I am a psychiatry resident and recently we had an intern start a transition year with us after leaving Ob/Gyn because of how badly he was treated. He started on a Friday and that weekend he committed suicide. The question that plagues me is why are ob/gyn residencies so malignant? The work hours are bad enough but why do attendings **** on the residents and the upper residents **** on the lower ones? Seems stupid to me.
Why so malignant?
- Thread starter Wilf
- Start date
- Joined
- Oct 15, 2013
- Messages
- 67
- Reaction score
- 31
Geez. Hearing things like this scare me. I'm really considering OB but I'm hearing so many horror stories about residency...can anyone shed some light on this? I'm mean is it worth it?
- Joined
- Jun 26, 2008
- Messages
- 1,324
- Reaction score
- 2,091
The high acuity, long hours, potentially devastating outcomes are all contributing factors. Regardless, it's not like resident suicide is unique to OB GYN residents. There is a thread in the general section about a medicine intern committing suicide and most of the examples people bring up are about non OB GYN specialties.
It's a harder residency than most, no doubt, but I would say a general surgery residency is worse regarding hours and potential malignancy. I just finished a 4 year OB GYN residency and overall it was fine. There were some ups and downs but nothing atypical or abusive. The vast majority of residencies, including OB GYN, are like this. There will always be outliers but most of the time they are fairly obvious (ie inner city programs in New York etc).
It's a harder residency than most, no doubt, but I would say a general surgery residency is worse regarding hours and potential malignancy. I just finished a 4 year OB GYN residency and overall it was fine. There were some ups and downs but nothing atypical or abusive. The vast majority of residencies, including OB GYN, are like this. There will always be outliers but most of the time they are fairly obvious (ie inner city programs in New York etc).
- Joined
- Nov 10, 2008
- Messages
- 402
- Reaction score
- 9
Very sad
While I wouldn't want to do it, I totally understand the appeal of OB/gyn. Healthy patient population, birth is a "happy" time, etc. REI and MFM are awesome. The issue for me was the high acuity... a lot of OB seemed very fly by the seat of your pants and almost out of control, and you have two lives and potential plaintiffs on your hands. At least in surgery, you go in with a plan and things hopefully go as they should... OB there were a lot of "oh ****" moments.
This for me was very different than adult inpatient... I was so shaken up after the first code I saw, I went home and threw up multiple times and really debated whether all of this was even worth the toll on my mental health. It's hard not to imagine that being your relative in X number of years. I totally understand why so many doctors are depressed or commit suicide, you see the worst of humanity on a daily basis... it's very sad.
This for me was very different than adult inpatient... I was so shaken up after the first code I saw, I went home and threw up multiple times and really debated whether all of this was even worth the toll on my mental health. It's hard not to imagine that being your relative in X number of years. I totally understand why so many doctors are depressed or commit suicide, you see the worst of humanity on a daily basis... it's very sad.
- Joined
- Apr 4, 2009
- Messages
- 17,237
- Reaction score
- 13,023
Was he a transitional resident? Or do u mean he transitioned from OB-Gyn to Psych? Hard to imagine why if he was doing fine and had just started Psych residency.
- Joined
- Sep 13, 2014
- Messages
- 53
- Reaction score
- 58
Gosh I just cannot believe that. What a shame....and what a waste :/. I never understand suicide in these instances in which the person is physically healthy and young (no chronic pain, no autoimmune diseases, no metastatic cancer, etc etc). It really breaks my heart..and I just don't get it.
Mental illness itself can be very difficult to cope with. Add on other stressors, such as residency, and I can imagine it becomes overbearing.
- Joined
- Apr 24, 2004
- Messages
- 334
- Reaction score
- 6
I wanted to add my opinion to this thread. Not all residency programs are malignant. I attend one of the very best programs and it is incredibly benign, supportive, and enriching. It's been a phenomenal experience - and that's not me romanticizing about the past - it's the current state of my existence. Find the program that fits you best and try to learn about it from current residents. Take advantage of the interview trail experience. This also means socializing with co-applicants and inquiring about their home institution.
It's a stressful job. People decide on OBGYN for a reason. Just remember that reason. Good luck on the interview trail!!!
It's a stressful job. People decide on OBGYN for a reason. Just remember that reason. Good luck on the interview trail!!!
