Surgery vs. Ob.Gyn

[pugsly]

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Hi,

I am a 3rd year medical student doing surery core rotation and I really like it and I am trying to decide between Ob/gyn and surgery. Has anyone ever struggled with this question. Please let me know. thanks.

 

[domer621]

Hi,

I am a 3rd year medical student doing surery core rotation and I really like it and I am trying to decide between Ob/gyn and surgery. Has anyone ever struggled with this question. Please let me know. thanks.

ila.

There are actually quite a few people in ob/gyn who originally were considering surgery... have you even had your ob/gyn rotation yet?

 

[pugsly]

Yes I have and I enjoyed that rotation too. Not sure which one is better in terms of hours and lifestyle down the road for a woman who wants to have a family.

 

[smq123]

Yes I have and I enjoyed that rotation too. Not sure which one is better in terms of hours and lifestyle down the road for a woman who wants to have a family.

It depends on what you want out of each.

If you do surgery, and go into breast or colorectal, then you'll have a much better lifestyle than, say, your average ob/gyn in an academic practice.

If you do ob/gyn and just have a regular office practice (with minimal OR time and minimal deliveries), then you'll have a pretty good lifestyle - better than your average general surgeon. You could do MFM (which also has minimal OR time, although some more deliveries), which has a better lifestyle than general surgery - although you may be called in the middle of the night with an emergency.

You have to figure out which field appeals to you more. Surgery is a longer residency, but ob/gyn has more malpractice issues. There are a bunch of other things to consider, besides just lifestyle.

 

[Winged Scapula]

You have to figure out which field appeals to you more. Surgery is a longer residency, but ob/gyn has more malpractice issues. There are a bunch of other things to consider, besides just lifestyle.

Actually, the number one reason for medical malpractice suits these days is delay in diagnosis of breast cancer. Many Ob-Gyns do not do breast disease (the vast majority of my new patients come from two large Ob-Gyn groups that do not want to follow patients with breast concerns).

So anyone doing general surgery, breast surgery, breast imaging or pathology has more to worry about malpractice than the average Ob-Gyn (although admittedly Ob-Gyns rates are high as well).

 

[smq123]

Actually, the number one reason for medical malpractice suits these days is delay in diagnosis of breast cancer. Many Ob-Gyns do not do breast disease (the vast majority of my new patients come from two large Ob-Gyn groups that do not want to follow patients with breast concerns).

So anyone doing general surgery, breast surgery, breast imaging or pathology has more to worry about malpractice than the average Ob-Gyn (although admittedly Ob-Gyns rates are high as well).

Sorry, I probably should have clarified.

I think that in most parts of the country, ob/gyn insurance premiums are higher than general surgery. I talked about malpractice issues because I think that that has had a higher impact on the practice of ob/gyn than on the practice of general surgery (at least in Philadelphia, where a lot of community hospitals have shut down their L&D units).

So - is it fair to say that breast surgery has a higher incidence of malpractice suits, but that ob/gyn has higher malpractice premiums?

 

[Winged Scapula]

So - is it fair to say that breast surgery has a higher incidence of malpractice suits, but that ob/gyn has higher malpractice premiums?

Probably, although as you pointed out, it depends on where you practice. I would actually be suprised if breast fellowship trained surgeons are sued very often for delay in diagnosis; I think the data shows a higher incidence for general surgeons doing breast.

In Arizona, I will max out at less than half what I would pay in Pennsylvania.

 

[ArcherM2]

I was 100% convinced I was going to go into general surgery until 2 weeks ago when I started my OB rotation. I was initially turned off by the fact that there just weren't that many males going into the field but ended up working with a few younger, male attendings which was encouraging. I was pleasantly surprised by the amount of time spent in the OR. I still think I'm more likely to go into general surgery because in the end I think I'm only really enjoying OB because it's been months since I've seen the inside of an operating room! So yes, there are others going through the same thought process 🙂.

 

[domer621]

Not sure which one is better in terms of hours and lifestyle down the road for a woman who wants to have a family.

Both can be great, as long as you're not in academia. The ob/gyn residents always talked about it being a cush lifestyle for mothers in private practice.

 

[Kubed]

I'm sitting in the same boat as you ArcherM2. I caught the surgery bug on my rotations and thought I was done.... until my OB rotation. I'm happiest in the OR, but it sure was fun showing a couple their baby for the first time.

 

[chadderdo21]

I would do surgery if I were you. Yes it is true gynes operate, but it is fairly limited and I have always been amused to extent Ob's are jealous of the general guys and tend to refer to themselves as "second rate general surgeons." GS is a longer residency, but trust me you will be happier to be able to do just anything versus surgery only on the vag, tubes, ovaries and C-sections. I just got off surgery and it rocked compared to OBGYN which was the absolute worst month of my life. I would rather be waterboard tortured than have to repeat OB again!

 

[gbwillner]

I would do surgery if I were you. Yes it is true gynes operate, but it is fairly limited and I have always been amused to extent Ob's are jealous of the general guys and tend to refer to themselves as "second rate general surgeons." GS is a longer residency, but trust me you will be happier to be able to do just anything versus surgery only on the vag, tubes, ovaries and C-sections. I just got off surgery and it rocked compared to OBGYN which was the absolute worst month of my life. I would rather be waterboard tortured than have to repeat OB again!

👍👍👍👍
Agreed- especially that last line.

 

[mules05]

I would do surgery if I were you. Yes it is true gynes operate, but it is fairly limited and I have always been amused to extent Ob's are jealous of the general guys and tend to refer to themselves as "second rate general surgeons." GS is a longer residency, but trust me you will be happier to be able to do just anything versus surgery only on the vag, tubes, ovaries and C-sections. I just got off surgery and it rocked compared to OBGYN which was the absolute worst month of my life. I would rather be waterboard tortured than have to repeat OB again!

To be fair, everyone will eventually end up performing a limited number of procedures on a day to day basis. If you do general surgery, you'll end up doing lots of appys and choles unless you do a fellowship, in which case you'll do a lot of whatever you specialize in. It's no more limited than gyn, except that with gyn you limit yourself the day you start residency, versus having more time and exposure to decide. Both fields also spend time in the OR, and the extent to which that happens is up to your ultimate style of practice (some gyn-oncs spend most of their time in the OR while some MFMs are rarely there; some trauma surgeons are in the OR every day, while some general surgeons see patients in an office several days a week).

IMO the important thing to consider is not only whether you like the OR and what kind of lifestyle is important, but to decide whether you like primary care. OB/Gyn does a LOT of primary care in addition to surgery (and everything else). If you don't want to spend time doing pap smears, doling out birth control pills, and dealing with other basic medical issues, you'd probably be unhappy in gyn. However, if you miss having the long-term relationships with patients and want more follow-up postop, maybe general surgery is not as good a fit. I'm also going into ob/gyn because I like the patient population- lots of happy young women, very few dirty old men with DM and rotting feet because they can't control their urge to eat cupcakes.