how long does it take med school students to become desensitized to things

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ronaldo23

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like blood, stools, naked old people, childbirth, bad smells, basically anything that a non-medical person would find "gross"
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ronaldo23 said:
like blood, stools, naked old people, childbirth, bad smells, basically anything that a non-medical person would find "gross"
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If you've played your cards right, you've already been exposed to - and have become desensitized to - these things by the time you get ready to apply to medical school.
 
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I don't know about "gross" stuff. But things like pain and suffering (both physical and emotional), human cruelty, and even death...I'd say it happens frighteningly quickly. Don't know if this is necessarily a good thing...maybe it's a necessary one. But when I first started working at the ER that I've worked at for the past year, I thought about thest things that I saw at work constantly. Now, 11 months later, I can't even remember the last time that I really thought about work after I clocked out. (Sorry for the slightly unrelated post...but if you adapt as quickly to gross things, I'd say it only takes 4 or 5 months. Hope I don't sound like a complet jackass or tool...it's late and I'm medicated, and that's my excuse.
 
ronaldo23 said:
like blood, stools, naked old people, childbirth, bad smells, basically anything that a non-medical person would find "gross"
Click to expand...
There are different time periods for everyone. Some people who worked in medicine before hand are good day one. Anatomy lab does wonders for you. By the end of third year most people are pretty good with all this stuff. Doesn't mean we don't find it "gross", you just can hide it well. There are still a couple things that still bother me. They are mainly found under bad smell category. Some people are never good with some of that stuff and find specialties to match their sensitivities.
 
I'm not in med school yet but have worked at a long-term care facility for quite some time. One thing I can't seem to get myself desensitized is a colostomy bag.
 
That sensitivity means you're still human. :p
 
Depends. Dont have too much exp but my first male genital/rectal exam was weird but got over the gross factor right away. As for cadavers, once youre dissecting some very specific spot, you basically forget that it was a human being. Kind of sad but can't constantly think about that stuff.
 
mdgator said:
I don't know about "gross" stuff. But things like pain and suffering (both physical and emotional), human cruelty, and even death...I'd say it happens frighteningly quickly.
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I know I can never forget some of the experiences of anatomy lab. It's just not natural. Though I chose not to attend many of the lab sessions, I think it's something that impacts you on a very deep level, and some people more intensely than others. I had trouble sleeping and eating for a while, but most of my classmates didn't seem to have this trouble. Even for me, the feelings quickly passed.

I don't know - for me, I've eventually gotten used to the physical/gross things - dissecting people, naked people, touching people, and disturbing pictures. After a while, you really don't think anything of it anymore. That said, the more difficul part for me is the mindset of medicine. I never get used to the idea of suffering, the fact that people are constantly dying in the hospital, getting diagnosed with leukemia, or having terrible chronic pain. Suffering and disease, learning about the inexorable deterioration of the human body - I think this is what you don't get used to, and if you are a young and relatively sheltered individual like I am, it may take some getting used to in terms of facing your own mortality.

Don't worry though, plenty of time to work thru these things!
 
LUCPM said:
I'm not in med school yet but have worked at a long-term care facility for quite some time. One thing I can't seem to get myself desensitized is a colostomy bag.
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ya, thats a rough one
 
I still laugh at the word testicles and at the sight of boobies....am I in trouble?
 
I saw a med student eating a poo burger the other day. I ask why he would do such a thing and he told me that he got desensitized. I told him well, guess you can't go on spewing poo all day without taking some in. He nodded.
 
Kaustikos said:
Don't even get me started on vagina!:eek:
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I would just avoid the awkwardness and tell the patient that she is getting a lookie at her naughty naughty ;)
 
i can't stand the sight of blood or visible symptoms of infectious diseases (like smallpox or plague). Really makes me sick. But then again, i wanna go into psychiatry so it's all good :D
 
All I had to do was watch 2 Girls 1 Cup a few times and I was good to go.
 
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