Just when I thought I was getting the hang of Pediatrics, I was quickly thrown into a whole different world of medicine: OB/GYN. When I say a whole different world, it’s not to say that the two fields of medicine are completely unrelated. In fact, it felt like I was in a sense “traveling back in time.” During my pediatrics rotation, I was seeing babies as young as a couple days to a week old; now, I was seeing those same babies at the time of their birth! So maybe there was more of a connection between Pediatrics and OB/GYN than I had previously thought?
Not exactly… From my 6 week experience on OB/GYN, I can honestly say that the only connection I really found between the two specialties was the one stated above. And of course, there is nothing wrong with that; the two specialties serve two very different patient populations, with a slight overlap during the time of delivery. Why would there be more connections other than the obvious? Still, it was an interesting experience for me comparing these two specialties as I continue to reflect on the specific field of medicine I will be interested in pursuing.
In terms of caring for the mom or the baby, if I had to choose, which patient population could I see myself treating? Being in the delivery room of 10-15 deliveries, I think I got my answer. After the delivery of each of the babies, while the rest of the team was focused solely on mom, I couldn’t help but glance over at the baby to make sure he/she were doing okay. It’s not that I didn’t care about how the mom was doing, it just seemed to me that my area of focus and concern was different from the residents and attendings. Which of course makes sense, as they chose to be OB/GYN physicians! I still have time to figure out my specialty of interest, and these experiences have given me a little more insight and perspective into both what I want and don’t want to do as a practicing physician.
Finally, one thing that cannot be said about OB/GYN is that there is a lot of downtime. If you’re looking for a specialty where there is a lot of action, and you can see the results of your labor (no pun intended!) every day, then OB/GYN might be the specialty for you. Additionally, while on my night shifts, it became abundantly clear to me that babies come when they are ready to come! They do not wait for you or me, or even the sun to rise. The moment you shut your eyes at 3:45 am to get a few minutes of shut-eye, be prepared to be awoken by your resident for another delivery!
Personally, not the lifestyle for me. However, I commend those physicians who care for mom and baby on a daily basis.
