I want to be an Obstetrician. Should I get an Associates in OBGyn-Sonography?

[val.surg]

I have the opportunity to get a free associates, working parallel as my bachelors.

If my ultimate goal is to go to medical school and hopefully get matched into an OBGyn residency, is it smart to get an associates in Diagnostic Medical Sonography (ObGyn specialty) and work in the field throughout the rest of my bachelors degree, pre-med pathway and part time in medical school?

I believe the connections and people I could meet and work with in this work setting would be crucial to later on reach my goal to be an Obstetrician.

Thoughts?

Thank you!

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[LizzyM]

This is a vocational degree. If you don't plan on working as a medical sonographer, you are taking a place in the class from someone who would be taking the course and filling a need in a clinical setting. Maybe there are an unlimited number of slots and you aren't pushing out another qualified candidate who wants a career in sonography.

The pluses are that you might be able to work part-time while finishing school and even work full-time during a gap year at a good paying job. Another plus is that you have a marketable skill if a bump in the road makes it necessary to delay or discard your plan to attend medical school.

The possible negatives: any grades you earn must be reported on your medical school application. If the grading is harsh, you could suffer the consequences. If there are clinical rotations these can be time-sinks and take away time you could be studying, volunteering, doing research or any of the other things you want to be doing to buff your application. Once you are credentialed as a sonographer, it is likely that you will need to continue to pay an annual fee and keep up with continuing education to remain a credentialed professional so do keep in mind the cost in dollars and time to keep your certification, even if you aren't working. (If you want to have it to fall back on.)
It might be possible to work a few hours per week during medical school but it also might be a challenge to find a part-time job that fits with your medical school schedule. In the third and fourth year of medical school, it would be next to impossible to work and go to school.

I don't suppose that there is a huge overlap between what sonographers know and what obstetricians need to know to do their jobs. I'll leave it to @gyngyn to weigh in on whether a former sonographer would have any advantage over a similarly positioned M4 in matching in OB-GYN.

 

[gyngyn]

I don't suppose that there is a huge overlap between what sonographers know and what obstetricians need to know to do their jobs. I'll leave it to @gyngyn to weigh in on whether a former sonographer would have any advantage over a similarly positioned M4 in matching in OB-GYN.

You are correct. This would have no effect.

 

[Catalystik]

It might be possible to work a few hours per week during medical school but it also might be a challenge to find a part-time job that fits with your medical school schedule.

And you'd have to find a med school that doesn't have a rule against outside employment while you're a student there.

 

[Catalystik]

I have the opportunity to get a free associates, working parallel as my bachelors.

If my ultimate goal is to go to medical school and hopefully get matched into an OBGyn residency, is it smart to get an associates in Diagnostic Medical Sonography (ObGyn specialty) and work in the field throughout the rest of my bachelors degree, pre-med pathway and part time in medical school?

I believe the connections and people I could meet and work with in this work setting would be crucial to later on reach my goal to be an Obstetrician.

I asked my OBGYN husband your question and he said:

I have mixed feelings about this. Some obstetricians feel they know more than ultrasonagraphers, and may not consider the prior trainings useful. I on the other hand think the knowledge of ultrasound, anatomy, and reading scans would be a valuable asset as long as it didn't take precedence over getting a great GPA and getting into medical school.