The worst of times: Why obstetrics is in a free-fall

“Every program I applied to offered me an interview, many even before they saw objective criteria like my grades and board scores.

I was elated that so many programs showed an interest in me, but at the same time, a gnawing ambivalence set in. Crisscrossing the country and interviewing at different programs, I asked residents, professors and department heads why the specialty had fallen on such hard times. ‘Lifestyle’ was the predominant response.

More than any time in the past, medical students want careers with predictable schedules.

They want to go to their children’s soccer games, read for pleasure and not be called in to the hospital at night.

Specialties like dermatology, radiology and anesthesiology offer flexibility. Obstetrics and gynecology does not, and students are turning away from the most demanding specialties in unprecedented numbers.”