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What does an obstetrician/gynecologist do?

Updated January 8, 2025
6 min read
Quoted expert
Dr. Haydee Encarnacion-Garcia Ph.D.

An obstetrician/gynecologist specializes in women's health, focusing on reproductive health and diagnosing gynecological conditions. Among their responsibilities include studying the patient's medical history and other information, conducting assessments and interviews, performing various examinations using machines such as ultrasound, providing prescriptions, and referring them to other specialists when necessary. There are also instances where they may participate in research studies. Moreover, an obstetrician/gynecologist must explain the extent of procedures and conditions to patients, educating while helping them feel comfortable every step of the way.

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Obstetrician/gynecologist responsibilities

Here are examples of responsibilities from real obstetrician/gynecologist resumes:

  • 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.
  • Monitor and manage patient medical records in compliance with HIPPA.

Obstetrician/gynecologist skills and personality traits

We calculated that 41% of Obstetrician/Gynecologists are proficient in Patients, Patient Care, and Obstetrics. They’re also known for soft skills such as Communication skills, Dexterity, and Leadership skills.

We break down the percentage of Obstetrician/Gynecologists that have these skills listed on their resume here:

  • Patients, 41%

    Conducted medical screenings for patients in Obstetric and Gynecological surgery.

  • Patient Care, 20%

    Assisted the doctor, NP and MA team in ensuring optimal patient care and smooth daily function of office.

  • Obstetrics, 16%

    Performed all Obstetrics and Gynecological OPD (outpatient department) Procedures including ultrasound.

  • EMR, 4%

    Worked with committees to help improve the EMR system, by contributing ideas such as creating templates for various medical conditions.

  • Medical Care, 4%

    Provided General medical care including management of common diseases and providing routine checkups for chronic ones.

  • Surgical Procedures, 2%

    Make Surgical procedures in order to save mother and newborn life.

"patients," "patient care," and "obstetrics" are among the most common skills that obstetrician/gynecologists use at work. You can find even more obstetrician/gynecologist responsibilities below, including:

Communication skills. One of the key soft skills for an obstetrician/gynecologist to have is communication skills. You can see how this relates to what obstetrician/gynecologists do because "physicians and surgeons need to be excellent communicators." Additionally, an obstetrician/gynecologist resume shows how obstetrician/gynecologists use communication skills: "managed smooth and effective communication among physicians, patients, families and staff. "

Dexterity. Another soft skill that's essential for fulfilling obstetrician/gynecologist duties is dexterity. The role rewards competence in this skill because "physicians and surgeons may work with very precise and sometimes sharp tools, and mistakes can have serious consequences." According to an obstetrician/gynecologist resume, here's how obstetrician/gynecologists can utilize dexterity in their job responsibilities: "administered screening tests, provided vaccinations and ensured health education through hands-on family planning, lifestyle modification and community-based childcare. "

Leadership skills. Another skill that relates to the job responsibilities of obstetrician/gynecologists is leadership skills. This skill is critical to many everyday obstetrician/gynecologist duties, as "physicians who work in their own practice must manage a staff of other professionals." This example from a resume shows how this skill is used: "provided goal-driven patient care and strategic team leadership for a primary care office with multiple physicians and mid-level providers. "

Organizational skills. For certain obstetrician/gynecologist responsibilities to be completed, the job requires competence in "organizational skills." The day-to-day duties of an obstetrician/gynecologist rely on this skill, as "good recordkeeping and other organizational skills are critical in both medical and business settings." For example, this snippet was taken directly from a resume about how this skill applies to what obstetrician/gynecologists do: "practice management related: developed and implemented organizational policies, procedures, methods and standards for the medical practice. "

Physical stamina. A commonly-found skill in obstetrician/gynecologist job descriptions, "physical stamina" is essential to what obstetrician/gynecologists do. Obstetrician/gynecologist responsibilities rely on this skill because "physicians and surgeons should be comfortable lifting or turning disabled patients, or performing other physical tasks." You can also see how obstetrician/gynecologist duties rely on physical stamina in this resume example: "conducted physical examination, screenings for verification of health insurance benefits, treatment and surgeries in patients of sanitas venezuela. "

Problem-solving skills. While "problem-solving skills" is last on this skills list, don't underestimate its importance to obstetrician/gynecologist responsibilities. Much of what an obstetrician/gynecologist does relies on this skill, seeing as "physicians and surgeons need to evaluate patients’ symptoms and administer the appropriate treatments." Here is a resume example of how this skill is used in the everyday duties of obstetrician/gynecologists: "resolved unpaid accounts and disputes: coded via cpt, asa and icd-9-cm. "

All obstetrician/gynecologist skills

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Compare different obstetrician/gynecologists

Obstetrician/gynecologist vs. Doctor

A doctor is a medical expert who diagnoses and treats illnesses and injuries, often specializing in particular areas. Their responsibilities revolve around conducting initial interviews and examinations, studying a patient's medical history and laboratory results, providing consultations and care advice, prescribing medication, and referring patients to specialists when necessary. They must also coordinate and maintain an active communication line with nurses, administrators, and technicians for a smooth workflow. Moreover, a doctor must educate patients about their health conditions, helping them understand their situation better.

We looked at the average obstetrician/gynecologist salary and compared it with the wages of a doctor. Generally speaking, doctors are paid $47,962 lower than obstetrician/gynecologists per year.While their salaries may differ, the common ground between obstetrician/gynecologists and doctors are a few of the skills required in each roleacirc;euro;trade;s responsibilities. In both careers, employee duties involve skills like patients, patient care, and emr.

These skill sets are where the common ground ends though. The responsibilities of an obstetrician/gynecologist are more likely to require skills like "hospital #," "obstetrics," "ehr," and "diagnostic tests." On the other hand, a job as a doctor requires skills like "customer service," "emergency medicine," "surgery," and "dr." As you can see, what employees do in each career varies considerably.

Doctors earn the highest salaries when working in the health care industry, with an average yearly salary of $178,767. On the other hand, obstetrician/gynecologists are paid more in the health care industry with an average salary of $202,554.The education levels that doctors earn slightly differ from obstetrician/gynecologists. In particular, doctors are 1.3% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree than an obstetrician/gynecologist. Additionally, they're 2.4% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.

Obstetrician/gynecologist vs. Gynecologist

A career as a gynecologist brings a higher average salary when compared to the average annual salary of an obstetrician/gynecologist. In fact, gynecologists salary is $89,991 higher than the salary of obstetrician/gynecologists per year.Only some things about these jobs are the same. Take their skills, for example. Obstetrician/gynecologists and gynecologists both require similar skills like "patients," "patient care," and "emr" to carry out their responsibilities.

While some skills are similar in these professions, other skills aren't so similar. For example, resumes show us that obstetrician/gynecologist responsibilities requires skills like "hospital #," "obstetrics," "ehr," and "maternity." But a gynecologist might use other skills in their typical duties, such as, "gyn," "surgery," "pediatrics," and "birth control."

Gynecologists earn similar levels of education than obstetrician/gynecologists in general. They're 0.8% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 2.4% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.

What technology do you think will become more important and prevalent for obstetrician/gynecologists in the next 3-5 years?

Dr. Haydee Encarnacion-Garcia Ph.D.Dr. Haydee Encarnacion-Garcia Ph.D. LinkedIn profile

Associate Professor, MPH Program Director, Indiana Wesleyan University

We observe how telemedicine or telehealth has become critical/crucial as a distribution tool of health-related services and information via electronic venues. Telemedicine or telehealth has become a way to exchange data between clinician(s) and patient(s), incredibly popular among the influencers, and extremely important to promote long-distance clinical healthcare and health-related public health education for communities located in remote areas. Telehealth applications most require the need to educate and increase health literacy among certain groups, such as the elderly. Indeed, mobile health and remote patient monitoring applications will turn out to be an essential advance to disseminate public health information and clinical data based on accurate and well-designed surveillance systems.

Types of obstetrician/gynecologist

Updated January 8, 2025

Zippia Research Team
Zippia Team

Editorial Staff

The Zippia Research Team has spent countless hours reviewing resumes, job postings, and government data to determine what goes into getting a job in each phase of life. Professional writers and data scientists comprise the Zippia Research Team.

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