Stephanie Miller
But Dr. Jennings said more work is needed, including designing programs so that ob.gyn. residents are allowed to rotate into community clinics in these shortage areas, rather than being tied to their training hospital. Switching up the traditional training paradigm would make it more likely that these residents would choose to practice in these high-need communities after they finish their training, he said.
ACOG has assembled task forces of experts to look for solutions to the looming shortage, including team approaches to women’s health care as well as ways to preserve ob.gyns. in the workforce as more physicians sell their practices to multispecialty groups or go to work for hospitals.
Why Ob. Gyn.?
At Stony Brook University School of Medicine in New York, the medical students who matched to ob.gyn. residencies expressed a variety of reasons for choosing their future career paths, but they all cited the connection to patients as the deciding factor.
Joan Rosario
Stephanie Miller, who matched to the State University of New York Upstate Medical University in Syracuse, said she had her “a-ha moment” when she helped deliver a baby for the first time. “This was the only place where I felt like I really connected with my patients,” she said. Her future plans aren’t set but she said she’s considering a fellowship training in maternal-fetal medicine with the goal of a career in academics.
Andrew Rivara
Joan Rosario, who heads to the Bronx (N.Y.) for her ob.gyn. residency at Einstein/Montefiore Medical Center, also chose ob.gyn. during her clinical clerkship. She said the connection between ob.gyn. physicians and their patients was unique. “They were the most caring, compassionate physicians,” she said. Ms. Rosario said that she was also drawn the variety of career opportunities within the field, including the surgical aspects. Right now, she’s considering subspecializing in gynecologic oncology after residency.
Andrew Rivara matched to his first choice: Duke University Medical Center in Durham, N.C. He said he was drawn to ob.gyn. because it combines his love of surgery with the deep physician-patient relationship he wants to experience. He also wants to pursue a fellowship in gynecologic oncology, he said, because it offers the potential to “change somebody’s life.”
mschneider@frontlinemedcom.com
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