired from private practice in order to this. If you want a fancy private practice that is gyn-only, it will be harder to get: most of the time, that comes from having a busy OB practice and then "aging out" of OB along with your patients. I don't know anyone who has done that without at least ten years in practice combined with exceptional luck. Most of the time it's closer to twenty years in practice.

You never know, you may fall in love with peds and none of this will matter. Good luck!!

For me the whole point of it would be OB for as long as I could sustain it, and the big question for me is how long I could manage it. I have actually worked as a public defender and am not scared of prison populations but on some level I feel like I am making this giant life change in order NOT to do the same sorts of things I've done in the past! Thanks again for your thoughts!