Desensitizing yourself?

[MedinKY1324]

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Hello all. I am a pre-med student right now but I was thinking about shadowing a doctor or a PA. My sister ended up cutting her leg and it became infected. Blood and needles don't really gross me out like it does others. I can watch videos of surgeries and er visits, but seeing infections get to me. It makes me feel sick to just look at it. I will be 28 when I get into medical school and I know that the odds are against me there since I will be considered a non-traditional student (which I'm worried about anyway), but can I desensitize myself to this?

 

[Atmosphere123]

Yes. The more you see it the less it will bother you.
I really struggled to get over the smell of infected feet but I have gotten better after a few months.
Good luck!

 

[Psai]

after you've spent a semester or two cutting up a dead body, none of that stuff seems to faze you anymore

 

[MrLogan13]

Why would the odds be against you because you're a non-trad?

 

[kevinsword91]

I knew an ER physician who had the nickname "Abscess Queen" from the nursing staff since she really enjoyed draining abscesses. She hated them at first, but got over it over the years. She admitted that every once in a while one will still pop just a certain way or have a certain smell that makes her gag and have to walk out of the room.

 

[Gauss44]

Hello all. I am a pre-med student right now but I was thinking about shadowing a doctor or a PA. My sister ended up cutting her leg and it became infected. Blood and needles don't really gross me out like it does others. I can watch videos of surgeries and er visits, but seeing infections get to me. It makes me feel sick to just look at it. I will be 28 when I get into medical school and I know that the odds are against me there since I will be considered a non-traditional student (which I'm worried about anyway), but can I desensitize myself to this?

What do you mean by, "nontraditional"? By definition, students can be "nontraditional" for a wide range of reasons. Is it only because you are 28?

I've started a discussion about age here, http://forums.studentdoctor.net/thr...et-into-medical-school.1120844/#post-16180342

Regarding being grossed out, I think it's different for different people. Some people get used to things, other people just don't. You may be able to find a specialty where physiological grossness is at a minimum (maybe psychiatry), if you can endure medical school.

 

[medic86]

I knew an ER physician who had the nickname "Abscess Queen" from the nursing staff since she really enjoyed draining abscesses. She hated them at first, but got over it over the years. She admitted that every once in a while one will still pop just a certain way or have a certain smell that makes her gag and have to walk out of the room.

I've had a staph infection blow up into one of my eyes once. Lidocaine in the eye - not a good feeling.

That's when I learned to wear a shield when performing an I&D. It seems obvious now, but it wasn't at the time. 😛

 

[Holmwood]

You can always choose a specialty that doesn't involve infections. : D

<<off topic>>
I love watching abcess videos.

 

[KN.MD]

radiology involves infections that are separated by the shield called CT/MRI/XRAY. But if you wanna get pus-deep, then interventional radiology is all about popping that pus pocket.

 

[sat0ri]

I've had a staph infection blow up into one of my eyes once. Lidocaine in the eye - not a good feeling.

That's when I learned to wear a shield when performing an I&D. It seems obvious now, but it wasn't at the time. 😛

Lidocaine to the eye??? What was that like? That's a neuronal pain blocker, so did you lose vision in that eye for a brief period?

 

[medic86]

Lidocaine to the eye??? What was that like? That's a neuronal pain blocker, so did you lose vision in that eye for a brief period?

No, it just goes kind of numb... which feels really, really weird.

 

[Catalystik]

Hello all. I am a pre-med student right now but I was thinking about shadowing a doctor or a PA. My sister ended up cutting her leg and it became infected. Blood and needles don't really gross me out like it does others. I can watch videos of surgeries and er visits, but seeing infections get to me. It makes me feel sick to just look at it. I will be 28 when I get into medical school and I know that the odds are against me there since I will be considered a non-traditional student (which I'm worried about anyway), but can I desensitize myself to this?

It could well be a non-issue unless it's a family member with whom you empathize. Have you seen infections in anyone you don't care about?

 

[TooMuchResearch]

Lidocaine to the eye??? What was that like? That's a neuronal pain blocker, so did you lose vision in that eye for a brief period?

Lido in the eye burns.

 

[Mad Jack]

Hello all. I am a pre-med student right now but I was thinking about shadowing a doctor or a PA. My sister ended up cutting her leg and it became infected. Blood and needles don't really gross me out like it does others. I can watch videos of surgeries and er visits, but seeing infections get to me. It makes me feel sick to just look at it. I will be 28 when I get into medical school and I know that the odds are against me there since I will be considered a non-traditional student (which I'm worried about anyway), but can I desensitize myself to this?

The odds aren't really against nontrads lol. If anything, they're in our favor until we hit the 50+ category.

As to the gross factor, people can get used to literally anything. There's things that still gross me out nowadays, but those all involve getting something infectious on me. Track sputum? I could suction it out all day long, but the second it gets coughed up onto my scrubs, I get queasy.

 

[Mad Jack]

after you've spent a semester or two cutting up a dead body, none of that stuff seems to faze you anymore

The sight of the cadaver doesn't gross me out, but if any of the juice gets on me, I'm still making a beeline for the sink ASAP.

 

[Psai]

The sight of the cadaver doesn't gross me out, but if any of the juice gets on me, I'm still making a beeline for the sink ASAP.

i've actually had a little get splashed in my mouth. you had much to learn young padawan

 

[Rocher]

i've actually had a little get splashed in my mouth. you had much to learn young padawan

Haha I got a piece of cadaver fat flung into my mouth, so freaking nasty.

I remember how gowned up we were the first week, and how by the last week I was elbows deep with no gown and didn't care at all.

 

[xffan624]

I sat in on an autopsy a couple weeks ago. The smell from that made me long for the formalin smell of the anatomy lab. 🤢