Male OB

[pedsid]

Hey everyone,
I'm a third year ... finishing up the year Friday. In any event, I'm taking off next year for an MPH ... but I'm still way up in the air about career choices. I've gone from Peds ID (hence the name), to peds surgery, to OB, to med/peds, etc, etc. It's exhausting . In any event, reflecting back on the past year my favorite rotation was by far OB with in patient peds second.

My issues ... being a male OB. I feel like there's a stigma with being male and being an OB ... I have a hard time dealing with that ... An example of this is a good friend of mine who is also male is interested in OB, he was at a family reuninion and when asked he said he wanted to be an OB/Gyn, one of his male family members said, "yeah, wouldn't we all." That right there is what I hate ... it's like if you are male, and you enjoy OB you are treated like a perv. How do you overcome that?

Also, I loved delivering babies, being in the OR, and OB office ... but I hated doing pap smears.

Anyone had the same issues? How did you deal with that?

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[Leukocyte]

Hey everyone,
I'm a third year ... finishing up the year Friday. In any event, I'm taking off next year for an MPH ... but I'm still way up in the air about career choices. I've gone from Peds ID (hence the name), to peds surgery, to OB, to med/peds, etc, etc. It's exhausting . In any event, reflecting back on the past year my favorite rotation was by far OB with in patient peds second.

My issues ... being a male OB. I feel like there's a stigma with being male and being an OB ... I have a hard time dealing with that ... An example of this is a good friend of mine who is also male is interested in OB, he was at a family reuninion and when asked he said he wanted to be an OB/Gyn, one of his male family members said, "yeah, wouldn't we all." That right there is what I hate ... it's like if you are male, and you enjoy OB you are treated like a perv. How do you overcome that?

Also, I loved delivering babies, being in the OR, and OB office ... but I hated doing pap smears.

Anyone had the same issues? How did you deal with that?

Yes, I am also worried about the issue of being a male in OB, but not because of the public preseption. I am worried because:

1) I might not have enough patients, since most patients prefer female Ob/Gyn.

2) I will have a hard time during residency since I have to waste valuble time to go and fetch me a chaperone every time I examine a patient. That will suck big time, since it will slow me down and make me look bad in front of my attendings.

-I will be slower than my female peers in the clinic
-I will be slower than my female peers during admissions
-I will be slower than my female peers when prerounding

3) I will face discrimination during residency, since a patient might refuse to see me because I am a male. This might afftect my education and training.

4) I might be the ONLY MALE in my program.

How am I dealing with this? I am considering not to go into OB/GYN.

 

[Global Disrobal]

Hey Leukocyte,

I am the ONLY male in my program, I AM faster than all my classmates, I have NEVER had any problems with my attendings thinking I am slower, many women in our continuity clinic ask for me specifically because of my attitude, and patient refusing a male has never been an issue.

Look at the field for what it is, surgery/primary care/long term relationship w/patient and don't focus in on the stereotypes.

Good luck!

 

[pedsid]

I've read leukocytes posts along this same line on other threads ... can someone address the points I made in the original post? Thanks.

Hey Leukocyte,

I am the ONLY male in my program, I AM faster than all my classmates, I have NEVER had any problems with my attendings thinking I am slower, many women in our continuity clinic ask for me specifically because of my attitude, and patient refusing a male has never been an issue.

Look at the field for what it is, surgery/primary care/long term relationship w/patient and don't focus in on the stereotypes.

Good luck!

 

[DrBuzzLightYear]

It actually doesn't bother me much if someone who has known and respected me decides I'm a perv because I'm going into OBGYN. If they're that simple minded and ignorant, if they can brush aside all their previous respect for me, then I really don't want to know them. People are so ignorant of what it is that doctors really do. If you told someone you were going to do general surgery, would they think you were a pervert?? I'm doing my surgical clerkship right now, I've lost track of how many dinguses I've stuck my finger in, how many times I had to wipe their feces on guiac tests, and how many penis's ive had to inspect. thats just a few weeks in the life of a surgeon. anyone who would chose a life like that is just as much a perv as an OBGYN, but people are just ignorant. there are so many good reasons to do OBGYN, but people just hear VAGINA and act like school age idiots. but anyways, you do have to have a thick skin to be a male OBGYN. but things are changing, there are 5+ guys going into OBGYN at my school... is that the trend everywhere??

 

[Leukocyte]

Male Ob/Gyns are Pervets?

Unfortunately, people will always think of the Male Ob/Gyn this way. I have friends who are physicians in Internal Medicine, Pediatrics, and Neurology AND THEY MAKE FUN OF ME every time I mention my interest in Ob/Gyn.

What they do not realize is how stupid their logic is. Now why would a pervert want to go into a STRESSFULL speciality with a relativly CRAPY LIFESTYLE just to go and work with women who are often YELLING AND BITCHING, about their BLOODY, FOUL SMELLING, CRUSTED, and MOLDY genitals? Makes no sence.

So, as Dr.buzzlightyear said, you have to have a tough skin as a Male Ob/Gyn, which adds even more stress to an already stressful speciality. It is just something we have to deal with.

Now why arn't Male Urologists gay perverts? Beats me.

 

[DrBuzzLightYear]

Now why arn't Male Urologists gay perverts?

speaking of urologists, ive only scrubbed in on one urology case, but i couldnt believe the jokes and comments that were being made (by men and women). stuff that if you had said something similar in OBGYN you would have been lynched. now, truth be told, the patient's penis was freakishly large, but the urologists still seemed like the biggest pervs ive seen on my clerkships.

 

[Global Disrobal]

Just laugh it off, ignore it, and do what you want to do and especially do what will make you happy 20 yrs down the road.

Perv? hehe... just say "thank you for that insightful comment" and leave it at that. They'll feel like an ass.

 

[minime]

Actually as far as the chaperone thing goes I've only met a few female obgyn's who don't use a chaperone. I've worked with male obgyn's who use a chaperone and one who did not. The one that didn't use a chaperone was much slower because he didn't have anyone to assist him-ie he had to deal with the pap bottle, gloves, lube, light source, specimen's, tools, etc. by himself. If you use your chaperone as an assistant it will speed you up considerably.

I'm also a male (I start July 1) and actually I've gotten more crap about the malpractice stuff than being a guy. Just work hard and treat your patients right and everything will fall into place. Believe me-with all of the women on an OB ward having a little testosterone around is welcomed relief.

 

[mustangsally65]

I'm still a pre-med, but I have been to both male and female GYNs, and I have no problem with the fact that someone is male. I think your attitude and bedside manner are much more important than your Y chromosome.

I think it is sad that the stereotype exists that male OB/GYNs are perverts, because most males enter the profession because they have an interest in it. However, there are a few who are very unprofessional, and they spoil it for the rest of the males. I was coming out of a restaurant last week, and saw a brand new Jaguar with the vanity license plate "OBGYNDOC," and I immediately thought that that had to be a male's car. (No offense, guys) because most women wouldn't advertise that on their cars.

I've had physicals at my doctor's office where med students have been learning, and I always let them watch or participate, because I know I will be in the same situation one day. But I haven't noticed a difference between males and females, except that the males tend to be a bit more hesitant, probably because of the stereotype and the fact that most women wouldn't let them in the room to watch. The guys seem grateful, and therefore are a bit more likely to be respectful of you.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that you shouldn't let these things affect your decision to go into OB/GYN. I know that is hard to do, but remember that the stereotype is about other people, not you, and you can work to ensure that you aren't going to be included in the stereotypes. Just be a caring person who is devoted to his patients, and have a good bedside manner. You can win over patients that way, and they won't care if you are male or not. Don't give up!