Afraid of E-Med?

[Picklesali]

So I plan to be doing a lot of research in the future, and in my clinical life I've been thinking about specialties like rheumatology, rad. onc., eh - the skies the limit, but I doubt I would pick something where there is the risk that my patients will code all the time.

That being said - I'm a little afraid (petrified?) of these types of situations during emergency medicine rotations, and if I do an IM residency. Does anyone else feel this way?



(Ok, my official SDN hiatus has begun - see you in May)

 

[Towel]

Everyone is petrified at the thought of a patient coding, but you have a long, long time yet to learn how to cope. You'll feel differently during your R2 than your intern year, than during 4th year, than during 3rd year, than during 1st year, than you do now. When the time comes you'll still be petrified, but you'll be well trained to deal with the situation and you will. Then you'll finish the two years of your fast-track IM residency, become a Rheum fellow, and never have to worry about a code again.

Two things to keep in mind as a med student are that #1 most people that code die, and #2 nothing that you do or don't do as a student will have the slightest effect on that (indeed, precious little that *anyone* does can change that). Your only job on your ER/ICU/IM rotation is to watch, absorb, and get over the universal fear of being anywhere near a code - and trust me, once you've broken a rib or two doing compressions, you will never find codes quite so intimidating again.

 

[BoSoxMack]

and trust me, once you've broken a rib or two doing compressions, you will never find codes quite so intimidating again.

QFT...

Also, you can look at the "life in your hands" thing from the opposite perspective. You have the opportunity to immediately save a life (or in some cases bring them back to life). The majority of EM and IM is not that dramatic, but it happens and for some its the reason for doing it. I have an EMS bias, but i am really looking forward to an EM rotation.