Is it very stressful to know that you can be called in for an emergency delivery?

I am not a Doctor, but my wife works in the OB/GYN field. I get called in for "emergency issues" in my field and my wife gets called in for emergencies as well. In my opinion the stress level will depend your skills, length of time in the field and personality. For instance the first time I was called in for a Major IT outage I was scarred because I did not know what I was getting into and I was unsure of my skills. 20+ years later, when I get called in for an emergency I am confident that I can resolve just about any issue and now it is more about lack of sleep... Now there is a difference between an IT Emergency and an emergency delivery of a human life, however several Dr. friends tell me it is similar for this reason. After 20 years of doing anything it becomes second nature. Think of driving a car. The first time is terrifying, After the first week or two you feel comfortable. After 6 months you are confident, until someone slams on the brakes in front of you... That is your emergency... That will bring you back to your "first time is terrifying" feeling. After years and years of driving when someone slams on the brakes, you tap on the horn and move on.

All of that being said, there is a debate who said this quote however, Choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life.. If OB/GYN is what you love to do, Do it.  The stress will melt away after some experience. Good Luck.

Olivia,

I think, like Scott said, the stress of how to handle the situation will fade away after a while. However, the stress that remains is how to deal with disruptions of your personal life. For example, suppose you have your family over for a big barbecue, or even Christmas dinner, and you get called in. That could be stressful. However, if you rotate being on call with other doctors in your office, you will learn not to plan such events for times that you are on call. But, others will still plan events without concern for your schedule. So, you could be watching your son play in the state championship game, only to get called away by an emergency. As you can see, being subject to call in can affect others besides just yourself. However, it is a fact of life the entire family will learn to accept and deal with. If it is a big concern for you, you may also consider being a Pediatric family doctor. Good luck with your studies!