Obstetricians and Gynecologists
Provide medical care related to pregnancy or childbirth. Diagnose, treat, and help prevent diseases of women, particularly those affecting the reproductive system. May also provide general care to women. May perform both medical and gynecological surgery functions.
Most important skills
- Critical Thinking
- Reading Comprehension
- Active Listening
- Active Learning
- Writing
- Speaking
- Monitoring
- Complex Problem Solving
Key knowledge
- Medicine and Dentistry
- Biology
- English Language
- Psychology
- Customer and Personal Service
- Therapy and Counseling
- Computers and Electronics
- Education and Training
What the work involves
- Care for and treat women during prenatal, natal, and postnatal periods.
- Explain procedures and discuss test results or prescribed treatments with patients.
- Treat diseases of female organs.
- Monitor patients' conditions and progress and reevaluate treatments as necessary.
- Perform cesarean sections or other surgical procedures as needed to preserve patients' health and deliver babies safely.
- Prescribe or administer therapy, medication, and other specialized medical care to treat or prevent illness, disease, or injury.
- Analyze records, reports, test results, or examination information to diagnose medical condition of patient.
- Collect, record, and maintain patient information, such as medical histories, reports, or examination results.
Strongest interest areas (O*NET): Investigative, Social, Realistic.
Qualifications and licensing
- Most common education
- Post-Doctoral Training (74% of respondents)
- Related experience
- Over 4 years, up to and including 6 years (61.3%)
- On-the-job training
- Anything beyond short demonstration, up to and including 1 month (27.4%)
- Preparation level
- O*NET job zone 5: Job Zone Five: Extensive Preparation Needed
- Licensing
- Not yet verified. Check your state licensing board.
Check before planning
- Licensing for Obstetricians and Gynecologists is not yet verified for any state: check the state licensing board before planning.
Limits
- Distributions show what current workers or occupational experts report, not legal minimums.
- Requirements vary by employer and state; time to qualify is not estimated.
Source: O*NET 31.0 Database (USDOL/ETA, CC BY 4.0); BLS Employment Projections · dataset 2026.10.8 · method e3-qualification-1.0.0
Work environment
How the typical conditions of this occupation compare with 911 occupations in O*NET (very low = the lowest fifth).
Levels are relative. Most occupations involve a lot of contact with people, for example, so “very low” can still mean regular contact; the last column shows what workers actually reported.
| Condition | Level | Compared with other occupations | Most common answer (O*NET survey) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Contact with others | Very high | Higher on contact with others than 97% of occupations compared | 98% of surveyed respondents chose “Constant contact with others” |
| Dealing with the public | Very high | Higher on dealing with the public than 89% of occupations compared | 69% of surveyed respondents chose “Extremely important” |
| Teamwork | Very high | Higher on teamwork than 95% of occupations compared | 89% of surveyed respondents chose “Extremely important” |
| Freedom to make decisions | Very high | Higher on freedom to make decisions than 96% of occupations compared | 86% of surveyed respondents chose “A lot of freedom” |
| Time pressure | Moderate | Higher on time pressure than 55% of occupations compared | 43% of surveyed respondents chose “Once a week or more but not every day” |
| Conflict situations | High | Higher on conflict situations than 77% of occupations compared | 42% of surveyed respondents chose “Once a month or more but not every week” |
| Dealing with unpleasant or angry people | High | Higher on dealing with unpleasant or angry people than 66% of occupations compared | 39% of surveyed respondents chose “Once a month or more but not every week” |
| Consequence of error | Very high | Higher on consequence of error than 85% of occupations compared | 62% of surveyed respondents chose “Extremely serious” |
Work-pressure profile
- Time pressure: moderate
- Conflict situations: high
- Dealing with unpleasant or angry people: high
- Consequence of error: very high
Each part is shown on its own. There is no combined stress score, and conditions vary by employer and role.
Full answer distributions
Contact with others
- No contact with others: 0%
- Occasional contact with others: 0%
- Contact with others about half the time: 0%
- Contact with others most of the time: 2.06%
- Constant contact with others: 97.94%
n = 18, Incumbent 08/2023
Dealing with the public
- Not important at all: 2.06%
- Fairly important: 9.08%
- Important: 0%
- Very important: 20.35%
- Extremely important: 68.51%
n = 18, Incumbent 08/2023
Teamwork
- Not important at all: 0%
- Fairly important: 0%
- Important: 4.97%
- Very important: 6.41%
- Extremely important: 88.62%
n = 17, Incumbent 08/2023
Freedom to make decisions
- No freedom: 0%
- Very little freedom: 0%
- Limited freedom: 4.87%
- Some freedom: 8.74%
- A lot of freedom: 86.39%
n = 18, Incumbent 08/2023
Time pressure
- Never: 8.74%
- Once a year or more but not every month: 4.22%
- Once a month or more but not every week: 8.74%
- Once a week or more but not every day: 42.93%
- Every day: 35.36%
n = 18, Incumbent 08/2023
Conflict situations
- Never: 0%
- Once a year or more but not every month: 19.89%
- Once a month or more but not every week: 41.54%
- Once a week or more but not every day: 29.83%
- Every day: 8.74%
n = 18, Incumbent 08/2023
Dealing with unpleasant or angry people
- Never: 0%
- Once a year or more but not every month: 31.68%
- Once a month or more but not every week: 39.47%
- Once a week or more but not every day: 16.76%
- Every day: 12.09%
n = 17, Incumbent 08/2023
Consequence of error
- Not serious at all: 19.82%
- Fairly serious: 8.93%
- Serious: 0%
- Very serious: 8.93%
- Extremely serious: 62.32%
n = 17, Incumbent 08/2023
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O*NET-SOC 29-1218.00 · SOC 29-1218 (exact, high confidence) · dataset 2026.10.8