Do you get sick often?

[biogirl215]

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For those practicing physicians, residents, fellows, and clinical students, do you get sick often? I've always figured that working in a hospital environment and working up close and personal with patients would dramatically increase one's risk for getting things like norovirus, colds, influenza, etc, yet it seems doctors never mention this as a problem. What has your experience been?

Thanks.

 

[ZagDoc]

It's amazing what a daily multivitamin and getting your daily servings of fruits will do for you. I think people working in the health care industry are a little bit more responsible overall about those sort of things than the general public.

I used to battle perpetual colds all winter long until I started pumping my body full of vitamins and antioxidants. Havent had a cold now in 3 years *knocks on desk*

On another note, I was truly surprised how many physicians go to work while clearly contagious with something.

 

[Midwest Medic]

I am in the ED, and surprisingly I rarely get sick. During my internship, on my Peds rotation, I was sick for most of the month though. ??? Don't understand this because I see a larger number of sick kids each day now than I did on that rotation...

 

[stargirl50]

wash your hands, use hand sanitizer, and get a flu shot 🙂

 

[biogirl215]

wash your hands, use hand sanitizer, and get a flu shot 🙂

Oh, I do! Feeling like crap isn't my cup of tea.😉

I thought research has shown that while hand cleaner is fairly effective against cold viruses and some bacteria, it isn't that effective against norovirus, though.

 

[Dr. McDreamy]

no, because the days of people beign hospitalized for contagious diseases is for the most part over. most of your inpatients in the hospital (unless your on peds i guess) are here for heart attacks, strokes, HIV complications, cancer, diabetes complications etc -- non of which is airborn contagious. I mean, you aren't exactly going to catch PCP from your HIV+ patient with a CD4 of 50 (unless of course you have HIV too). Sometimes you get someone with TB which is even difficult to catch from them unless you live in their room for a while.

this would probably be different for a primary care physician or a pediatrician working in a clinic, but not really for inpatient wards.

 

[biogirl215]

^
That's pretty much what I figured... that peds, fp, em, and maybe im would be the ones dealing with contagions.

 

[Jesus DO]

For those practicing physicians, residents, fellows, and clinical students, do you get sick often? I've always figured that working in a hospital environment and working up close and personal with patients would dramatically increase one's risk for getting things like norovirus, colds, influenza, etc, yet it seems doctors never mention this as a problem. What has your experience been?

Thanks.

I wonder if there are any studies looking at the IgG, IgE, and IgM levels of physicians....



I bet 2 cents all you infectious disease docs have the highest.

 

[biogirl215]

I bet 2 cents all you infectious disease docs have the highest.

Ha, yeah...

 

[EM_Rebuilder]

I only had to miss medical school two days because of nausea/vomiting (once as a fourth year). It hit me on the wkend and I stayed off Monday to recoup....the other time was during first year so it was unlikely to be from a clinical encounter.

I missed one day of residency so far (light rotation, didnt even let them know I wouldnt be there) but that was a self inflicted UV Keratitis.

I've had some light diarrhea before, probably from patient contact...but nothing that was explosive and kept me home.


I dont think being in the hospital makes you much more sick prone...espically if you practice even half a**ed hygeine.... wash the hands, dont pick the nose too often, and dont hang out with someone if their sick.

 

[Allerian1004]

I have not gotten sick very often while working in a clinic with patients and being immunocompromised. I think I got one strep throat all of last year. Just do diligent hand washing, eat well (fruits and veggies), sleep and exercise and you would be amazed at how well your immune system can do. I was sick more often last year from migraines/lupus than anything my patients could give me.

 

[TRAMD]

It seems like I always catch things from kids. I wash my hands before and after every patient and use hand sanitizer but I also touch my face a lot and use the same pen repeatedly. Dang kids! I am probably just cranky because I have been sick 3 times in the last three months and always a few days after seeing a few snotty nosed kids in clinic. I have had several kids outright cough or sneeze in my face (where you actually feel it--yuck!). Other than my pediatrics rotation in 3rd year, I haven't been sick all that much. I stay home from work if I am too sick and contagious. Why spread it?