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Da’Mya
Student
Miami Gardens, Florida
3
Questions
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what are the requirements to become a OBGYN?
I want to become an OBGYN because i want to help out with pregnant women during & after their pregnancy. #Obstetricianscare
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Vickie X
Internal Medicine Resident
16
Answers
East Lansing, Michigan
Updated
Vickie’s Answer
Hi Da'Mya!
This is a great question, and a great career path to take in medicine! OBGYNs definitely have an awesome job where they get to deliver babies, see patients in a clinic, and perform surgeries.
The road to becoming an OBGYN physician will require many years of education. First, you'll need to get a bachelor's degree in college. You can major in anything you'd like as long as you complete the additional pre-medical coursework that is a mix of chemistry, biology, physics, English, and math. This usually takes people about 4 years to complete. After you complete the pre-medical courses, you will need to take a standardized exam called the Medical College Admissions Test (MCAT) that will be required for your application to medical school. You should also consider when you'd like to go to medical school before you take the MCAT. This is because medical schools usually like to see a recent MCAT score. Some people choose to take gap years after they graduate college in order to save money and get more life experience outside of a school setting. Some may choose to start medical school immediately after college.
Medical school will be another 4 years. During medical school, you learn basic diseases processes, how to treat disease, and how to evaluate patients. During medical school, you should aim to do well in your classes (1st & 2nd year), board exams (taken during your 2nd and 3rd year), and take every opportunity to learn on clinical rotations (3rd & 4th year).
During your 4th year of medical school, you will apply to an OBGYN residency program. Residency is when you actually start to learn how to be a specific doctor, which in this case would be obstetrics and gynecology. OBGYN residency will be 4 years. After residency, you can choose to do a fellowship, which is additional training in a certain topic, or you can practice as a fully trained and licensed OBGYN physician!
Its definitely a long road, but I assure you, it will be worth it in the end. Some of the things that you can do now to get involved are to reach out to OBGYN's and see if you can shadow them or even if they can answer some of your questions about the profession. Get a feel for what their day to day is like and what they love (or dislike) about their jobs. In college, study hard for your classes, get involved in research and volunteering, and (most importantly) remember to have fun! Make sure you also learn essential life skills like cooking for yourself and maintaining a workout routine - medical school is very fast paced and its often easy to forget to take care of yourself.
This is a great question, and a great career path to take in medicine! OBGYNs definitely have an awesome job where they get to deliver babies, see patients in a clinic, and perform surgeries.
The road to becoming an OBGYN physician will require many years of education. First, you'll need to get a bachelor's degree in college. You can major in anything you'd like as long as you complete the additional pre-medical coursework that is a mix of chemistry, biology, physics, English, and math. This usually takes people about 4 years to complete. After you complete the pre-medical courses, you will need to take a standardized exam called the Medical College Admissions Test (MCAT) that will be required for your application to medical school. You should also consider when you'd like to go to medical school before you take the MCAT. This is because medical schools usually like to see a recent MCAT score. Some people choose to take gap years after they graduate college in order to save money and get more life experience outside of a school setting. Some may choose to start medical school immediately after college.
Medical school will be another 4 years. During medical school, you learn basic diseases processes, how to treat disease, and how to evaluate patients. During medical school, you should aim to do well in your classes (1st & 2nd year), board exams (taken during your 2nd and 3rd year), and take every opportunity to learn on clinical rotations (3rd & 4th year).
During your 4th year of medical school, you will apply to an OBGYN residency program. Residency is when you actually start to learn how to be a specific doctor, which in this case would be obstetrics and gynecology. OBGYN residency will be 4 years. After residency, you can choose to do a fellowship, which is additional training in a certain topic, or you can practice as a fully trained and licensed OBGYN physician!
Its definitely a long road, but I assure you, it will be worth it in the end. Some of the things that you can do now to get involved are to reach out to OBGYN's and see if you can shadow them or even if they can answer some of your questions about the profession. Get a feel for what their day to day is like and what they love (or dislike) about their jobs. In college, study hard for your classes, get involved in research and volunteering, and (most importantly) remember to have fun! Make sure you also learn essential life skills like cooking for yourself and maintaining a workout routine - medical school is very fast paced and its often easy to forget to take care of yourself.