Obstetrician/Gynecologist

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Work Tasks

• Examine, treat, and care for women during pregnancy, at the time they give birth, and afterwards
• Check patient's condition using physical exams, lab results, and by talking to the patient
• Recommend any changes to diet and physical activities for pregnant women
• Deliver babies and check the progress of the mothers
• Work in exam rooms and treatment areas for hospitals, clinics, and other health care organizations, and for themselves in their own practice
• Work with thermometers, stethoscopes, surgical instruments, x-rays, sonograms, lab tests, medical histories, reports, and prescriptions for medications

Salary, Size & Growth

• $274,000 average per year ($131.75 per hour)
• A small occupation (19,900 workers in 2010)
• Expected to grow rapidly (2.2% per year)

Education/Training

• Minimum for Entry: Graduation from an accredited professional medical school, with Board certification after 4 years of undergraduate school, 4 years of medical school, and 4 years of internship and residency, plus 2 years in clinical practice. One to three years of additional training is required to practice in a subspecialty.
• Skills/Courses: Premedical college courses included undergraduate work in physics, biology, math, English, and inorganic and organic chemistry; also, courses in the humanities and the social sciences.
• Certification/Licensing: All states require physicians to be licensed.