Med School

[shawn2000]

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My questions are regarding needles in medical school. I went to a trade school for 1 month and stopped after they had us poking each other with needles(big turn off) I do want to become some form of a doctor but I have a really bad stigma with needles. Do you have to poke eachother with needles in medical school? Is their any medical route to become a doctor I can do and avoid being poked by needles?

Thank you.

 

[bandgeek0295]

Um... I'm not in med school... But I'm pretty sure that I can assure you that you won't be subject to numerous needle pokes. And all doctors essentially get the exact same education. The only thing that changes is what you learn in a residency and fellowship post-med school.

 

[Fai]

I'm also not in med school but I can assure you that they won't poke you at all during medical school. I know a few people who graduated medical school and a few who are in their 3rd year right now and I haven't heard of any... necessary needle poking? A lot of usage of needles to patients, though.

I mean, I can only see a needle going in you during medical school if you get clumsy during a rotation that has a needle and you accidently scrap your arm against it or it gets jabbed against your arm. Now /those/ I heard of. As for freely poking each other with needles, nah not at all. I'm a bit baffled to why your trade school did that though.

 

[shawn2000]

Great, can someone please let me know for sure, because this is something that has really discoureged me for pre planning for med school. Can we get someone to "confirm" this??

 

[shawn2000]

On another website I heard that yes they do poke you with needles when students train for giving injections....

 

[Fai]

Now, I COULD be mistakend so please take this comment with a grain of salt but I BELIEVE they poke you ONLY to prevent viruses that you're exposed to (like HIV and the like).

I could most definitely be wrong and I apologise if I am but I'm very sure I read that somewhere. However, don't let that back down from your dream job (if it's something you REALLY want to be). OB/GYN and Surgery rotation really turns me off for wanting to become a psychiatrist but it's something I can almost only see myself as doing so I'd do anything to get there and the same should apply to you as well.

If they do poke you at all, it would be to prevent diseases. Other than that, I'm certain they don't poke you for like, fun.

 

[shawn2000]

No I heard their are times where students practice giving injections on eachother.....

 

[Fai]

Are you sure you're not thinking of Nursing school? I know they do that there.

For M.D/D.O schools (not the assisting ones) I really don't think they practice poking at all.

 

[Gigantron]

I would advise you to post this in the allopathic or osteopathic board because quite frankly, nobody replying in this thread (i.e. all posts above mine) has any clue as to what they're talking about. Here you go:
http://forums.studentdoctor.net/forumdisplay.php?f=4

Now, I COULD be mistakend so please take this comment with a grain of salt but I BELIEVE they poke you ONLY to prevent viruses that you're exposed to (like HIV and the like).

Needle pokes prevent certain STD's? Or am I reading this wrong? Or wait, you would be trained to give needle injections so that in the future, you won't be clumsy with a needle and accidentally poke yourself with it, ergo preventing certain STD's. Yes? 😕

 

[Suncrusher]

No I heard their are times where students practice giving injections on eachother.....

that's true (for practicing drawing blood, at least), but it is voluntary. If you don't want the extra practice you can limit yourself to practicing on the mannequins

 

[AntiHouseMD]

All I can tell you that is we're not supposed to poke each other with needles in high school.

 

[MilkmanAl]

We practiced drawing blood and starting IVs on each other, so in theory, that's 2 sticks in all of med school. In practice, it's more like 5-6, but that's not so bad.

 

[Caesar]

We don't practice on one another at my school. We use patients.

 

[pseudoknot]

At my school there were a couple times when we learned to draw blood and start IVs, and we did practice on each other. I don't think you really had to do it though.

If this is enough to deter you from med school, then please look into other careers, because you don't want it badly enough to survive the rest of the process.

 

[235009]

Are you sure you're not thinking of Nursing school? I know they do that there.

For M.D/D.O schools (not the assisting ones) I really don't think they practice poking at all.

at my school we also practiced IVs and IM injections on each other ...the first was voluntary (you could just practice on the manikin) but you had to take an IM injection (though you'll have to get one every year for the flu shot so what's an extra one right?)

as for the above comment, as a physician you need to know how to do everything that the subordinates on your team can do which means that you need to be trained to do whatever a nurse can do. So yes, you definitely need to "practice poking"

 

[Powdermonkey]

At my school there were a couple times when we learned to draw blood and start IVs, and we did practice on each other. I don't think you really had to do it though.

If this is enough to deter you from med school, then please look into other careers, because you don't want it badly enough to survive the rest of the process.

+1.

It's really not that bad. If needles pokes bother you, what are you going to do when it's time for all your vaccinations? Or when you have to start a central line? Or get elbow deep during a delivery on your OB rotation?

 

[kcin]

OP, you should probably grow up. Basing career decisions on whether or not you'll get stuck with a needle (a few times in 4 years max) is kind of stupid.

 

[QuizzicalApe]

At my school, we administered PPD's to eachother after practicing with saline. We practiced drawing blood on dummy arms rigged up to blood supplies.

Which is good, because I barely let professionals draw my blood while I'm laying down, let alone first-timers while I'm sitting in a lab.

 

[ucbsmd]

If you go into anything in medicine, you will get a yearly PPD and a yearly flu shot.

During medical school, you usually don't have to let others practice doing needlework on you, but don't expect them to offer their body for you to practice on.

If you can't handle needles at all (PPD and flu shots), then don't bother looking anywhere at medicine.

 

[theduhanswer]

you will get poked with needles. you will practice putting IVs in each other before they let you touch a patient. then you will poke patients with needles. then you will get poked with more needles to get your flu vaccines and ppds. then you will be surrounded by needles for the entirety of your medical career. i mean, seriously? haha.

 

[235009]

Worse, not only be able to do it, but be superior to everyone else on the team at it. Don't assume your nurse can start an IV line in x patient, it's possible they are having a hard time and will request you to do it. If you can't take arterial gases from a 25 week preemie baby, you're screwed.

if i walked into an ER as a patient i'd MUCH prefer to have an experienced nurse start my IV than any doctor there. The nurse has done it way more and is likely much better at it than any doctor there.

as far as i know nurses aren't qualified to draw arterial blood.

 

[pseudoknot]

as far as i know nurses aren't qualified to draw arterial blood.

That's very institution specific. In many ICUs and EDs nurses do ABGs. Where I am now the respiratory therapists draw them. It's not rocket science.

 

[Morsetlis]

We practiced drawing blood and starting IVs on each other, so in theory, that's 2 sticks in all of med school. In practice, it's more like 5-6, but that's not so bad.

At my med school, this is an optional activity. You could theoretically become a doctor without ever having blood drawn from yourself... (but then you realize that you have to have vaccinations and titers for some hospitals/rotations!)

 

[Ashers]

Worse, not only be able to do it, but be superior to everyone else on the team at it. Don't assume your nurse can start an IV line in x patient, it's possible they are having a hard time and will request you to do it. If you can't take arterial gases from a 25 week preemie baby, you're screwed.

Nurses will not generally ask med students to start IVs, do blood draws, etc. And med students will not be doing ABGs or any sort of line or blood draw on of a 25 weeker. I had lab yell at me for drawing blood that they refused to draw on a 26 weeker when I was an intern. That would be up to the peds resident, NICU fellow/attending, etc. So one wouldn't be screwed.

My med school didn't have us practice on each other, for which I was very relieved. I'm terrified of needles... only my experience as a phlebotomist before med school got me over my physical shaking every time I saw a needle. I still refuse to allow extra needle sticks unless necessary. Then when I do have a blood draw or an IV, I tell the person where to go, and I turn down lidocaine for IVs since it'll be 2 pokes then. And what's my specialty? Anesthesia. So one can be terrified of needles and still survive in medicine.