How to be a Catholic OB/Gyn

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I am a medical student who is looking for some mentorship. I am nearly done with my 3rd year of medical school and I am deciding on my schedule for next year in preparation for residency, etc. I am interested in OB/Gyn. I was hoping that I wouldn’t like Ob/Gyn, but I love female patients, pregnant females, and I loved delivering babies. I am also considering Family Medicine with an Obstetrics and Pediatric focus. I am just so confused about how I am supposed to function as a Catholic physician. I feel okay with discussing safe sex and contraceptive options, especially when it comes to children who I basically advise them to wait in addition to providing them with the other information. But as a resident, I suspect that I will be expected to actually write prescriptions for contraceptives. Also, I am not sure how to actually advise adults on abstinence, or NFP. I care a lot about the health of my patients. I do not wish to impose my moral beliefs on my patients but at the same time can I go about this without offending God and/or sinning?

Is there anyone that I can talk to about this with?

Thank you for all your help.
 
tinylilron said:
I feel okay with discussing safe sex and contraceptive options, especially when it comes to children who I basically advise them to wait in addition to providing them with the other information.
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I think that’s fine for one reason. People having premarital sex are sinful and thus making it safer by having contraception doesn’t make a sin more of a sin; it’s not denying a marital act when there is no marital act. You’re not condoning the act: you just acknowledge that the act exists.

But to advise contraception to a married couple would be a quandry and could be sinful on your part; that could be condoning the act. Also, I hope the residency you choose will respect your pro-life views to not force you to perform an abortion or kick you out for refusing to do that.

I guess it’s the same issue when you’re a genetics counselor. You can be honest and upfront with patients about your views and only take patients who need help in helping their children live with genetic defects. In other words, you provide services for referral but you make it very clear in your literature that you will not provide advice for or against abortion if the tests come back as the child having a genetic defect. For instance, if someone finds out there child has Down Syndrome, you would point them to a gastroentrologist, cardiologist for heart defects, speech pathologist and occupational therapist. You might also point them towards early intervention, educational advocates, or legal services (wills, special needs trusts, help with getting disability, and an education attorney if necessary).

You may be challenged in your faith. You may have to move from your location to complete your residency particularly if you cannot find one in your area that respects your values.
 
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As a separate issue, I, too, would be interested to know the answer to the question, basically, “does (non-abortifacient) contraception make sex outside of marriage any more of a sin than it already is?”.

Humanae vitae expressly refers to the marital act, but I wouldn’t feel safe in saying “that then means that nonmarital contraception is OK”. Maybe some Thomas Aquinas is called for here?
 
I’m pretty sure from a strictly Aquinas perspective, “fooling around” but not going “all the way” is objectively graver / more disordered than plain fornication, as is masturbation, yet that doesn’t seem to the be modern Catholic consensus nor the view of most priests. That is, from a pure Thomist perspective, the natural act (intercourse between a man and a woman) in an unnatural context (not married) is less grave than unnatural acts (anything else of a sexual nature) in any context.
 
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As a Gyn/Ob I don’t think you will have a lot of latitude towards prescriptions/references of contraceptives and so much more things contrary to your Catholic faith.
I think that they are all or almost all more less forced to compromized at one point in their career.

But perhaps you live/can live where there is a conscience clause, and you are not forced to prescribe contraception/abortificiants/artificial reproduction and so more?
It would change a lot for you!

Some physicians may apply to Pope Paul VI fellowship after completing their residency. If they are interesting by some more competences compatible with their moral views.
 
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HomeschoolDad said:
“does (non-abortifacient) contraception make sex outside of marriage any more of a sin than it already is?”.
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And how does a physician can justify that he will prescribe contraception to unmarried women but not married one?
Unless the law allowed it, and the physician made it clear as a practice rule known by everybody before an appointment.

And where does the Church say explicitly it is okay to use contraception for unmarried people? Nowhere, it seems.
 
My daughter is a FAM-OB. Her residency program is called “In His Image in Tulsa”. It is I believe the only Christian Residency program in the country. If you contact me by email I will give you her email address. She works with In His Image as an attending. To get my email look in any article on www.scripturescholar.com
Grace and peace, Bruce Killian
 
There are many NFP only/ napro technology doctors and a need for more of them. Do not compromise on this.

The nfp doctors in my city are very busy.

Look up medical resources on omsoul.com
 
I dont have any advice but just wanted to say wow good on you, stick to our principles. I agree don’t compromise. You give me hope for us Catholics and our future not being diluted. May God bless you and I’ll remember you in my prayers.
 
Also, I have did my OB/Gyn rotation at a Catholic hospital? How/why are they allowed to prescribe contraceptives? Does this mean it is okay for Catholic physicians to leave it up to the patient’s conscience?
 
We took it as a good sign when my wife’s new OBGYN had a stack of pro-life bumper stickers at the reception window . . . it was important to us that he believe he had two patients . . .
 
tinylilron said:
I am just so confused about how I am supposed to function as a Catholic physician
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Not sure what a “Catholic physician” is? A physician actively promoting Catholicism to his/her patients? Or a physician practicing physician code of ethics who happens to be Catholic?
 
Our OB was a devout Catholic woman.

Wife had terrible endometreosis (sp?). We’d been trying for a year with no luck. Sex even got to the point it wasn’t fun. (“Quick hon, my mucus is thickening”).

Go in for the surgery to get the webbing scrapped out so we had better odds of conceiving. Dr. G. walks up, “You kids been trying recently?”

“Yeah”

"Ok, while you gown up, I’m gonna do a real quick blood test just to make super duper sure nothing’s alive in there.

We figured it was a nice thought, but there was pretty much zero chance we were pregnant. Dr. G takes my wife’s blood and jogs off to the lab herself.

10 minutes later, the door to our room explodes open. “STOP EVERYTHING, STOP EVERYTHING! OH MY GOD, YOU’RE PREGNANT!!!”

Everyone cries.
 
Your questions are perfectly valids, because it is a paradox. And for someone who is trying to be faithfull, it is hypocritical.

I think one of the answers is that the Catholic hospital, in countries where contraception is legal and where health providers/structures have to provide it, the catholic health structures have to compromised some of Catholic morality in order to “survive” and not been secularized.

Same with catholic school on others topics.

Do you know the physicians’s confession? Ask you ask why they prescribe it? Have you ask the administration of the hospital? The religious members of the staff or the Catholic authority on who the hospital is linked/submit (diocese etc?)
 
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