What is the career path for an obstetrician-gynecologist (OB/GYN)?

The career path for an OB/GYN includes jobs as a resident physician, followed by being a fellow physician, and maternal-fetal medicine physician. A prospective OB/GYN must first obtain a pre-med undergraduate degree and pass the MCAT. The MCAT is an entrance exam for medical school. You then go through medical school which consists of lecture learning and an extensive amount of hours of clinical rotations.

How To Become An Obstetrician/Gynecologist: What It Is and Career Path

What is an obstetrician/gynecologist and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

4 min read

Quoted expert

Dr. Eric Ayars

Specializing in women's health, as an Obstetrician/Gynecologist, you will focus on reproductive health and diagnose gynecological conditions. You will study the medical history of your patients and conduct interviews and assessments. You will also be using machines to operate and examine patients and refer these patients to other experts when needed.

Since you are dealing with people and lives as an Obstetrician/Gynecologist, you need to have specific skills and traits. Firstly, you need to have great communication skills in order to efficiently relay your thought and opinions while dealing with different types of people. Dexterity is also vital. You will mostly be using your hands, so you need to be skilled and strong in this part. Lastly, leadership skills are also something you need to possess. You will be leading other people, so you should know how and where to lead them.

You can earn around $271,192 on average per year as an Obstetrician/Gynecologist. There is also a job growth rate of 7%, which is a pretty good number.

What general advice would you give to an obstetrician/gynecologist?

Dr. Eric Ayars

Professor and Chair of Physics, California State University, Chico

There is no one way to success, nor is there one definition of success. At each "fork in the road", look as far down each path as you can, pick the path that seems best given the information you have available, and be content with your decision. It may not be the shortest route to where you thought you were going, or even be the same direction, but roll with it and make the best of wherever it takes you.

ScoreObstetrician/GynecologistUS Average

Salary

10.0

Avg. Salary $256,544

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

10.0

Growth rate 7%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

1.7

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.17%

Asian 18.98%

Black or African American 5.31%

Hispanic or Latino 9.92%

Unknown 4.50%

White 61.11%

Gender

female 71.98%

male 28.02%

Age - 48

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 48

Stress level

10.0

Stress level is very high

7.1 - high

Complexity level

10.0

Complexity level is advanced

7 - challenging

Work life balance

4.2

Work life balance is poor

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become an obstetrician/gynecologist

Explore obstetrician/gynecologist education requirements

Most common obstetrician/gynecologist degrees

Bachelor's

33.9 %

Doctorate

32.8 %

Certificate

10.7 %

Start to develop specific obstetrician/gynecologist skills

Skills	Percentages
Patients	40.68%
Patient Care	20.28%
Obstetrics	16.23%
EMR	3.77%
Medical Care	3.57%

Research obstetrician/gynecologist duties and responsibilities

Train and manage new interns/ volunteers assisting with the evidence-based hypertension management program.
Witness the different techniques used in robotic surgery.
Administer different types of contraceptive drugs, for example, placing or removing IUD (intrauterine device) and others.
Collect and dispatch blood samples according to national malaria eradication and sputum samples for national tuberculosis control program.

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