What is it like being an Obgyn Hospitalist?

There are various types of shifts when working as an obgyn hospitalist. The most common shifts are 12-24 hours in duration. The number of shifts worked per month to be considered full time range from 5-8 hours a month (24 hour shifts) and up to 16 shifts per month (12 hours shifts). What I appreciated as a hospitalist is that once I handed over the pager, my patients continued to get physician-led care (by other hospitalist colleagues), but I was off work. It gave a solid work/life balance in the sense that you didn’t get called in and interrupted from your life. While off, I had the chance to catch up on sleep, spend time with family, travel, exercise, read leisurely, and develop hobbies.

The typical day involves rounding on patients on labor and delivery, post-partum, and any consults on other floors. My program was academic so I taught resident physicians, which I found enjoyable. My specific hospitalist program also covered gynecologic patients. So, I would manage any gynecological emergencies (ectopic pregnancy, pelvic inflammatory disease, etc.) that came through the emergency room. I would then deliver any babies via cesarean or vaginal delivery that need to be delivered on my shift. Triaging pregnant patients who came through the obstetric emergency room was also a large part of my day. The work is unpredictable and I found that exciting.

Pros

You perfect skills in obstetric and gynecologic emergency management, competitive pay, opportunity to teach residents (if working at an academic institution), solid work/life balance, can build solid relationships with hospital staff since you are present

Cons

Typically, you must stay in the hospital during your shift, so you’re unable to leave and move around while working, unable to follow up with patients to see how they do long-term, and you may lose skills in frequently performed gynecologic procedures due to the nature of hospitalist work (hysteroscopy, hysterectomy, colposcopy).

Also, hospitalist is a term to describe a physician whose primary focus is to manage hospitalized patients. Hospitalist also implies an internal medicine specialty.

Obgyn hospitalists specifically manage obstetric and gynecologic patients that are hospitalized.

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