Stupid question but here we go!

[SKLynch]

So, like my title warns, I have a stupid question but in the spirit of, "there are no stupid questions," lets give it a go!
I'm a student, working on my prereq's for vet school and I have a problem—I have a difficult time with blood and guts. I didn't used to but then I had an incident and I'm working through some PTSD but here's my question: have any of you thrown up in vet school?
I can imagine that students have but I'm neurotic and keep thinking, "Oh gawd, what if I'm the only one who will?"
To help ease me back into viewing surgeries and such, I've got the Exero Vet app but what would really help right now me is to know some of your stories.
So if you feel like sharing, that would be wonderful, share some tips about how not to puke or faint if you want, that's always welcome too
Cheers!

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[Vombatidae]

So I'm definitely not in school yet, but I remember being 16 (all of the other kids were 14 or younger) in a Vet Med camp through Texas A&M over summer. We toured the old vet school and they actually let us look around. The person giving us a tour even opened the old freezer and all of us saw a horse hanging from a hook in its neck from the ceiling and what looked like a dog from the hips - down standing vertically. They closed the door but everyone in my group was crying and one kid threw up - does that count? Then again, none of them probably pursued this career after that.

I did feel faint when I was shadowing/assisting at my ER clinic. This one doctor had a mastiff that she was removing pericardial fluid (according to her). I watched her stick in the huge needle and use the ultrasound to find the liquid. She removed over 2000mL of pink fluid into dog food bowls. I got lightheaded because I thought that there was NO way that this much liquid could come from that area- I thought that she was in the wrong location and was draining his blood while I watched. What was funnier was after the fact, a few days later when I saw her again, I told her about it. She laughed and told me that it hadn't ended up being what she thought - it was just fluid around the body.

This was my contribution. I'm not a vet or a vet student, but even if it does happen, I think it's okay to laugh at ourselves. I have no desire to be a surgeon, but I realize it is a task/skill I need to have and use as necessary. Hope that makes you feel a bit better.

 

[SKLynch]

So I'm definitely not in school yet, but I remember being 16 (all of the other kids were 14 or younger) in a Vet Med camp through Texas A&M over summer. We toured the old vet school and they actually let us look around. The person giving us a tour even opened the old freezer and all of us saw a horse hanging from a hook in its neck from the ceiling and what looked like a dog from the hips - down standing vertically. They closed the door but everyone in my group was crying and one kid threw up - does that count? Then again, none of them probably pursued this career after that.

I did feel faint when I was shadowing/assisting at my ER clinic. This one doctor had a mastiff that she was removing pericardial fluid (according to her). I watched her stick in the huge needle and use the ultrasound to find the liquid. She removed over 2000mL of pink fluid into dog food bowls. I got lightheaded because I thought that there was NO way that this much liquid could come from that area- I thought that she was in the wrong location and was draining his blood while I watched. What was funnier was after the fact, a few days later when I saw her again, I told her about it. She laughed and told me that it hadn't ended up being what she thought - it was just fluid around the body.

This was my contribution. I'm not a vet or a vet student, but even if it does happen, I think it's okay to laugh at ourselves. I have no desire to be a surgeon, but I realize it is a task/skill I need to have and use as necessary. Hope that makes you feel a bit better.

Thank you Vombatidae, that does make me feel a little better lol I'm sitting here quite a bit horrified that the tour guide would show 14-year-olds and younger—well, anyone for that matter, what you saw without some kind of warning.
"Anyone want an icecream?" *throws open the doors* "Whoops, wrong freezer!" -and they never ate ice-cream again. (Sorry, that was weird.)
I definitely agree with you, "if it does happen, I think it's okay to laugh at ourselves."

 

[WildZoo]

Let me dig up that old thread...

Passing out/feeling light-headed while watching surgeries

 

[WildZoo]

That thread eventually goes off the rails like all of them do, but the gist of it is:
1) First spay I ever watched I passed out
2) A while later after seeing many more, I felt light headed
3) I haven't had any issues since then in any surgeries

I never threw up because I never really felt nauseous. Light headedness was more my thing.

I know several people have particular things that gross them out, but for the most part with time and exposure you get used to it. And making sure you take care of yourself so you don't have to worry about your body being all messed up by other stuff that makes you react more strongly to these things.

 

[SKLynch]

Let me dig up that old thread...

Passing out/feeling light-headed while watching surgeries

Thank you @WildZoo for sharing! I came across your thread and it made me want to join and ask my question. I've started wondering if maybe I'm actually feeling faint instead of just like I'm going to throw up. I've never passed out before so I don't really know what it's like. I looked at the symptoms (thank you google) and it kind of seems that way. Guess I won't know until the big moment arrives lol

 

[SKLynch]

That thread eventually goes off the rails like all of them do, but the gist of it is:
1) First spay I ever watched I passed out
2) A while later after seeing many more, I felt light headed
3) I haven't had any issues since then in any surgeries

I never threw up because I never really felt nauseous. Light headedness was more my thing.

I know several people have particular things that gross them out, but for the most part with time and exposure you get used to it. And making sure you take care of yourself so you don't have to worry about your body being all messed up by other stuff that makes you react more strongly to these things.

Thanks again, @WildZoo, this helps

 

[cdo96]

Vet Med camp through Texas A&M

yaaaassss!!! I went to that! I went in... Summer of 2012? Good times hahahaha

 

[youngkal]

I have fainted once which i blame more on way too much Adrenaline rather than anything. Felt super faint two other times

I was shadowing a Vet during an orthopedic knee surgery and had to sit down because i could not handle the sound of the drill and the smell. It’s was odd.

I fainted when one of the litters we had started loosing puppies left and right. I had just given breaths and rubbed a puppy back from what was extremely close to death while my mom was on the floor balling and i gave her the puppy back and went to lay flat but she wanted me to yell for my step dad and right after i called his name twice i fell to the ground. Like i said this is most likely due to adrenaline.

The last time was human related. I went to a morgue for my bilingual class in high school and i was up super close to the cadaver with a ton of people up close to me trying to get a better look as the doctor was moving the intestines alll around i had to back out. I felt trapped and super light headed. I will forever remember that.

The main thing i started to do was make sure i ate at least a snack before observing and stepping out if i needed to. They get it! I have heard of people starting to overcome their nerves by watching videos on YouTube, it doesn’t help with any odd smells but at least how things look at move.

You will get there! Heck i ended up scrubbing in and holding intestines and it was the coolest thing! Just takes time and exposure


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[migc]

The first time I shadowed a vet I passed out during a dental cleaning/extraction. I got back up and then passed out again I’ve only felt light headed a couple more times since then. What’s really helped me is watching Vet Ranch videos on YouTube. If you know what to expect before going in, it’s a lot easier to handle (at least for me). Also as others have said, make sure you eat something before and don’t lock your knees. And as soon as you start feeling light headed sit down! Surgery is now one of my favorite things to observe. It just takes some getting used to!

 

[pinkpuppy9]

I've never vomited or flat out fainted, but I've definitely felt lightheaded. I think the closest calls I've had (to fainting) were when I watched another classmate faint, realized I hadn't taken a breath in like 30-40 seconds right before making my first spay incision, and when a patient comes in mangled and like screaming in pain (kinda frequent in wildlife so I've more or less been desensed).

Please, please, please sit down when you feel light headed. Don't be a hero. Much better to take a second and feel better than to crash and hit the floor.

Keeping your blood sugar/hydration levels up will help too. Both of those can be hard to maintain in vet med, but do your best. Most people won't give you crap for saying 'I'll be right in, let me shove this granola bar in my face.'

Also, I'll tell you what...with my classmate who did faint during junior surgery, no one made fun of him or anything. It happens.

 

[vetmedhead]

So I'm definitely not in school yet, but I remember being 16 (all of the other kids were 14 or younger) in a Vet Med camp through Texas A&M over summer. We toured the old vet school and they actually let us look around. The person giving us a tour even opened the old freezer and all of us saw a horse hanging from a hook in its neck from the ceiling and what looked like a dog from the hips - down standing vertically. They closed the door but everyone in my group was crying and one kid threw up - does that count? Then again, none of them probably pursued this career after that.

I did feel faint when I was shadowing/assisting at my ER clinic. This one doctor had a mastiff that she was removing pericardial fluid (according to her). I watched her stick in the huge needle and use the ultrasound to find the liquid. She removed over 2000mL of pink fluid into dog food bowls. I got lightheaded because I thought that there was NO way that this much liquid could come from that area- I thought that she was in the wrong location and was draining his blood while I watched. What was funnier was after the fact, a few days later when I saw her again, I told her about it. She laughed and told me that it hadn't ended up being what she thought - it was just fluid around the body.

This was my contribution. I'm not a vet or a vet student, but even if it does happen, I think it's okay to laugh at ourselves. I have no desire to be a surgeon, but I realize it is a task/skill I need to have and use as necessary. Hope that makes you feel a bit better.

We spent an hour talking about draining gallons of pus into buckets today (oh, horses) and in one of the pictures my professor showed us the person holding the bucket wasn't wearing gloves and it was all over their hands. I thought I was going to die.

Also, much like the average cat, I throw up a lot on average. I don't think I've been judged for it yet.

 

[Coopah]

I have almost passed out during surgery. I was holding something, I can't remember what, and the surgeon looks over at me and was like GO SIT DOWN. I'd gone completely gray lol. Turns out I locked my knees because the table was too high for me. Basically, make sure to check in with yourself and it's ok to need a break. Probably not the same situation but I still hope it helps.

 

[LetItSnow]

I dunno, I think some of this can catch you by surprise.

I've never been squeamish with most of the stuff (exception eyes!) we usually see on ER. Last week I had some ... I don't even remember what it was, now ... but some smell just about made all of us vomit. Definitely came as close as I ever have. And my battle-hardened techs were doing the same thing I was.

Sometimes stuff just hits you out of nowhere. It's a gross field.

But in general, exposure is the cure - the more you do it, the more you get used to it.

And, the more hands on you get, the easier it gets. I used to be super squeamish about eyes. Hated touching them, examining them, treating them, enucleating them, whatever. Just .... asdfhklasjhfewlkrheuikh. Gross.

But then I did my first few enucleations.... my first few aqueocentesis procedures... etc., and now a dumb proptosed eye walks in and whatever, give it pain meds and I'll put it back in or take it all the way out when I get time, NBD.

You just get used to stuff.

I personally wouldn't let squeamishness slow you down - you'll most likely get over it. But if you really, really, really are squeamish and think you can't overcome it, probably not the best profession.

Ditto on everyone else's advice about staying hydrated, eat a small snack before procedures, keep your knees loose, pay attention to whether you're overheating in surgery (gowns and lights can be hell if you don't have new fancy schmancy equipment), etc.

 

[LyraGardenia]

Please, please, please sit down when you feel light headed. Don't be a hero. Much better to take a second and feel better than to crash and hit the floor.

Keeping your blood sugar/hydration levels up will help too. Both of those can be hard to maintain in vet med, but do your best. Most people won't give you crap for saying 'I'll be right in, let me shove this granola bar in my face.'

I second all of this! The one time I've felt faint during surgery was last year, I was assisting with a spay for the first time and the combination of nerves and not having eaten at all that day got to me. I told the vet I was feeling light-headed, she was super nice about it and had me go sit down, my friend who was there gave me a Snickers, and a few minutes later I was fine. As you can tell, these stories are very common and it doesn't mean you aren't cut out to be a vet!

 

[pinkpuppy9]

I second all of this! The one time I've felt faint during surgery was last year, I was assisting with a spay for the first time and the combination of nerves and not having eaten at all that day got to me. I told the vet I was feeling light-headed, she was super nice about it and had me go sit down, my friend who was there gave me a Snickers, and a few minutes later I was fine. As you can tell, these stories are very common and it doesn't mean you aren't cut out to be a vet!

You're not yourself when you're hungry

 

[LamJams]

So, like my title warns, I have a stupid question but in the spirit of, "there are no stupid questions," lets give it a go!
I'm a student, working on my prereq's for vet school and I have a problem—I have a difficult time with blood and guts. I didn't used to but then I had an incident and I'm working through some PTSD but here's my question: have any of you thrown up in vet school?
I can imagine that students have but I'm neurotic and keep thinking, "Oh gawd, what if I'm the only one who will?"
To help ease me back into viewing surgeries and such, I've got the Exero Vet app but what would really help right now me is to know some of your stories.
So if you feel like sharing, that would be wonderful, share some tips about how not to puke or faint if you want, that's always welcome too
Cheers!

Have you ever tried cooking? Personally for me during anatomy I had a lot easier time with everything mainly because I grew up helping me family cook during meals. Maybe be a little adventurous with food and look up some recipes you have never seen/tried before and see if that makes it a little easier for ya

 

[cdo96]

Have you ever tried cooking? Personally for me during anatomy I had a lot easier time with everything mainly because I grew up helping me family cook during meals. Maybe be a little adventurous with food and look up some recipes you have never seen/tried before and see if that makes it a little easier for ya

I honestly thought you said “have you tried cooking during anatomy” and I was about to panic for you

 

[Birdi]

I fainted once while a vet was re-splinting a cat's leg lol. I think it was mostly due to the heat (100+ outside and I had walked to the clinic) but it was still pretty embarrassing. luckily I realized I was about to black out and managed to tell the vet and grab the back of a chair before it actually happened. I was only out for a few seconds and they just had me lay on the floor for a few minutes and had a good laugh about it.

 

[genny]

I honestly thought you said “have you tried cooking during anatomy” and I was about to panic for you

My anatomy labs were at the end of long days, right before dinner. By the end of the class, if someone had said it was OK to cook during anatomy, I’m pretty sure I would have started up a crock pot. It just didn’t seem as gross toward the end of the semester.

 

[cdo96]

My anatomy labs were at the end of long days, right before dinner. By the end of the class, if someone had said it was OK to cook during anatomy, I’m pretty sure I would have started up a crock pot. It just didn’t seem as gross toward the end of the semester.

Oh see ours was after lunch, so I never had any inclination to get the kitchen going haahha

 

[LamJams]

Formaldehyde is also an appetite inducer