ISM- MENTOR INTERVIEW ASSIGNMENT QUESTIONS

Student Name: Mariya Chukhray Period: 7

Printed Name of Person Interviewed: John Y Phelps

Role of Individual:
__X__Mentor
Place/Name of Business: UTMB Victory Lakes
Business Address: 2240 Gulf Fwy S League City, TX 77573 United
States
Phone Number: 409-772-1011
Date of Interview: 11/12/2018

Type of Interview: __X__ In Person

1. For someone working in your field, please describe the fantasies versus realities of the job.
(fantasy vs. reality)

For an individual working in the OB/GYN field, there are fantasies and realities that come along side it.
One of the fantasies are that you would expect patients to have good health care or insurance, however the reality
of that is, is that many patients come into offices, mainly the Galveston one, asking for treatment they cannot
afford. The only way a doctor can treat them is in a life threatening emergency. Another fantasy in the work place
is the expectation of preforming surgeries as much as possible, however the silver lining is that the majority of the
doctors’ time is preoccupied by loads of paperwork and inputting patient data into the computers. Family and
personal business can also be interrupted by on call baby deliveries and can be an inconvenience for the doctor
and their family.

2. What is your current educational level? What continuing education and training are required?
(educational level and requirements)

The requirements of becoming an OB/GYN doctor is 4 years of college, 4 years of med school, and then
4 years of residency (which only covers a specific medical topic or a doctors’ choice of study). The option of
fellowships is also available to broaden your experience. Dr. Phelps currently has 2 fellowships, one in surgery
and another in infertility. To maintain a board certification, a doctor is required to read 30 current event articles to
keep up to date with what is going on in the real world.

3. Please describe the typical day to day activities of someone working in your field.
(day-to-day activities)

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Throughout the week Dr. Phelps has clinicals for 3 ½ days, where he meets with patients in an office setting. He
has a day and a half worth of surgeries, and one night per week where he is on call along with being on call one
weekend per month. Dr. Phelps also teaches medical students once per week and on Wednesdays he goes to Texas
Department of Criminal Justice to evaluate prison patients. Most of what he does there is gynecology related
however sometimes it is general as well.

4. How secure are you in your current position? What do you think is the future of your field?
(job security)
Dr. Phelps is highly considering moving his job over to Las Vegas in order to retire from UTMB to collect
his retirement money and work for a higher pay in Vegas. He believes the future of gynecology lies in the
improvement resolution ultrasounds along with minimally invasive surgeries that involve laparoscopies and the
utilization of robotics.

5. What is a typical (average or lowest to highest) salary of someone working in your field?
(salary)
The salary of the women’s health field ranges from $180,000 to $450,000 per year depending on the
specialty and the area the individual lives in. The 180s range are typically people who live in down town areas
like Houston or are family physicians. The 350s through 375s include people in a rural area. Due to their almost
deserted location, many doctors prefer not to work there and there for get offered a higher salary in attempts of
attracting more medical experts. The 450s include people with higher experience and more fellowships and many
of those reside in south Houston according to Dr. Phelps.

6. What potential for growth is there in your field?

(growth potential)

In the past, as said by Dr. Phelps, the women’s health care field was dominated by males. However
through time more and more women began to be a part of it and less males. Dr. Phelps has noticed the growth of
women in gynecology but states he has no problem being a male in the field. The women’s health field is vast and
because of that, finding a job in that is fairly easy.

***Questions 7-10 will be created by the ISM student.

7. Did you want to become an OB/GYN in the past or did you consider something else and why?

Dr. Phelp’s first aspiration was to become a veterinarian, which is how he got a degree in zoology during
college. During his vet school he had to take an exam called the VAT and ended up scoring bad, but when he
transferred to medical school and took their test, his scores were excellent. It was then he made to choice to be a
Gynecologist, because it included medicine and surgery which are two things he enjoys very much.

Revised Fall 2017

8. What are some of the best parts of your job?

The women’s health field tends to be a generally happy place where new life is created. Dr. Phelps enjoys
the aspect of meeting new patients and helping solve people medical issues along with diagnosing and evaluating
the results. The majority of the time when involved with pregnant women or women who want to become
pregnant, results in positive outcomes.

9. What is the craziest experience you’ve had during your career?

Dr. Phelps worked in the medical field for the military and when he did, he faced events the majority of
people wouldn’t have gone through in their lives. He has gone on many humanitarian missions to Cambodia, the
Hunderas, and Panama. One time in the Tailank Canada, he was working at a refugee camp as a doctor assisting
Cambodians and the Vietnamese. On that day he experienced a mass shooting directed towards their camp,
however he was safe yet startled.

10. How competitive is the medical field?

Dr. Phelps stated it was “real competitive” due to the high standards and expectations people will hold
you at. It starts from high school where a high GPA and high SAT scores are required. After that a tedious effort is
made in order to get into a good college then acceptance into medical school. The road is a long and grueling one
to take, but if successfully crossed, a high income followed by a good life is achieved.

Interview Summary
What information from this interview will you select for your ½ page typed,
bulleted list of research information—to be used in your presentation?
Create a bulleted summary list on the next page.

Revised Fall 2017