Blood/Death/Disease

[Storm9]

Ok, so I volunteered at a hospital. I enjoyed it a lot.
Patient contact was limited. I mean I helped doctors/nurses with basic procedures and stuff and routinely took vitals but thats about it.

I have never seen a dead body in my life, and im not a big fan of blood and gore.

I know I would not like being a surgeon, I can't handle the fact that im going to be messing inside someone's body.
Any medstudents felt the sameway in their pre-med years?
I dont want to go into medicine and later gross out.

I am mainly thinking of going the Radiology route. But who knows im just still a freshman @ undergrad.

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[Law2Doc]

Ok, so I volunteered at a hospital. I enjoyed it a lot.
Patient contact was limited. I mean I helped doctors/nurses with basic procedures and stuff and routinely took vitals but thats about it.

I have never seen a dead body in my life, and im not a big fan of blood and gore.

I know I would not like being a surgeon, I can't handle the fact that im going to be messing inside someone's body.
Any medstudents felt the sameway in their pre-med years?
I dont want to go into medicine and later gross out.

I am mainly thinking of going the Radiology route. But who knows im just still a freshman @ undergrad.

Don't choose a specialty until you actually see what they do in later years of med school. FWIW, radiologists are becoming progressively more interventional and many do quite a bit of fairly invasive procedures these days. You will have to get through anatomy dissection first year, and at least a rotation in surgery during your third year of med school (as well as OB which is a different kind of invasive) -- these probably will cure you of your blood and guts phobias.

 

[dutchman]

Ok, so I volunteered at a hospital. I enjoyed it a lot.
Patient contact was limited. I mean I helped doctors/nurses with basic procedures and stuff and routinely took vitals but thats about it.

I have never seen a dead body in my life, and im not a big fan of blood and gore.

I know I would not like being a surgeon, I can't handle the fact that im going to be messing inside someone's body.
Any medstudents felt the sameway in their pre-med years?
I dont want to go into medicine and later gross out.

I am mainly thinking of going the Radiology route. But who knows im just still a freshman @ undergrad.

How come?

 

[chad5871]

I have heard some alarming statistics that claim to say how many medical students pass out the first time they scrub in on a surgery. I'm not sure how common that is, but I have heard from many people that they had fears and misgivings like yours, but once you are around it enough and you see it enough, you get used to the blood/guts/vomit/other bodily fluids/etc.

 

[GuzzyRon]

I have heard some alarming statistics that claim to say how many medical students pass out the first time they scrub in on a surgery. I'm not sure how common that is, but I have heard from many people that they had fears and misgivings like yours, but once you are around it enough and you see it enough, you get used to the blood/guts/vomit/other bodily fluids/etc.

I don't see how this is possible. Most medical students get cured of whatever blood/dead-body/gore phobias they have during Anatomy blocks in med school.

 

[Law2Doc]

I don't see how this is possible. Most medical students get cured of whatever blood/dead-body/gore phobias they have during Anatomy blocks in med school.

I'm sure it happens once in a while -- just enough to keep rumors going. But it will be the exception not the rule. In anatomy you get used to the idea of cutting into bodies, and by the time you get to participate in a surgery you are pretty jaded.

 

[chad5871]

I don't see how this is possible. Most medical students get cured of whatever blood/dead-body/gore phobias they have during Anatomy blocks in med school.

I'm sure it happens once in a while -- just enough to keep rumors going. But it will be the exception not the rule. In anatomy you get used to the idea of cutting into bodies, and by the time you get to participate in a surgery you are pretty jaded.

I see your point. I guess it's more of a rumor than a truth. I think that would be pretty embarassing.

 

[Law2Doc]

I see your point. I guess it's more of a rumor than a truth. I think that would be pretty embarassing.

Nobody will care as long as you don't fall (or puke) into the sterile field.

 

[munnabhai]

i passed out my first day of shadowing a urologist... never thought I would like surgery but you have to be there to realize its charms

 

[armybound]

Your first recently dead body is always a little weird. The second one, too. But it gets easier the more you see them.

Keep hanging around, people tend to die. You'll experience it eventually. Try to get in on the ER so you can witness all of it. If nothing else you can just see it and be sure you don't like it.

 

[sunflwr85]

I almost passed out my first time in the NICU. I was kind of suprised, but it was just a combination of the heat (they have to keep it really warm in there) and seeing such tiny babies so very very sick (it was a surgical nicu, so many of them were really quite ill, more than just your normal premies). Anyway, everyone was really understanding and told me all these stories about themselves or other people they know getting lightheaded their first time. After a few days, I didn't have any trouble with it at all. It's normal to be apprehensive about this stuff in the beginning, but I really doubt it lasts. Most fears (or squeemishness or whatever) are overcome pretty quickly by exposure.

 

[NYyanx28]

I nearly passed out at the beginning of my shadowing position. Then you totally get used to it. Although there are still some surgeries that get me a little "eeked out" by(facial, penis), you really do get used to it. Also, a lot of times you will get sick from the smell of the cauderizer- in which case, chew peppermint gum! Inside your paper mask, the smell of peppermint alleviates the nausea from the burned skin.

All in all, you will get used to it when you learn the science behind the procedure. You won't see it as "oh wow, look at all of that blood and guts" but more as "wow, they are forming a pocket between muscle and fat to place the time-release Rx machine."

 

[Gut Shot]

"Now, the first time you kill somebody, that's the hardest....first one is tough, no f****n' foolin'. The second one ain't no f****n' Mardi Gras either...then the third one is easy. Now, ****, now I do it just to watch their f****n' expression change."

 

[etf]

i passed out watching an ingrown toenail removal, the day after watching a heart transplant. go figure.

 

[Chuckwalla]

i passed out watching an ingrown toenail removal, the day after watching a heart transplant. go figure.

I feel you, it's weird like that for me too.

 

[notdeadyet]

I feel you, it's weird like that for me too.

Feeling a little sick/dizzy/grossed due to "blood and guts" is a bit like getting sea sick: it can happen to anyone sooner than later.

Some folks are prone to it, others less so. But in the right circumstances, anyone can feel light headed. It's nothing to be ashamed or embarassed about.

I used to be an EMT and have worked/volunteered in the ER for a long time. A while back I felt dizzy holding up someones arm while the residents poked around inside a long gash. I realized later it was probably due to those big mother lights that were shining on me and the fact that I had locked my knees for some of the 30 minutes.