The Noble Profession

I have been an Obstetrician and Gynecologist since 1993, if you include my four years of residency.  I think it is the best Medical Specialty, because about 90 percent of the time it's a "happy specialty". People having babies, getting pregnant, having sex, talking about sex....it is a window into the lives of women and their families that not many get the privilege to see.  But it is a difficult specialty as well.  The endless hours without sleep, the emergencies that can and do happen at any time--the sheer enormity of so many of the decisions that have to be made, and how these decisions can affect the lives of your patients---no wonder many people think I'm crazy for having chosen it.  I've never been a particularly religious or even a spiritual person, but I firmly believe that what I do is a "calling"....that there was a point in my decision making process that something "came to me", and I realized that this is what I SHOULD be doing, and I could do the most good if I joined the ranks of this particular specialty.  I have never been sorry.  There have been times when I felt challenged..exhausted....sad......overwhelmed....but  I have never thought I should have gone into a different specialty  (Not many dermatologic emergencies in the middle of the night!)  I always said that when I do not enjoy it anymore, that is when I will stop doing it----and so far I am nowhere close.