Physician Assistant OBGYN: Women's Health Specialists

Physician Assistant OBGYN Residency and Postgraduate Programs (US)

1. University of Michigan Sexual Health Certificate Program
2. Perinatal Mental Health Certification Program
3. Arrowhead Medical Center OB/GYN PA Fellowship Program
4. Carolinas Medical Center OB/GYN APP Fellowship Program
5. Mayo Clinic Medical and Surgical Gynecology PA Fellowship

What is a Physician Assistant OBGYN?

A physician assistant OBGYN works alongside OBGYN physicians in support roles, like all physician assistants. They help provide gynecological services to women in both inpatient and outpatient settings. However, a majority (nearly 90%) of physician assistant OBGYNs in the US work in an outpatient setting, with the rest working in inpatient settings such as hospitals, residential care facilities and private clinics.

Physician assistant OBGYNs are particularly important in the US, which has the highest infant mortality rate in the developed world. Pregnant women in the US are also three times more likely to die during childbirth than women from other developed countries, owing to several factors, one of which is lack of access to both primary and prenatal care. Despite the vital need for more physician assistant OBGYNs, only 2% of the nearly 170,000 practicing physician assistants in the US work in this critical field.

However, given the interdisciplinary nature of the PA profession, if you decide to become a physician assistant OBGYN, you’ll also be exposed to other medical specialties including emergency and family medicine. Only recently has the National Commission on Certification of Physician Assistants (NCCPA) created a specific Certificate of Added Qualification (CAQ) for physician assistant OBGYNs. Previously, there was no OBGYN option, which only highlights how overlooked women’s health is, even at the institutional and professional levels.

The CAQ is not a requirement to practice as a physician assistant OBGYN. Unlike medical graduates who must complete a residency in their preferred specialty to complete their medical training and to get a medical license, physician assistants only need to pass state and national licensing exams after graduation to be able to practice.

Of course, there are several different postgraduate programs available to PA graduates who want to specialize in particular discipline or specialty, such as the ones we listed above.

But PA graduates typically choose other PA residency specialties, such as:

• Family or general medicine (36%)
• General surgery (20%)
• Internal medicine (17%)
• Emergency medicine (10%)

As there are only five postgraduate, physician assistant OBGYN residency opportunities available in the US, if you’re serious about working with obstetricians and gynecologists, you could also train and learn on the job. Depending on the position, your employer and the services they provide, they could also offer you job-specific training before you start working directly with patients.

What do Physician Assistant OBGYNs Do?

Within the medical specialty of OBGYN, there are four main sub-specialties that physician assistant OBGYNs usually focus on:

• Gynecologic Oncology
• Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility
• Maternal Fetal Medicine (High Risk Obstetrics)
• Adolescent Gynecology and Endoscopy

Each of these specialties has different duties and responsibilities associated with it, and the work you do as a physician assistant OBGYN will depend on which specialty you are in, where you work and your patient demographic (adolescent, adult or geriatric). According to the Association of Physician Assistants in Obstetrics and Gynecology, a majority of physician assistant OBGYNs (35%) in the US work in specialty OBGYN group practices, while the other two most popular clinical settings are private practice (17%), and a hospital-setting (17%).



Specialty women’s and sexual health clinics such as Planned Parenthood, community health clinics that offer services to low-income and uninsured patients, and fertility clinics are also common locations for physician assistant OBGYNs to work. The exact services, procedures, advice, and support that physician assistant OBGYNs offer varies between the routine:

• Ultrasounds
• Pelvic and breast exams
• Family planning consultations
• Minimally invasive gynecological procedures
• Contraception and STI education

Which are mostly performed in outpatient settings, as well as secondary care procedures that are more advanced including:

• Offering pre-and post-natal care
• Treating infertility
• Participating in vaginal and cesarian births
• Assisting in gynecological surgeries and operations

Depending on where you practice (outpatient urgent clinic; group practice; community care clinic) your roles can also range from performing pap smears, screening for cervical, uterine and other reproductive cancers, and attending to and managing the symptoms of menopausal and post-menopausal patients.

Given the scope and variety of roles that a physician assistant OBGYNs can take, they have become as essential to OBGYN physicians as they are to women. OBGYN physicians suffer higher rates of burnout (between 40-75%) among their specialty than any other medical specialty, including surgical ones. The reasons for the wider prevalence of burnout amount obstetricians and gynecologists include:

• The high number of patients
• Threat of malpractice suits and patient dissatisfaction
• Business and financial concerns for private practices

OBGYN physician burnout coupled with the high maternal and infant mortality rates in the US make being a physician assistant OBGYN even more important, if you are thinking about what contribution you can make to the PA profession. Fortunately, in the US becoming a physician assistant OBGYN does not require any additional training or licensing beyond completing a PA program, passing your national and state licensing exams, and choosing where you want to practice, be it an inpatient or outpatient setting; urban vs rural; private or public hospital.

How to Become a Physician Assistant OBGYN in the US

It bears repeating that you don’t need to take any specific course or postgraduate program to work as a physician assistant OBGYN in either the US or Canada. Getting a postgraduate certificate in any of the programs we listed above is up to you. You can start working as a physician assistant OBGYN without any of these certificates solely on the strength of the four- or five-week rotations most PA schools spend on OBGYN and women’s health during the clinical rounds portion of your degree.

However, not all PA schools make OBGYN a required round. The best PA schools in the US usually do include OBGYN as a required rotation. Except, in Canada, with only four PA programs, only two (Dalhousie University Faculty of Medicine and University of Manitoba Max Rady College of Medicine) make OBGYN a required course, while the University of Toronto Faculty of Medicine and McMaster Medical School programs do not.

In that case, you would have to take them as your electives, as well as getting as much clinical experience in various settings through either service-based community outreach programs, as well as volunteer work with different healthcare partners. Except, you can also get hands-on training when you start working as a PA, and you do not necessarily have to become a physician assistant OBGYN right away.

Many PA graduates work in diverse specialties and either decide to focus on one, or continue working in different fields to increase their knowledge. Similar to the way medical students rotate through various specialties during medical school, you can use the beginning of your PA career to explore what other specialties are out there, or, concentrate specifically on building up your knowledge on one, such as OBGYN.

Physician Assistant OBGYN: Should I Get a Postgraduate Certificate?

Deciding on whether to pursue a postgraduate certificate for physician assistant OBGYNs can be difficult, but there are few drawbacks, and many benefits. While employment rates for PA graduates in both the USA and Canada are high, with some physician assistant programs in the US reporting perfect or near-perfect employment rates for graduates of their PA programs, getting a postgraduate certificate is more than just about finding a better, high-paying job.

It can also lead to you being a more competent, compassionate and caring physician assistant, able to work in various environments and settings, with the requisite training to address several different conditions and issues. But another reason to get a postgraduate certificate is to improve your career prospects or your current position.

If you have worked as a PA for a few years, and are interested in either:

• Improving or learning new patient skills
• Getting a more senior position
• Having more responsibilities
• Increasing your earning potential

Then getting a postgraduate certificate from any of the programs listed above can help. The majority of these programs do have application requirements, but they are not as strict as PA school requirements. You have to submit letters of recommendation, a PA personal statement, PA school cover letter, and sit for an interview where you’ll be asked questions such as, “what are you goals as a PA?”. But aside from the personal reasons to pursue additional training as a physician assistant OBGYN, you’ll also be doing a service to your patients.

Given the complexity of the various issues affecting women’s health, getting additional training from expert prorectors and faculty will give you the knowledge to handle more complicated procedures on your own, so that patients do not have to wait for a specialist furthering delaying vital and urgent care. Many of these programs only last 12 months and come with the benefit of introducing you to more physician assistant OBGYNs, a monthly stipend and other financial incentives so you can earn while you study, and also increasing your marketability.

Of course, the type of postgraduate or fellowship you choose should also reflect your general interests in women’s health, as the programs listed above cover many different aspects. One of them is offered by a non-profit – Postpartum Support International – which seeks not only to raise awareness of postpartum depression but to educate caregivers like physician assistant OBGYNs how to treat patients experiencing symptoms of anxiety, stress, and depression after they have given birth.

At the other end of the spectrum is the physician assistant OBGYN offered by the Mayo Medical School at its campus in Arizona. This fellowship is more medicine and surgery-based, so you will learn more about technical skills you’ll be responsible for in an outpatient setting or gain experience in surgical skills, such as laparoscopy, suturing, and using surgical lasers.

What you Need to be a Physician Assistant OBGYN

1. Take as Many OBGYN Electives as Possible

Whether obstetrics or gynecology is part of your required rotations during your clinical training depends on the program. But regardless of whether it is required or not, you should take the initiative and seek out different rotations related to women’s health. For example, the Yale PA program includes a four-week core rotation in women’s health, but it also offers an elective in neonatology, which is a valuable sub-specialty to take to become a better-trained physician assistant OBGYN. Along with electives, some programs will offer continuing medical education courses that can cover areas outside of medicine that are relevant to being a physician assistant OBGYN, such as lectures on human trafficking, domestic and partner abuse, or substance abuse and addiction counseling.

2. Take Relevant Extracurriculars

This can apply to before, during or after you attend PA school. If you have decided that being a physician assistant OBGYN is your dream before you apply, then you can start taking extracurriculars for PA school that are centered not only on women’s health, but also reproductive issues, gender discrimination, or anti-harassment initiatives. These extracurriculars do not have to be medicine-related or in a healthcare setting, as long as they are directly related to the health and well-being or women, including advocacy groups, educational organizations or other volunteer work that puts you in position to help and support women. Medical and scientific knowledge is important, but so is understanding all the socio-economic and cultural detriments and obstacles to women’s health.

3. Have a Clear Idea of Your Goals

If you decide that you want to be physician assistant OBGYN then you should have a clear idea of what you want to achieve in this complex, multi-faceted specialty. We talked about the four distinct sub-specialties within OBGYN, but even these sub-specialties have distinct areas of focus that you can zero in on as your particular specialty. For example, if you have a particular interest in gynecologic oncology then you should either seek out continuing education, fellowships and other educational resources focused on surgery, radiation therapy, chemotherapy that will enrich your experience. If you are more interested maternal fetal medicine, then that should be your guide to focus specifically on obstetrics and related disciplines such as midwifery or the complications involved in high-risk pregnancies.

4. Get a Postgraduate Certificate or Another Degree

We talked a lot about how getting a postgraduate certificate is not necessary to be a physician assistant OBGYN, even though there are innumerable benefits to doing so. Many of the postgraduate courses listed here are either cost-effective (they have low tuition or are completely free), and even provide a stipend and other financial assistance. But, if you have the time, and resources, getting another graduate-level degree in a related field, such as public health with a specialization in women’s health will be mutually beneficial for you and your future patients. Many PA programs are also part of universities with schools of public health that offer these degrees. Getting a master’s degree can help you become a more proactive care-provider with the knowledge and experience to treat patients but also to advocate for them, lead research projects and other initiatives aimed at increasing collaboration between various women’s health stakeholders.

Conclusion

Physician assistant OBGYNs are rare, but maybe you can help change that. Given all the different challenges that women face in getting high-quality, gender-specific along with the troubling outcomes that stem from this obstacle being a physician assistant OBGYN carries with it more urgency and responsibility. The path to becoming OBGYN is one that you yourself can create, as there are many different ways to enhance your PA training, clinical skills and knowledge through these different pathways.

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To your success,

Your friends at BeMo

BeMo Academic Consulting

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