Obstetrician Job Description

The period of pregnancy is one of the happiest times in a woman's life. It introduces her to a new life and new responsibilities. A normal and untroubled pregnancy is what every woman wishes for. However, some women face problems and undergo complications during these days. This is where an obstetrician comes into the picture! Now you may ask, who are obstetricians? Well, to define it in simple words, obstetricians are specialized doctors who deal with women right through their pregnancy and childbirth.

Interestingly, an obstetrician's career is a never-ending one! And it is also a great career in the long run. With many avenues for hospital jobs in the future, there would be several career opportunities for obstetricians. So for people interested in a career in obstetrics, the information provided below would definitely prove useful, as it discusses important aspects such as educational requirements of an obstetrician, job description, and of course the salary range!

Obstetrician Educational Requirements

Becoming an obstetrician is a long journey, wherein you need to learn various subjects related to obstetrics, and receive specialized training to carry out the work efficiently. Needless to say, you need to score well in math and science in high school. But the first milestone is obtaining a bachelor of science degree. This is followed by successful completion of four-years of medical college and then a one-year internship program. Next comes the residency graduate education program, which deals with the study of obstetrics. The duration of this program is again four to six years. Speaking about the license and certification, you need to clear all the examinations conducted by the local as well as the central board governing this area of study and work. Besides formal education and training, you need to have strong communication skills and a thorough knowledge of the latest trends and techniques in the field of obstetrics.

Job Description of an Obstetrician

As mentioned earlier, obstetricians are experts dealing with pregnancy and birth-related issues. However, their work does not stop there. There are many more responsibilities and duties associated with an obstetrician's job. Some of them are mentioned in the following text.

• Diagnosing, identifying and treating pregnancy-related problems is the most important duty of an obstetrician.
• Further, their duties also involve keeping a track of the patient's health during the entire pregnancy period, and advising the patient for better healthcare during those days.
• Obstetricians also counsel women on birth control methods, and other diseases such as cervical and breast cancer, etc.
• Explaining all the pregnancy-related tests and discussing the results with them is a task for which they also need good communication skills.
• An obstetrician is also required to advise patients on the diet they need to follow, besides the physical activities that they need to avoid and also indulge in.
• Carrying out cesarean sections and many other surgical procedures to make sure the safe delivery of the baby.
• Obstetricians also work in the areas of fetal health problems and high-risk pregnancies, and counsel the patients on the same. In critical cases, patients are referred to specialized doctors or physicians.
• Other duties involve maintaining medical records for future references and preserving the case history of patients.
• For effective patient care, obstetricians work on developmental programs about the prevention of pregnancy-related problems and diseases, in coordination with other doctors.
• Handling the administration work such as managing the appointments of patients, purchasing office and medical supplies, etc.

Obstetrician Salary Range

Years of education and practice are fruitful enough to secure a high paying job as an obstetrician in any healthcare organization. The average hourly salary for an obstetrician is around $110, where a relatively new doctor earns around $50 per hour, and an experienced and well-known obstetrician earns as much as $170 on an hourly basis. If you look at the yearly calculations, then the average annual salary of an obstetrician is around $200,000, where the lower range comes to around $100,000, and an experienced obstetrician earns as high as $350,000 per year.

Salaries vary according to experience, location, and employer, just the same way it does for all other fields. As per the study of trends, the states in the US where the salary of an obstetrician is on the higher side as compared to other states are Iowa, South Dakota, Idaho, Alabama, and Wisconsin. Besides setting up a private practice, obstetricians can work for universities, a state or the federal government, or even the armed forces.

You need to put in a lot of hard work during your academic years to aspire for a career in obstetrics. A lot of commitment and passion towards your job is required. With a fair idea about the obstetrician job description, educational requirements and salary range, you now have the knowledge of the things required to pursue this career that you have been dreaming about. Wishing you a great career ahead!!!