OB/GYN: It was the Best of Times. It was the Worst of Times.

How is your specialty family friendly?

While OB/GYN has the reputation for being notoriously NOT family friendly, I have tried to shape my practice to make it at least ‘family manageable’. I know many of our contributors have found balance in academics, for me private practice has made more sense. I own my practice (with 4 other moms); so I can make my schedule somewhat flexible. I work 4 days a week and am on call ¼ of the time. I attempt to plan ahead to take off for my kids plays and special events. Having privileges at just one hospital prevents the added stress of laboring women at two different places. My office which is attached to my hospital is 10 minutes away { make that Seven minutes at 3 am when I am driving the Camero} from my home.

OB/GYN is a field where it is advantageous to be a woman. In general, women prefer to have female OB/GYNs, making it easier to build up your practice. Additionally as a fellow mom, you have an added layer of bonding to your patients. I’ve had morning sickness, stretch marks and sleepless nights with a fussy baby. I think this gives me a level of empathy that most patients appreciate.

Being family friendly goes both ways, though. I have a partner who is due this spring, so I will be working extra to help her while she is out, much as she helped me a couple years ago to take time off when we adopted our son.

The down side to private practice is that it makes it difficult to take an extended leave. We have 20 employees, rent, malpractice, insurance and a variety of other bills that must be paid monthly. So, taking a maternity leave of longer than 6 weeks is financially difficult. Going part time would not be a possibility for me. Also, being a small business owner adds a level of stress to your life: meetings with accountants, minimizing overhead, marketing. This are all concerns that must be added to the ‘to do’ list. We don’t have many business classes in medical school, so it’s mostly learn as you go.

I realize that are there are busy seasons and slower seasons. The fall is crazy. Everyone has babies {curse you snow storms from last winter!}. The surgeries that patients have been putting off all year that are suddenly emergencies now that they have met their deductibles. I know I will have to work more in the fall, but this fourth quarter revenue will help cover my overhead during the lean first quarter months. I plan extra days off with my family during January and February when things are already slower.

At times I miss being in an academic center and teaching medical students. I think that is part of the reason I blog/write is to help fill my desire to teach. At the end of the day I think the autonomy of private practice empowers me to help make my crazy job more family friendly.


What I didn’t realize about OB/GYN until I was in the thick of it:

Being up all night does not get any easier over the years. Yes, it’s part of the job. I accept that and try not to complain, but really it stinks. Leaving your cozy bed at 1 am to drive in the cold to the hospital, then work the entire next day, then come home to tend to the children…. Not easy.

Dealing with loss is emotionally draining. Miscarriage, stillbirth and infertility are truly heartbreaking issues. OB is thought of as a happy healthy specialty, but when things are bad they are often horrific. I recently had a patient that conceived spontaneously, after 10 years of infertility treatments, who then experienced a term stillbirth. There is perhaps, no worse place to be in the entire world, than a baby’s funeral. The emotional toll of this profession can be immense.

Being the bearer of bad news stinks. Probably at least once a week, I tell a nice married lady with a couple of kids that she has a STD. In doing this I am usually telling her that her husband has been unfaithful. This is often completely unexpected and extremely painful. Often I sit with a box of Kleenex, listening to her cry for as long as tears flow. I become more her therapist than gynecologist.

Is it worth it?

I’m in my seventh year of practice and I still absolutely love what I do. It’s never boring. I’ve delivered 8 babies in the last 3 days (that’s why I’m late getting this post done…. Sorry KC); I am bone tired. But even as I write this, I can’t help but smile at the joy that helping bring life into this world gives me. I truly feel like I am making a difference in people’s lives. You can be a workaholic in any field or any specialty and every specialty has its unique challenges. But if you love OB/GYN and are willing to count the costs, then there are ways to make it more manageable for your family.