OB/GYN Career & Family?

[Hazel Eyed Kate]

Hello!

I have a question regarding quality of life after graduating medical school. Currently, I have a strong interest in the OB/GYN path - focusing on deliveries, clinical work, and potentially having my own practice someday - I'm also considering a fertility subspecialty. However, I would also like to get married and have a family at some point. If my future husband also had a demanding field, would family life be a possibility???

Thanks in advance!

- Kate

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[Diane L. Evans]

Gosh this question seems to recur every year. I think you can do anything you set your mind to do. Having a good supportive family is a must for you. Au pairs and nannies work well once you enter the work force.

My advice: If you really love OB/GYN go for it.... It is a hard residency. It is easier if your classmates have families and can be supportive. Once in practice you can find work that suits your needs a practice say that has midwives 1st call, giving you the opportunity to spend more time at home when on call...

Good luck

And yes there are lots of us with 3+ kids out there.... come on give the gal some advice....

 

[AnotherOBGYNapp]

There are many many threads on this topic and many people have posted helpful and not-helpful information. Life and career are what you make of them. Do a search, read old threads and be prepared to make tough choices.

 

[Hazel Eyed Kate]

Thanks so much for the replies!

 

[miezaka]

HEK,

I am married with children and struggled quite a bit with the decision to go into OBGYN (interestingly, my daughter is a hazel-eyed Kate as well). I would recommend talking to a lot of people in your department and in other departments/institutions. ACOG has been actively campaigning to educate medical students on the wide array of lifestyle options available in OBGYN and also offer some general info. My home program, a very well-respected program, has a number of residents with children, babies and older children, who have been very informative on how their choices have affected their home life and vice-versa. Lots of people are managing fulfilling careers with a family to varying degrees of satisfaction. Most people I talked to seem to agree that residency is going to be tough in any case, but life afterwards becomes what you make it at the expense of salary (but not necessarily). I would NOT trust the input of anonymous posters, including my own. Talk to a lot of people in the field and gauge how comfortable you would be with their decisions. Most people I approached were very receptive and eager to help with the decision-making process. Good luck! (Smilies are added at my daughter's request(demand)::

 

[deucerp]

It's a very personal question I think. I'm currently a Ob/Gyn intern switching to Family Medicine next year. For me, I have an 11 mo old son and a wife who is a Family Medicine intern as well. Needless to say we're pretty busy. I've had attendings on both sides of the aisle counsel me, in the end it was just a personal feeling and decision that this wasn't the lifestyle that I wanted for myself and my family. I know there are plenty of practice styles and options out there but I just don't feel it's as easy as everyone says. Like everyone else says, talk to people. But ultimately, no one knows you as well as you do. It's a tough choice...