Seeking advice for undergrad and med school journey

[Krosellobrown]

Hi!
So I recently realized I would like to pursue a career in Reproductive Endocrinology. I've actually always had interest in family planning, woman's health and hormonal changes and I myself have been diagnosed with PCOS. I'd like advice on the best route to achieving that goal. I.E. what should I study, which programs should I look for interning opportunities, what routes would I take in residency to stay relevant to the field I'm interested in?

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[bikelady]

Pre-med (by this I am assuming you mean undergrad): do what you are interested in and will excel in. Any of the basic sciences, psychology, women's studies - it doesn't really matter. Do well in your science classes and do well on the MCAT. Volunteer with actual humans, in healthcare and outside it.
During med school, focus on your studies. Do well on the steps (although I hear they are all pass/fail now? I'm old, and in private practice, so take my advice with that in mind!) Find someone to work with doing research - ideally REI related or adjacent.

I think your best shot at REI is to go to a residency program with a fellowship, as being an internal candidate would give you the strongest chance at matching.

"Family planning" is usually a euphemism for abortion care. REI is almost always infertility, although some of them (the old school ones) do surgeries, infertility is where the money is so that's what they do.

PCOS is a very poorly named condition, it does not originate in the ovaries or in any gynecologic organ. It's a disorder of insulin resistance and the ovaries are the innocent bystanders. If you want to manage endocrine disorders, IM -> Endocrinology is a better route to go. Or just general ob/gyn, because PCOS is bread and butter generalist work. However I am burned out AF and would not recommend to anyone to go into on/gyn these days.

 

[Krosellobrown]

Pre-med (by this I am assuming you mean undergrad): do what you are interested in and will excel in. Any of the basic sciences, psychology, women's studies - it doesn't really matter. Do well in your science classes and do well on the MCAT. Volunteer with actual humans, in healthcare and outside it.
During med school, focus on your studies. Do well on the steps (although I hear they are all pass/fail now? I'm old, and in private practice, so take my advice with that in mind!) Find someone to work with doing research - ideally REI related or adjacent.

I think your best shot at REI is to go to a residency program with a fellowship, as being an internal candidate would give you the strongest chance at matching.

"Family planning" is usually a euphemism for abortion care. REI is almost always infertility, although some of them (the old school ones) do surgeries, infertility is where the money is so that's what they do.

PCOS is a very poorly named condition, it does not originate in the ovaries or in any gynecologic organ. It's a disorder of insulin resistance and the ovaries are the innocent bystanders. If you want to manage endocrine disorders, IM -> Endocrinology is a better route to go. Or just general ob/gyn, because PCOS is bread and butter generalist work. However I am burned out AF and would not recommend to anyone to go into on/gyn these days.

Thanks so much for the advice. I was trying to be as general as possible in that title but I am interested in Endocrinology specifically Reproductive Endocrinology . I will keep these tips in mind!

 

[Dr G Oogle]

Most REI practice these days is managing infertility I.e. IVF. That being said, the best advice i ever got was make sure you like the general specialty (OB/gyn) because fellowship match rates are not that high and people who choose a specialty solely for one fellowship are not that happy if they don’t match. Somethings you can do If possible you could try getting work in an REI lab while In school (that will probably
Improve chances if do meaningful work there, i.e. get on a few manuscripts as an author). In med school can buddy up to the REIs and again try to do some research with them. This will give you both an improved chance and a good idea of the field to see if you are really into it. If you still love the bread and butter and can tolerate the downsides of the field then it’s probably the right one for you.

 

[Krosellobrown]

Most REI practice these days is managing infertility I.e. IVF. That being said, the best advice i ever got was make sure you like the general specialty (OB/gyn) because fellowship match rates are not that high and people who choose a specialty solely for one fellowship are not that happy if they don’t match. Somethings you can do If possible you could try getting work in an REI lab while In school (that will probably
Improve chances if do meaningful work there, i.e. get on a few manuscripts as an author). In med school can buddy up to the REIs and again try to do some research with them. This will give you both an improved chance and a good idea of the field to see if you are really into it. If you still love the bread and butter and can tolerate the downsides of the field then it’s probably the right one for you.

Thanks so much for sharing!