2 answers
Naturel
Student
Summerville, South Carolina
2
Questions
Updated
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Is the road to becoming a OB/GYN hard?
I want to go to an HBCU and my major will be biology. I am very invested and interested in becoming and OB/GYN. I love helping younger people as well as people in general and telling people information about their health/ #doctor #medicine #healthcare #science #biology #health #medical-school
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2 answers
Muriel Hart
Medical Student
2
Answers
Denver, Colorado
Updated
Muriel’s Answer
Obstetrics and gynecology is a rewarding, but competitive speciality! Medicine in general is a hard career path, and OB/GYN specialty is no different. Pursuing your degree in Biology is a great first step towards preparing yourself for the MCAT and medical school applications! Utilize your passion for medicine and ob/gyn to fuel your involvement in extracurricular activities and research when possible, it makes standing out as a med school applicant a lot easier when you love the field!
Shadow an OB/GYN in your local area
Make sure biology is the best science degree fit for you!
Figure out if your college labs have any kind of reproductive health research labs you can get involved in/with
Muriel recommends the following next steps:
I agree with Muriel. I am not an OBGYN, but my wife is an OBGYN resident. The path to get there will be very challenging with lots of hoops to jump through. It seems to be a very fulfilling career, but the training (like the job) is time consuming and competitive. It’s doable though and if it’s something you are willing to work and sacrifice for then go for it.
A difficult, but easier and less time consuming route is to become a Nurse Midwife. It’s worth looking into all your options and decide what fits you best.
Scoty Shumway
Orooj Harrison
Medical student
2
Answers
Gulfport, Mississippi
Updated
Orooj’s Answer
The fact you’re already thinking of what you want to be in the end is a great first step and motivator! It’s great to have that end goal in mind.
Having said that, the road to OB is a hard one. Like my colleague stated above, you’ve got a few pretty big pre-req things to check off before you can fully commit to this road. Once you’ve explored those options and checked off those boxes, however, here’s how OB works:
-residency (training after medical student) is 4 years versus the traditional 3 years of FM/IM. But this is normal for any speciality.
-residency hours are KILLER. Also normal for any specialty, but particularly OB…there’s no messing around or easing up because you have the lives of not one, but two, people in your hands!
-competitiveness truly depends on where you want to go, your graduating class comparisons, and if you’re willing to put in the work. Board scores are generally required to be higher for things like OB than psych or pediatrics so you have to make sure you study accordingly.
You’ve got a lot of time left to make this decision, so right now focus on getting into medical school, volunteering/shadowing with current OBs, and see how you do from there. :)
Having said that, the road to OB is a hard one. Like my colleague stated above, you’ve got a few pretty big pre-req things to check off before you can fully commit to this road. Once you’ve explored those options and checked off those boxes, however, here’s how OB works:
-residency (training after medical student) is 4 years versus the traditional 3 years of FM/IM. But this is normal for any speciality.
-residency hours are KILLER. Also normal for any specialty, but particularly OB…there’s no messing around or easing up because you have the lives of not one, but two, people in your hands!
-competitiveness truly depends on where you want to go, your graduating class comparisons, and if you’re willing to put in the work. Board scores are generally required to be higher for things like OB than psych or pediatrics so you have to make sure you study accordingly.
You’ve got a lot of time left to make this decision, so right now focus on getting into medical school, volunteering/shadowing with current OBs, and see how you do from there. :)