3. What does OB and GYN
stand for?
Obstetrician (OB)
➔ physician who completed
education and training in
management of labor, pregnancy,
and puerperium (time-period
after childbirth)
Gynecologist (GYN)
➔ physician educated and trained
in health of the female reproduc-
tive system, as well as diagnosis
of disorders and diseases
4. Dr. Winnie Cheung, MD
What does an Ob/Gyn career entitle?
➔ Primary care for women (women's health)
➔ Clinical care (may act as primary care providers)
➔ Both Obstetric (deals with pregnancy and
childbirth) and Gynecology (deals with female
reproductive aspect)
➔ Majority of the time is spent with patients, but
there is a business aspect of an Ob/Gyn
Dr. Cheung has worked at Kaiser Permanente for nine
years and believes that the hospital has a good system.
5. More on OB/GYN Doctors
➔provide clinical and surgery care to women
with expertise in pregnancy, childbirth, and
disorders of the reproductive system
◆ also in their expertise include preventative care,
prenatal care (tracking the development of the baby
in mother’s womb), detecting sexually transmitted
diseases, Pap [Papanicolaou] test/smear (to check
for cervical cancer), and family planning
6. Schooling
➔ Went to Davis for undergraduate years, UCLA for medical school
◆ At Davis, she majored in Biochemistry
➔ Major doesn’t necessarily have to be pertinent to medicine, so as long as
you take the Pre-med prerequisites
➔ Dr. Cheung suggested working backwards, know where you want to go and
then plan the classes you need to take to get there
➔ Requires 4 years of undergraduate, 4 years of medical school, 4 years of
specialized
◆ Includes residency, training in which you are paid minimally (40k-60k
a year)
7. Dr. Winnie Cheung’s
Perspective: Q&A
J&M: What do you like/dislike about your position?
Cheung: I enjoy taking care of patients and delivering babies.
I dislike how long it took to become an Ob/Gyn (twelve
years).
J&M:How often do you work? How much personal time?
Cheung: In medicine school you study and work for 80-100 hours a week, but
your working hours, once a doctor, depends on how many hours you want.
J&M: How do you handle the stress of becoming and being a doctor?
Cheung: Have a good support system. I personally had very supportive parents.
8. Advice on Becoming a Doctor:
Cheung Edition
➔ volunteer in a hospital
➔ do extracurriculars
➔ explore your options, be sure you want to go into the medical field
◆ if you want it, go for it; just remember that you have to work
➔ talk to people who are familiar with the field
10. What does an
Ophthalmologist do?
They perform the surgical and non-
surgical treatments for eye problems
and diseases. Therefore, they do eye
exams, prescribe glasses and contact
lens, and perform delicate surgery. At
Kaiser Permanente, Union City,
however, Optometrists do the eye
exams. Also, Ophthalmologists may
delve into scientific research on the
causes and cures for eye diseases and
vision problems.
Subspecialties (9)
➔ Cornea and External Disease
➔ Cataract and Refractive Surgery
➔ Glaucoma
➔ Uveitis and Ocular Immunology
➔ Vitreoretinal Diseases
➔ Ophthalmic Plastic Surgery
➔ Pediatric Ophthalmology
➔ Neuro-Ophthalmology
➔ Ophthalmic Pathology
11.
12. Dr. Yachna Ahuja, MD
Dr. Ahuja is a general Ophthalmologist who also is
able to perform glaucoma surgeries. Currently she is
a part-time doctor in order to spend time with and
take care of her one-year old daughter, working from
8:00am to 12:30pm Mondays to Thursdays and
from 8:00am to 5:00pm on Fridays.
13. Dr. Yachna Ahuja’s
Perspective: Q&A
J&M: Why did you want to be a doctor?
Ahuja: I want to bring good to others.
J&M: Do you like/dislike your job? Do you have any regrets being a doctor?
➔ Dr. Ahuja dislikes that a doctor’s life is inflexible; sometimes her personal
life is sidelined for her professional job. However, she finds that being a
doctor is an overall “satisfying and gratifying” experience. To be a happy
doctor, one must live a “balanced life,” and for Dr. Ahuja, Ophthalmology
is luckily one of the more flexible doctor specialties.
J&M: How long have you worked at Kaiser?
Ahuja: Ten months.
14. Schooling
Dr. Yachna Ahuja’s undergraduate years were spent at Kent State, located in
Ohio, where she majored in Biochemistry on a full scholarship (her dad was a
professor). She stayed in Ohio for another four years as a student at Case
Western Reserve University’s School of Medicine. In between her third and
fourth year she took a year off to do research, where she found out she did not
want to be a Pediatrician (did not want to deal with parents) and instead opted
to be an Ophthalmologist. Her three residency years was spent at Mayo Clinic
in Minnesota. After, she had a one year internship and just recently ended her
one year glaucoma fellowship at Stanford University.
➔ FUN FACT: She finished her final test just a month ago!
15. Advice on Becoming a
Doctor: Ahuja Edition
★ stay open-minded
★ shadow doctors, medical students, students in residency
○ see what it is like to be in a hospital
■ you may find yourself depressed with seeing patients
○ see the life of a doctor/ medicine student/ residency student
■ medicine school is difficult
★ do not cram and study on a daily basis
○ she did this (spent only three weeks studying for MCAT!!!), advises
against it
★ motivation, perseverance, hard work
Whenever Dr. Ahuja felt like giving up, she went “back to her initial reasons,”
and this kept her going. Also, she was so close and decided to just keep going.
Glaucoma: Damage to the optic nerve (which connects the brain to the eyes) due to usually an increase in intraocular pressure.
Cataracts: Clouding of eye due to aging
Uveitis: swelling and irritation of the uvea, the middle layer of the eye. The uvea provides most of the blood supply to the retina.
