Why Men Go Into Ob/Gyn

If you’re a woman physician, or a male physician who’s not a gynecologist, admit it: you’ve wondered why some of your colleagues chose this specialty. Especially since right now 80 to 90 percent of doctors graduating in obstetrics/gynecology are women. Well, New York Magazine wondered, too. So last year they asked ten male gynecologists, ages 30 to 70, how they ended up in the female plumbing business. Here’s a sampling of their responses (for more, visit NY Magazine here):

“Women are better patients than men. They have no qualms about telling us what’s wrong with them, and therefore we can do what we need to do to get them better.”

“I grew up with six sisters, and so I was used to having my life revolve around estrogen, ovulation, and hormones.”

“I married a really strong woman, and I have so much respect for the issues that make women special. The female body is a metaphor for her womanhood, and I am granted access to her whole identity. That’s a great honor.”

“I was originally in internal medicine, but that was right when doctors were beginning to ‘specialize,’ and I couldn’t find six inches of the body to specialize in. Instead, I chose half the human race.”

“During the third year of med school we all rotated through the various specialties. Ob/Gyn was unexpectedly fun. The doctors were all very affable, and some were actually funny. The patients were more healthy than not, and delivering babies was just about the coolest thing ever.”