Hello, everyone. In keeping up with my write-ups, here's the next installment.
OB/Gyn Shelf exam score: 98th percentile
OB/Gyn is a weird rotation where there is no one specific organ and pelvic anatomy is always difficult and seems disparate. However, with enough critical thinking and repetition, it can be mastered. Peds and OB go hand-in-hand so you'll have an advantage for OB if you've done peds first (for the shelf and clinic) and vice versa (advantage for peds embryology/development stuff if you've done OB prior)--but all of that is just cherry on top. Another weird thing about OB/Gyn is that it's one of those things that's not stressed as much as medicine during the preclinicals, so don't worry if you haven't done medicine yet. (Although medicine is the base for everything). We have a 6 week OB/Gyn rotation in a 3 week:3 week break-down. I quickly read Blueprints right in the week or so before the rotation and worked through UW OB/Gyn questions during the rotation. Our school (and most schools, I believe) provide access to UWise qbank which is on par with UW. I think UWise gets too in the weeds sometimes since it's by APGO and that's their lives, but UW gives a more holistic approach (similar to what you're likely to see on the shelf and/or Step 2). UWise is much quicker to do though since each question is rather straightforward and the explanations aren't multi-page essays like UW. All in all UW and UWise are comparable and I highly recommend you do both, but prioritize UW first. I really enjoyed the rotation. Clinic is always super boring, but I got to master doing gobs of pelvic/speculum exams. On OB I got to deliver several babies and assist in so many more (both C-sections and vaginal). Gyn was my favorite since it was very procedural. This was one of the few rotations I didn't study as hardcore compared to my day-to-day activities. OB/Gyn schedules were weird so I just chipped away at whatever study questions I knew I had to do throughout the weeks. I highly recommend having the last week or two to review and consolidate.
Actual shelf: there was a good mix of OB and gyn. I would say 60/40 split (give or take). Definitely know breast high-yield stuff (for those of you who have done surgery, you'll be good for this), C-section indications, (pre)eclampsia, and other topics that are highly represented by your qbanks (and also your real life clinical experience!). Be careful not to mix up your institution's rules that everyone believes as gospel with the true-to-fact book answers. For example, amniotomy is commonly performed at our very-high volume institution but is rarely the right answer on clinical vignettes. Have a system to figure everything out (steps in managing third-trimester bleeding, vulvar lesions, etc.).
Very rewarding rotation. I will likely never deliver a baby or hold a uterus again (nor do I want to), but you will learn a lot (I know I did!). Ultimately, I learned more things just because of having children in the future and just things every doctor and person should know.
Good luck, everyone!
FS
