Why Do men become gynocologists?

[Blankiefan]

I have to have some treatment and all of the gynocologists I can pick from are men. I don't trust male gynocologists (no bad history just bias). It'd help me to understand good reasons why some men choose this specialism.

As I see it, I have an ear so I can understand what it's like when someone pokes their finger in it. I get the experience of having an ear and have an interest in furthering medicine into it. Buy why are male doctors interested in women's genitals? Is it some deep respect for their mothers? A peculiar interest in otherness? I don't see the motivation.

I entirely accept on an intellectual level that most of them aren't in it for kicks and that being elbow deep in hoo hoo all day isn't erotic but I really don't get what motivation got them there.

Does anyone have any insight?

I remember asking my male obs and gynae consultant why he choose it when I was a medical student.

His eyes lit up and he said 'because you get to bring babies into the world and what could be more marvellous than that'

He was lovely.

They have to specialise in somthing and I think complexity of the work, pay, hours, stress levels work life balance, personal ability, are all taken into account not just do I find that bit of body interesting.

Apparently there is a shortage of gastro Dr's because no-one wants to work with poo all day.

When I was really high on gas and air during a colonoscopy I asked the doctor, ‘why do you do this job?!’ His response ‘my wife likes the salary’.

As I see it, I have an ear so I can understand what it's like when someone pokes their finger in it. I get the experience of having an ear and have an interest in furthering medicine into it

That really isn’t how people become interested in medicine!

One of the best gynaecologists I saw for my endometriosis was male. He was understanding, well informed and listened to me. In contrast the female doctor was cold, uncaring and told me all women go through it and I just had to get on with it.

I'll admit I did feel weird when I knew it was going to be a man. But it was fine. And the fact he didn't just dismiss me meant I would have chosen to see him every time. There was nothing uncomfortable in any way.

I also saw the specialist who is one of the leading surgeons for endometriosis and he was brilliant.

I also had a lovely female gp at one point. If they are the best person to see that's more important, that they can help you.

Its usually a mixture of obstetrics and gynecology and I guess lots of people find the obstetrics bit really rewarding....fast paced/miracle of life/patients tend to be healthy etc.

My doctor friend loves kindneys! They might just find gyne stuff particularly scientifically interesting.

I always assumed it was because women’s health is so under researched you had a higher chance of finding a new medical problem and getting it named after you

Also I bet the hours for the pay is much better than most other medical professions!

It's never bothered me. Afraid to say that the only gynae/obstetric doctor who was ever rough and offhand with me, was a woman.

They find it interesting/rewarding.

Some of the best gynaecologists I’ve come across have been male.

Agree with lots of the reasons people have already given (I'm an anaesthetist with an interest in obstetrics) but in defence of my colleagues I would say their on call rota is definitely NOT one of the easier ones! Especially for the juniors, having to cover labour ward AND any gynae emergencies that come in (ectopics, post-op complications etc) is really tough. Consultants are not infrequently called in at night too, especially on LW.

I would have gone into O&G if I was a bit more surgically inclined, but I prefer the side of theatre where I can sit down

Your OP was really rude and patronising bet you will still have treatment though right? Presumably on the NHS?

So what. That's like asking why do males becomes midwives. That's their interest. They don't see it as oh look at that fanny do they! You're making it sound like they're all perverts without actually saying that.

Grow up.

It's both interesting and lucrative.

By that I mean you’d get called in less often.

This is totally untrue. The oncalls are just the same as many other specialties. I’m afraid gynaecological emergencies don’t all happen 9-5

My friend is a gastroenterologist. A fair amount of that involves poo.
What drew her to that, I wonder?

From a practical point of view, there will always be a need for obs and gynae practitioners (unless we perfect the art of growing babies in jars). Therefore it's an intelligent job choice.

I would be interested to see what the sex balance is at the start of obs and gynae training, and whether a high proportion of women leave the profession later on (i.e. when they've had their own kids and might possibly find some of the day to day experiences of the job more traumatic or stressful than they did before).

It pays very well. And womens internal structures are fascinating medically speaking.

The on call rota is one of the easier ones I imagine.

This is really not true. OBGYN is incredibly demanding around the clock. Like someone else said a lot of women leave this area of practice when they have their own caring responsibilities for this reason.

I always question why people go into stuff which largely deals with bowels. A lot of people ask me of all nursing why MH?

Interest. Enjoyment. Specialised approaches. Research. There are lots of different reasons medical people specialise.

I have a friend who was an O & G senior registrar. She found it almost impossible to get promotion (this was around 20 years ago), which she was surprised about, as she thoughts loads of women, especially ethnic minorities, would be more comfortable with female doctor. It was a very male-dominated area - not sure if this is still the case.

Blossom Cat Exactly!

My obs-gynae Dr is male. I chose him because he speaks a good level of English (I'm not in the UK) and he had been recommended. The fact that he was a man was a non issue. He said that in France the obs-gynae profession is struggling to get new/young drs and he predicts a shortage in the next years for the general clinics/monitoring. The majority in the profession are female and because of childcare etc they are choosing specialities or jobs with regular contracted hours rather than running their own clinics where they could be working 12 hours a day, 6 days a week. (not the same as NHS system). For him, he likes getting to know his patients, having a relationship with them and their journey. He also seems to like the mix of community and hospital work.

@PullingMySocksUp OBS and Gynae has one of the most demanding on call rotas due to very senior Drs needing to be available on labour ward 24/7.

It's a very varied speciality with medical and surgical aspects. And what can be more rewarding than delivering a complex pregnancy safely? That's why people choose it.

If I had to be a doctor I’d probably be a gynaecologist because, on the whole, I like spending time with women more than spending time with men. Perhaps male gynaecologists feel the same way.

Nottonight, of course they bring babies into the world - babies who in former eras would very likely have died, and their mothers along with them.

Anyone who reads Victorian novels will know how easy it was for an author to kill some inconvenient female character off by having them die in childbirth - common enough then for nobody to say how unlikely it would be.