Feeling faint when I shadowed

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eb1293

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Hi all,
I recently shadowed a doctor for a day and had to lie down because I started feeling faint when the patient described his symptoms and the complications of the drug that he was taking. Ever since that day, I have started to feel "faint" and anxious at times when people describe their medical conditions to me. I have never had a big problem around blood, needles, and gore, but for some reason this situation really rattled me. It was almost like my empathy for the patient made me need to sit down and recover.

I have thought about a lot of other career paths, but something tells me that medicine is right. I think the human body is super cool and know I would really like dissecting one. My question is if this is something that you can get over with more exposure and shadowing in hospitals? Is my tendency to go "vagal" and feel faint something I should talk to a doctor about and possibly seek treatment for? Is this something I should talk to a therapist about? Sometimes I question why I have developed these feelings of queasiness when I do find the work truly interesting. Thank you all for your input!

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Yeah, you get over it with time. Don't worry about it. Make sure you eat food and are well hydrated before you step into situations you know make you feel faint.
 
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Had a similar thing happen in the OR the first time I shadowed a surgeon in there. Turns out I just needed to eat a better breakfast.
 
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"my empathy for the patient made me need to sit down and recover"

Forgive me, but that made me laugh. A patient describing symptoms is the least worrying thing you may have to deal with as a physician, compared to, say, dealing with terminally ill patients and their loved ones. Keep in mind that while an academic fascination with the human body is a great inspiration to pursue medicine, being a voice of support and knowledge for a patient seeking medical attention will be your ultimate role in healthcare. Therefore, if a patient comes to you complaining about a pain in the arm, you can't dramatically fall to the ground and exclaim, "OMG, I feel for you man, this empathy is killing me!".

In all seriousness, perhaps you were subconsciously feeling apprehensive about your ability to interact with patients? I believe in time, as your knowledge in medicine improves, so will your confidence...

I had the same thing happen to me when I sat in with a surgeon for a cyst removal. The smell of betadine really got to me.
 
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Yea wait until you start smelling cauterized flesh in the OR, or start lifting fat folds up to check out yeast infections. Eat a good breakfast, stay hydrated, don't lock your knees. Having empathy for the patient is good but definitely overrated. Approach patients as objectively as possible and know your role, which is to give them the best possible outcome.
 
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Yea wait until you start smelling cauterized flesh in the OR, or start lifting fat folds up to check out yeast infections. Eat a good breakfast, stay hydrated, don't lock your knees. Having empathy for the patient is good
Agree
but definitely overrated.
Massively disagree
 
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I would get a job as an ED tech, you need more exposure. You'll get over it fast.


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"my empathy for the patient made me need to sit down and recover"

Forgive me, but that made me laugh. A patient describing symptoms is the least worrying thing you may have to deal with as a physician, compared to, say, dealing with terminally ill patients and their loved ones. Keep in mind that while an academic fascination with the human body is a great inspiration to pursue medicine, being a voice of support and knowledge for a patient seeking medical attention will be your ultimate role in healthcare. Therefore, if a patient comes to you complaining about a pain in the arm, you can't dramatically fall to the ground and exclaim, "OMG, I feel for you man, this empathy is killing me!".

In all seriousness, perhaps you were subconsciously feeling apprehensive about your ability to interact with patients? I believe in time, as your knowledge in medicine improves, so will your confidence...

I had the same thing happen to me when I sat in with a surgeon for a cyst removal. The smell of betadine really got to me.

lol the betadine got you? What about the puss?

Edit: sorry saw cyst,was thinking abscess,


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This happened to me the first time I shadowed. I'm not grossed out by anything and I love watching icky med stuff, but they were flushing a central line? I think? And I was just watching the patient and blacked out and had to sit. I have the same problem standing in stressful military formations. The following things help me: compression socks, hydrating A LOT, drinks with electrolytes, and squeezing my butt cheeks together when I start to feel faint. Not joking!
 
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It happens to the best of us! Kudos to you for knowing your limits and lying down before you passed out!

Here to PM as emotional support (who won't mock you for it because I have been mocked and it is a terrible feeling) as I have almost blacked out watching a chest tube placement and I have thrown up on scene after seeing a really jacked up corpse at a MVA.
 
It happens to a lot of medical students too when they first get to anatomy lab or first scrub into a surgery. Its no big deal and you get used to it.
 
Happens. Likely causes are forgetting to breathe, locking your knees, not hydrating, and having low blood sugar. Wait until you see someone pass out in the OR. Once after four years in the OR, I had to sit down during a gallbladder because I felt like I was about to vagal out. Happens to the best of us.
 
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Yeah you got a lot of bad times ahead bro
 
Agree

Massively disagree
Well I mean I still think it is very important. But if I was down to a really good doctor who was less empathetic vs an average doctor who was very empathetic, I want the more skilled doctor. (Not saying that a doctor can't be great skill wise and be very empathetic at the same time). But yes, empathy is still important. Just don't get overwhelmed and pass out from it.
 
Well I mean I still think it is very important. But if I was down to a really good doctor who was less empathetic vs an average doctor who was very empathetic, I want the more skilled doctor. (Not saying that a doctor can't be great skill wise and be very empathetic at the same time). But yes, empathy is still important. Just don't get overwhelmed and pass out from it.
Your claim wasn't concerning the amount of empathy a doctor has, your claim was stating that empathy is overrated.
 
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If it keeps happening constantly and with seemingly unstressful triggers you might want to consider the possibility that you have an anxiety disorder. Otherwise just kee going, it will probably improve

Also, this line made me chuckle
". I think the human body is super cool and know I would really like dissecting one."
 
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Your claim wasn't concerning the amount of empathy a doctor has, your claim was stating that empathy is overrated.
Yes, and I think it is when choosing a doctor or judging one. A lot of people will pick doctor A over doctor B because he is more caring and empathetic to their needs despite doctor B being much better at his (or her) job. I understand empathy is definitely important, but in a lot of cases people get caught up in how much their doctor understands their feelings as opposed to how good they are at making them better. Therefore I believe it is an overrated trait in physicians that people seek. Not saying it is not important, because it is. However, at the end of the day I want my doctor to do his job and do it well regardless of if he (or she) understands how I feel or not. That is just my personal opinion though, and others probably think it is highly underrated.
 
Yes, and I think it is when choosing a doctor or judging one. A lot of people will pick doctor A over doctor B because he is more caring and empathetic to their needs despite doctor B being much better at his (or her) job. I understand empathy is definitely important, but in a lot of cases people get caught up in how much their doctor understands their feelings as opposed to how good they are at making them better. Therefore I believe it is an overrated trait in physicians that people seek. Not saying it is not important, because it is. However, at the end of the day I want my doctor to do his job and do it well regardless of if he (or she) understands how I feel or not. That is just my personal opinion though, and others probably think it is highly underrated.

I think it really depends on the specialty. I would prefer a skilled anti-social surgeon but I wouldn't mind a slightly bumbling but extremely compassionate family practitioner.
 
This. I feel like too few people know this can literally make you pass out
Yup, don't lock your knees, and squeeze your butt cheeks and leg muscles, supposedly it gets the blood back up to your head. Those two things saved my life
 
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Yeah, I never got faint but I remember the first few really gruesome traumas I saw in ER made me feel kind of scared or mentally traumatized. It wasn't only the blood but listening to the family cry after finding out there loved ones died, it was really sad.
 
Yup, don't lock your knees, and squeeze your butt cheeks and leg muscles, supposedly it gets the blood back up to your head. Those two things saved my life
I have bad orthostatic hypotension and can confirm squeezing butt cheeks works wonders. I imagine I look weird walking out of class squeezing my butt cheeks though.
 
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I know this has already been said, but for me all it took was a bunch of exposure. For example, about a year or two ago, I observed my first surgery, and everything kind of made me light headed, so I asked to sit down for a second, to which the surgery staff A) totally understood and related to, and B) preferred I tell them rather than pass out on the floor. I went home and watched surgeries online on youtube, videos of, explanations of, etc. Just overloaded myself haha. It obviously is much different than being there, but the next time I observed a surgery, it was a night and day difference and I could really enjoy and appreciate the experience.
 
I think it really depends on the specialty. I would prefer a skilled anti-social surgeon but I wouldn't mind a slightly bumbling but extremely compassionate family practitioner.
Especially the one's that hook you up with the good scripts
Yeah, I never got faint but I remember the first few really gruesome traumas I saw in ER made me feel kind of scared or mentally traumatized. It wasn't only the blood but listening to the family cry after finding out there loved ones died, it was really sad.
Listening to a family react to the sudden death of a loved one is perhaps one of the most haunting/sad moments. I don't see how that wouldn't bother any normal human. It's such a surreal moment for everyone and you are suppose to remain composed. I salute doctors/policemen/etc that have to do this often.
 
You didn't specify if you did that with or without the assistance of your hands. :laugh: I'm sure the doctor's you shadowed would be like :eek:

Yup, don't lock your knees, and squeeze your butt cheeks and leg muscles, supposedly it gets the blood back up to your head. Those two things saved my life
 
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I once shadowed a physician in the OR for a couple days, on the first day, before we ever made it into the OR I did everything but completely pass out. My vision went black my entire body shook and I ended up on the floor because I just couldn't hold myself up anymore. And more fighting it and I would have passed out completely.
The next time I shadowed her I did fine.
Get more exposure, it will get better with time.
A big thing is don't psyche yourself out. Don't think "when I hear or see x I will feel faint". Tell yourself you will be fine, and it will be reality. Fake it until you make it!
 
You didn't specify if you did that with or without the assistance of your hands. :laugh: I'm sure the doctor's you shadowed would be like :eek:
:rofl: haha or you could get someone else to squeeze them for you.


But yea, I was thinking more something like this
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Ive had this happen and of course it was in the OR. Did learn that ophthomology is not gonna be for me :laugh:
 
You just need more exposure to desensitize. I used to have a bad phobia of blood, to the point where I couldn't read about the circulatory system without hyperventilating. What got me over it was a nine month period in which I had to have blood drawn once or twice a month for medical reasons. Take it in steps -- I first had to seriously distract myself when they were drawing the blood, then I moved to not distracting myself but not looking, then looking at the blood moving from my arm, and finally watching the whole procedure. You'll get there! Don't let this be what that stops you from being a doctor.
 
"my empathy for the patient made me need to sit down and recover"

Forgive me, but that made me laugh. A patient describing symptoms is the least worrying thing you may have to deal with as a physician, compared to, say, dealing with terminally ill patients and their loved ones. Keep in mind that while an academic fascination with the human body is a great inspiration to pursue medicine, being a voice of support and knowledge for a patient seeking medical attention will be your ultimate role in healthcare. Therefore, if a patient comes to you complaining about a pain in the arm, you can't dramatically fall to the ground and exclaim, "OMG, I feel for you man, this empathy is killing me!".

In all seriousness, perhaps you were subconsciously feeling apprehensive about your ability to interact with patients? I believe in time, as your knowledge in medicine improves, so will your confidence...

I had the same thing happen to me when I sat in with a surgeon for a cyst removal. The smell of betadine really got to me.

LOL pure gold and on point


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Thank you all for your responses. I think a definitely need more exposure in a hospital, but part of me is worried because I have thought about it a lot and I feel as though thoughts about passing out have really "gone to my head". I have a tendency to overanalyze things so this makes me worried about getting over this issue I have. Has anybody done anything/taken anything to calm their anxiety before shadowing?
 
If you're shadowing in an OR, everyone there already knows you might pass out. Don't worry yourself trying to hide your anxiety. Don't try to be a tough guy and grin and bear it, because when you fall out you just became another patient in the room. Ask the anesthesiologist where to stand, what to do if you feel faint, etc. and they will take care of you. There's no shame in being new.

Be upfront and conscious about your trepidation. Force yourself to look, then look away when you can't stand it, then look back when you feel better. You won't be able to take in the atmosphere until you get over that hump.

Bend your knees, wiggle your toes, and don't tie your mask too tight. I'd also recommend not wearing an undershirt under your scrub top since it can get hot, and that will make things worse.
 
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