Pre-meds, have you ever been asked for medical advice?

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han14tra

han14tra

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How common is this? Care to share your stories? This is an important thread especially during the holiday season when families are coming together.

Personally, my Dad started asking me about high cholesterol. It was all in good fun at first. He was testing my knowledge in front of the rest of the family by asking questions that he already knew the answers to. I threw around a few big words such as "high-density lipoproteins, low-density lipoproteins, and triglycerides". Before I realized it, the conversation turned serious and he was ACTUALLY asking ME for medical advice. Oops!!!:smack:
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Yeah, I was in my first semester of college and I was taking anatomy and physiology. For some reason, just because I was planning to go to medical school and I was taking A and P, my aunt thought that I was a medical expert and she started asking me questions about what she could do about the menopause symptoms she was having. My Dad also expects me to know the answer to every medically related question. Whenever I tell him I don't know something, he says, "Well, you should know." Even my mom one time told me, "Well, you know more than that nurse practitioner." I'm like, umm, no I don't know nearly as much as she does!
 
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Lots of times- I usually will hypothesize what I think but make sure they head to a doctor...

One of the guys I participate in theater once called me to ask me if he had a STD and proceeded to tell me what his privates looked like and wanted a diagnosis- I was grossed out (sorry but this guy weighs over 350lbs) and told him since he doesn't have insurance try the county health clinic!
 
My grandma wants me to just become a doctor already so I can cure her, but I keep saying you can't cure old age.
 
"As a future doctor, what brand of expectorant would you recommend?"
 
Not really advice but I get a lot of "You're premed you, you should know all this stuff".
 
all the time, it is kind of funny cuz some people makes it seem like i am a doctor already and they tell me the most private things like, "i have a friend that has an itch down there, wut do u think it could be?". My advise is "go to the doctor" :D. it is funny though
 
Yes! When my friends do it, they like to test how much I really know. Once they reach the point in their questioning where I don't know anymore, they tell me I won't be a good doctor and, "as a premed you should know this." :( haha
 
Yes, which is why I've subsequently told my family I'm going to pursue a PhD in organic chemistry instead.

I'm not, I'm going to be a doctor -- it's just no one asks you about chemistry.
 
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han14tra said:
How common is this? Care to share your stories? This is an important thread especially during the holiday season when families are coming together.

Personally, my Dad started asking me about high cholesterol. It was all in good fun at first. He was testing my knowledge in front of the rest of the family by asking questions that he already knew the answers to. I threw around a few big words such as "high-density lipoproteins, low-density lipoproteins, and triglycerides". Before I realized it, the conversation turned serious and he was ACTUALLY asking ME for medical advice. Oops!!!:smack:
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'

this isnt your first thread with something about others asking you for medical advice. Didn't you also have one about you signing on with a hospital? Come on now... its not cool when people ask a pre-med for medical advice. It just shows they don't know who is qualified to answer their questions. Next thing you know, they'll wind up in a pharmacy thinking the tech can answer their questions and the tech will give them bad advice (happens all the time).
 
It's absolutely expected that we know about medicine. It will even asked in interviews. Did you not see Kumar and how he owned his interview?
 
Yeah, and it's terrible.

1) One of my friends asked me if I was pre-med. He then proceeded to ask me to look into his mouth and ask if I could confirm a cavity.

2) One of my friends, a self-diagnosed hypochondriac, asked me to look at the smallest rash on his shin, and give my pre-professional opinion.

I'm bewildered at the fact that people think pre-meds know everything about disease.
 
cbrons said:
'

this isnt your first thread with something about others asking you for medical advice. Didn't you also have one about you signing on with a hospital? Come on now... its not cool when people ask a pre-med for medical advice. It just shows they don't know who is qualified to answer their questions. Next thing you know, they'll wind up in a pharmacy thinking the tech can answer their questions and the tech will give them bad advice (happens all the time).
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Yeah, I have another thread about my brother with CP and my parents who keep asking for advice. I actually just gave in and told them what hospital to go to and I asked that a spinal tap be done on my brother. Turns out he had a broken shunt (revealed only by the spinal tap that no one wanted to do). He had emergency brain surgery and is doing fine. He is coming home today. OMG, people are going to ask me for advice all the time now.
 
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My mom tells everyone we meet that "I'm going to medical school", implying I'm already in, even before I applied. That used to bug the hell out of me. Now it's OK I guess cause at least I've been accepted :laugh:
 
LittleRocker said:
My mom tells everyone we meet that "I'm going to medical school", implying I'm already in, even before I applied. That used to bug the hell out of me. Now it's OK I guess cause at least I've been accepted :laugh:
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As soon as I got my first acceptance, my dad started bragging to everyone in our extended family. I'm the first one to go to med school, so naturally he's proud and wants to show off, but I just get embarrassed.

Back to the OP though, I don't think I've ever been seriously asked for medical advice. Sometimes my friends will ask me something and I'll tell them I don't know and they'll make fun of me.

"I thought you were in med school?"
"I was ACCEPTED to med school, I haven't started school yet."
"Whatever, you're useless."
 
My major is in Biomedical Science.

1) A bunch of us (bio-med folk) were helping to build a boardwalk with some soc. students. The director said "Now if you need any first aid please go to..." and one of the soc. students pipes up "the bio-medders." Director then proceeds to say "Sure! You guys could teach us how to do stitches..."

erm. no. unless you would like to look like the hem in my jeans... which is very poorly done.

2) My grandfather introduced my to their minister as "this is my granddaughter. She is studying medical science." Then the minister proceeded to tell me all about his eye surgery and subsequent GI bleed. On a Sunday. In Church. At the lunch. Yummy.


PS. I love the statement "self diagnosed hypochondriac"
 
Eat lots of fiber/fruits/vegetables. Dont eat lots of fat. Exercise. Cholesterol shoots down. Heart disease cured.


I've definitely had people ask for medical advice before...i usually say something along the lines of "Hold on...Okay, I looked through my physics, ochem, gen chem, and zoology book cover to cover.....believe it or not, none of them talk about the diagnosis for someone complaining of abdominal pain, a headache, and an achy eye. Put some ice on it, or go see a doctor."

That doesnt really bother me too much, but for some reason it really bugs me when people that are already in the health profession (nurse, PA, doc, etc) talk to me like I know everything. My friend got meningitis, and i went to visit him in the hospital. His mom is a nurse, and has been for years, and she was talking to me about all the medications and treatments, and tests they were doing as if I already knew all about them. I didnt know one word she said. I'm just like, dude, surely you remember peing a pre-health student....you didnt know anything did you? So stop talking to me like I do!
 
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LittleRocker said:
My mom tells everyone we meet that "I'm going to medical school", implying I'm already in, even before I applied. That used to bug the hell out of me. Now it's OK I guess cause at least I've been accepted :laugh:
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I have had several occasions where I have been asked for medical advice. When I was shadowing a doctor, many of his patients assumed I was a doctor (even refering to me as such) but I quickly corrected them.
 
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One of my proudest volunteer moments. . . A doctor was quizzing an MS2 and she couldn't remember the cranial nerves. I remembered a mneumonic and helped her out
 
MDman87 said:
One of my proudest volunteer moments. . . A doctor was quizzing an MS2 and she couldn't remember the cranial nerves. I remembered a mneumonic and helped her out
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Lol, I bet she was real happy that you showed her up :laugh:
 
I have been a hairdresser for 10 years, so my clients always ask me for advice. I can technically give them advice on minor hair/skin/nail problems, but even in cosmetology school it was pounded into my head to refer them to their physician if the sites were infected or inflamed.

Now that I have been reading so many med journals, sites and have been trained in other physiological areas I offer them opinions but always tell them to refer to a physician as I am not a Dr. yet.
 
oh this happened to me all the time but not cause i was premed but because i was on the campus EMS....

a friend of mine called me once asking about emergency contraception, i told him how he can get it - mainly that yes, his gf did have to go to health services

a friend of my gf's at the time called me to ask about some medical prob he was having, i was actually on duty then so i told him to call the campus EMS it gets worse and we'd come over and check him out.

and the list goes on
 
I usually say "hmm... It sounds like cancer". That usually puts an end to people requesting my advice.
 
Thrombomodulin said:
Unfortunately, yes.

What is even worse is that my family tells everyone they know that I am studying to be a doctor. Ugh.
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For the win!!!

I have the same experience; my mom loves to tell everyone she knows that her son is going to be a doctor.
 
Haha this happens all the time, mostly with the other girls in my hall. I think this is partially because my dad put me together a pretty extensive first aid kit so everyone always comes to me for benadryl or ibuprophen or whatever. This usually turns into "diagnose my cold" time.
But one of my friends did let me take some stitches out of her hand, so that was cool. (She didn't actually need them in the first place and they were most of the way out already so it was ok.)
 
Herpes

The answer to all medical questions directed towards me is herpes. Stop sleeping around grandma
 
ALL the time. Even before I was in college, my family asked me all of their medical questions. I always start off with the usual disclaimer ("I'm not a doctor -- you really need to see a doctor. Seriously, I'll tell you what I think it is, but it's no better than asking some random person up the street..."), but I'd say that I'm right 99% of the time. I walked my mother through infant CPR on the phone when her niece was having an anaphylactic reaction once. And I successfully diagnosed a deep vein thrombosis in the popliteal vein last week (my grandfather).
 
I get asked for medical advice and basically say that I do not know the answer but if there were wondering about the mechanism to make plastic or how to calculate the velocity of a falling rock I got their answer.
 
I hate this.

I hate when my family talks about my education and asks me questions like I should know it. I did not even take the MCAT yet or even start applying.

The only thing I actual attempt a diagnosis at is something Dermatology related as I shadowed one for a bit and learned a lot... Tinea Versicolor is easy to spot too, especially if the patient goes tanning frequently.
 
My original areas of study were kinesiology and nutrition, and because my family knows I'm huge on bodybuilding and eating right, they'd always turn to me for advice on diet, how to perform certain exercises, and how to 'get rid of this,' while pinching their belly. :laugh:
 
*All the time*

I did EMT-B a while back and know just enough emergency medicine to get myself in trouble. My family seems to think I'm the phreakin' PDR.
 
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