Gynecologist

A gynecologist is a medical doctor who specializes in the health and diseases of women's reproductive organs. While medical training is broad and exposes a future physician to a wide array of medical problems and treatments, gynecologists have chosen to pursue a four-year residency in obstetrics and gynecology in order to train in the specialty of women's reproductive health. Unlike most medical specialties, the practice of gynecology represents a blend of both medical and surgical skills making the gynecologist both a physician and a surgeon. They typically see female patients of all ages and are equipped to deal with a wide variety of reproductive health and basic medical issues.

A gynecologist is an important caregiver in the context of global health because of the relevance of elevated maternal mortality rates, increasing prevalence of AIDS and other sexually transmitted infections among women, lack of screening for cervical cancer, and gen-der-based violence in the developing world.

While all patients who visit gynecologists are female, their ages can range from the prepubescent to the elderly. Young females are often medically treated by a pediatrician or family physician into their teenage years, and most females generally begin to see a gynecologist around age 18 or once they have become sexually active. However, there is plenty of variation within this scheme. Many women begin to see gynecologists at age 18 for a Pap smear. The Pap smear is a screening test for cervical cancer and current guidelines indicate that women should begin to receive Pap smears at age 18 or the onset of sexual activity. Once initiated into the care of the gynecologist, most women continue to see one throughout their reproductive years, through menopause, and into the postmenopausal years when different types of problems can occur.

Women seeking care from gynecologists require services ranging from prescriptions for oral contraceptive pills, to Pap smears, to assessment and treatment of abnormal vaginal bleeding, to lower abdominal or pelvic pain, to sexually transmitted infections, to urinary incontinence, to vulvar, vaginal, cervical, endometrial, or ovarian cancer. Gynecologists also need to tend to the mental and social health needs of their patients by screening them for depression, substance abuse, or gender-based violence. In addition, many women utilize their gynecologist as their primary health provider which means that these physicians are also evaluating their patient's general medical health.

A woman's reproductive tract includes her ovaries, fallopian tubes, uterus, cervix, vagina, vulva, and breasts. It is worth noting that most breast surgery (for biopsy or excision of cancerous tissue) is done by general [Page 764]surgeons who specialize in surgery of the breast. However, there are a growing number of gynecologists, often gynecologic oncologists, who pursue fellowship training in breast surgery and are qualified to offer this service to their patients. The remaining reproductive organs located in the pelvis are the main focus of the gynecologist. There are a wide range of diseases or other problems that can affect these organs.

A gynecologist is a medical doctor who specializes in the health and diseases of women's reproductive organs.

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