Shadowed in the OR...almost passed out!

[gdbaby]

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i don't think there is anyone here who is not repulsed by vomit.

Oh, I don't know. All it takes is a little kid puking down your shirt a couple times to get over it. The smell is another thing...

 

[mustangsally65]

what makes me squirm is putting a needle up the urethra

Wow. Definitely one of the more uncomfortable things to watch. Imagine being the patient?!?!?!?!

I think it's worse when the procedure is something that you can identify with, as others have said. Or if you have kids and something is being done to a child. Especially since kids don't really understand medical necessities. I know if I saw a surgery being done on someone else that I had been through myself, it would be a lot more personal, almost like I was imagining myself as the one on the table.

I worry about passing out a lot, since I seem to have a very sensitive vasovagal response. Whenever I give blood I always end up vomiting afterwards, because (I've been told) of the dramatic change in blood volume. It doesn't bother me to see the needle going in my arm or the blood coming out, and I feel fine afterwards, but a few hours later I always end up vomiting. I've never shadowed in the OR, but I hope I will be able to control myself in the future.

It's nice to know this is a common thing.

 

[gdbaby]

How about Lasik eye surgery?! 😱

You're awake while they are cutting your eye!!! 😱

HAAA!

I had Lasik done this summer. I just loved hearing, "my what a nice flap you have" after the cut the flap on my eye.

I was awake for bunion surgery too. Hearing the clinking of a chisle on the bone of your foot is a little distracting, but the surgeon let me play some Beck so I stayed pretty calm.

 

[BooMed]

I would like to magically eliminate the need for catheters in this world. They seem. So. Terrible.

Has anyone ever had one? Is it really as bad as it seems?

The tube goes all the way up to your bladder.

 

[gdbaby]

I would like to magically eliminate the need for catheters in this world. They seem. So. Terrible.

Has anyone ever had one? Is it really as bad as it seems?

The tube goes all the way up to your bladder.

I had one. Not so bad although I was numb from the waist down when it was inserted.

 

[Uncle_Tbag]

What do you do in CT/MR? Tech?

 

[mustangsally65]

I would like to magically eliminate the need for catheters in this world. They seem. So. Terrible.

Has anyone ever had one? Is it really as bad as it seems?

The tube goes all the way up to your bladder.

I've had one too, but I was unconscious at the time. I can vouch for the pain and burning during urination afterwards, though. Not much fun.

I'd imagine having one inserted when you are awake is similar to the burning and pain from a UTI. I mean, can it get worse than a raging UTI? I hope not. 😛

 

[Nikki2002]

ANYTHING with the eyes freaks me out too! I personally can't even do that test (bear with me, as I astound you with my knowledge and vocabulary of all scientific and medical) at the eye-doc where they blow a puff of air at your eye to check the pressure... KWIM? That test sends me flying across the room! 😱

omg--i can't stand that--totally weirds me out

 

[Nikki2002]

Oh, I don't know. All it takes is a little kid puking down your shirt a couple times to get over it. The smell is another thing...

this is what my mom tells me......

 

[PlasticMan]

thanks plasticman. did you just cold call after looking him up on the internet or something?
i guess i am timid about calling up random doctor's offices, i feel like i am bothering them about intruding on their time when they are possibly not interested at all in mentoring students...

A friend of mine, who was almost going to shadow him told me to give him a call, so at first I tried calling different hospital administration numbers including the volunteer section - no dice; so I looked up his office number direct, talked to his secretary, and wal-lah. She coordinates everything 🙂 She tells me which days he has what type of surgeries, and I pick which one i want to see 😀 Why be afraid to call physicians' offices? The more you call, the better your chances of finding one who will let you shadow in the OR. If you call 30 docs, at least 1 is bound to let ya, right? 😉 He is at a university hospital; not sure if this influences them to be more "mentor" like or not, just thought I'd mention that.

 

[Uncle_Tbag]

I found that what makes the difference is when you know that *you* are the person responsible for taking care of the situation. Much like when you become a parent and have to deal with various gross baby messes, necessity fosters ability. Obviously, as others have posted, repetition and desensitization help, too. Don't worry overmuch about it. Everybody gets through it!

That hits the nail right on the head. I'm usually really sensitive to the smell and sight of vomit and have a very strong gag-reflex, but I've had patients puke on me (3 weeks ago, right on the front of my scrubs, all over shirt and pants) and for some reason I didn't give it a thought. I was more concerned and feeling bad for him and I think that takes your mind off of it.

 

[sweet2th]

That hits the nail right on the head. I'm usually really sensitive to the smell and sight of vomit and have a very strong gag-reflex, but I've had patients puke on me (3 weeks ago, right on the front of my scrubs, all over shirt and pants) and for some reason I didn't give it a thought. I was more concerned and feeling bad for him and I think that takes your mind off of it.

That sounds like the worst thing ever! I would need a serious dose of klonopin - stat. I hope this gets easier for me. As it is, my husband has to warn me before he is sick so I can get head phones and leave the room. Just the sound is enough to make me squirm! Ah! Must get stronger...must get stronger!

 

[Uncle_Tbag]

That sounds like the worst thing ever! I would need a serious dose of klonopin - stat. I hope this gets easier for me. As it is, my husband has to warn me before he is sick so I can get head phones and leave the room. Just the sound is enough to make me squirm! Ah! Must get stronger...must get stronger!

Yeah it was pretty gross. I changed scrubs right away but that didn't quite do it, had to go home and shower before I felt right again lol.

I get puked on maybe once a year, this one was epecially bad as he was in really bad shape and couldn't get up off the exam table, so I had him put his arms around my neck so I could lift him up without hurting his back. He had his forehead kind of resting on my chest as I was lifting him up, which is when he puked on me. I think I still have some on my shoes. . .

Cleaning up the room afterwards was the worst part

 

[sweet2th]

Yeah it was pretty gross. I changed scrubs right away but that didn't quite do it, had to go home and shower before I felt right again lol.

I get puked on maybe once a year, this one was epecially bad as he was in really bad shape and couldn't get up off the exam table, so I had him put his arms around my neck so I could lift him up without hurting his back. He had his forehead kind of resting on my chest as I was lifting him up, which is when he puked on me. I think I still have some on my shoes. . .

Cleaning up the room afterwards was the worst part

Wait - what do you do and why were you cleaning up the barf???

 

[hannahx]

Okay, aside from the eyeball thing, there is one other injury that seriously makes me squirm like hell.

My stepmom, who is a PCNP working at those now popular walk-in urgent care clinics, told me that there was this patient, who somehow 😱 😱 tore his scrotum 😱 😱 and managed to sit and wait to be examined! (He only told the receptionist that he had a scrape that he wanted to get checked) That is so not right!

I shudder as I type this, and I'm not even a guy. I just wonder, why urgent-care and not emergency room?? No insurance? 🙁

 

[beanbean]

Vomit doesn't bother me...GI bleed smell is no problem...Pus, Phlegm, stool are no big deal. My weakness...I HATE EARWAX! Flushing out cerumen impaction is so nasty with those big globs of wax floating in the basin. 😱

 

[Psycho Doctor]

I would like to magically eliminate the need for catheters in this world. They seem. So. Terrible.

Has anyone ever had one? Is it really as bad as it seems?

The tube goes all the way up to your bladder.

yes, i've had them on more than one occasion, one not very long ago...having it inserted while you're awake is awful 🙁

 

[Psycho Doctor]

Yeah it was pretty gross. I changed scrubs right away but that didn't quite do it, had to go home and shower before I felt right again lol.

I get puked on maybe once a year, this one was epecially bad as he was in really bad shape and couldn't get up off the exam table, so I had him put his arms around my neck so I could lift him up without hurting his back. He had his forehead kind of resting on my chest as I was lifting him up, which is when he puked on me. I think I still have some on my shoes. . .

Cleaning up the room afterwards was the worst part

wait...we're expected to clean up the room?? 😱

 

[ola]

I worked in the operating room for five years, and saw a fair number of people faint. Most were reps or people who did not work in the OR, but occasionally it would happen to a regular. I got a little woozy scrubbed in on a total hip replacement once; working under hot lights in a hot gown wearing a mask and safety eyewear, not to mention smells of bone cement and cautery can make almost anyone feel queezy once in a while.

The gross thing in the OR is not the wounds, but the smells. Breast reductions, bad bowel preps, gaping decubitus ulcers...

 

[BaylorGuy]

The gross thing in the OR is not the wounds, but the smells. Breast reductions, bad bowel preps, gaping decubitus ulcers...

I agree with this comment totally. Wounds are one thing, but the smells are what really get to you....they definitely give your mind thoughts of really really nasty things. You really want to retch most of the time.

yes, i've had them on more than one occasion, one not very long ago...having it inserted while you're awake is awful 🙁

I'm very sorry...I've had to put catheters in animals before and that seems like no fun at all. I hope i never have to go through this ever.

 

[21JumpStreet]

ANYTHING with the eyes freaks me out too! I personally can't even do that test (bear with me, as I astound you with my knowledge and vocabulary of all scientific and medical) at the eye-doc where they blow a puff of air at your eye to check the pressure... KWIM? That test sends me flying across the room! 😱

I know what you mean. I used to have trouble with this test to. I use to even delay going to the eye doctor to avoid this. Anway, I finally found an eye doctor that helped me with this problem. He had me focus my attention on a light, (get my attention elsewhere) so I wouldn't see what was coming. I am extremely squemish and to my suprise it worked! I really didn't think that it could be something as simple as that. After years and years of struggling with this, I finally had a way to deal with this problem. You may want to try this.

 

[hannahx]

I know what you mean. I used to have trouble with this test to. I use to even delay going to the eye doctor to avoid this. Anway, I finally found an eye doctor that helped me with this problem. He had me focus my attention on a light, (get my attention elsewhere) so I wouldn't see what was coming. I am extremely squemish and to my suprise it worked! I really didn't think that it could be something as simple as that. After years and years of struggling with this, I finally had a way to deal with this problem. You may want to try this.

Aw, I think its the beep sound before they VIOLENTLY "shoot" air at my eyeball that gets me. That eyelid of mine clamps down harder than a vise.

The irony of this is that I ought to be used to things near/in my eye. I've been a contact lens wearer since I was 8! And no, I can't get lasik. I've asked. I was advised to wait for technology to advance further because my sight is so bad. Besides, they better shoot me up with elephant tranquilizers before they cut any flaps off my eyes.

You can do whatever you want to me. Just leave the eyes! I even wrote this on my organ donation card in the special request area. But I suppose I could part with my corneas, if I were dead, of course. I may need to amend that..

Thanks for the advice, namaste!

 

[45408]

Yeah, I got faint once (not even the first time I'd observed surgery), and I had to sit down. It wasn't even anything disturbing. I think I was just hungry, tired, and the lights were dazzlingly bright.

 

[45408]

I've had one too, but I was unconscious at the time. I can vouch for the pain and burning during urination afterwards, though. Not much fun.

I'd imagine having one inserted when you are awake is similar to the burning and pain from a UTI. I mean, can it get worse than a raging UTI? I hope not. 😛

you're female right? it's much worse for a guy to get a Foley

 

[WholeLottaGame7]

you're female right? it's much worse for a guy to get a Foley

Amen. Females may have it worse off (childbirth, UTIs, etc) in a lot of ways, but I wouldn't imagine getting a Foley is one of them. The look on guys is sheer agony. Here's to hoping I'm unconscious or senile before I ever have to get one.

And I second the smells thing. What's worse is when you realize that that burnt tissue smell smells a lot like fried chicken. I suppose burnt animal fat is burnt animal fat, but since you usually associate that smell with food...

The bone cement is very strong and distinctive, but not necessarily disagreeable, unless it's for long periods of time. Kinda like gasoline in that regard.

 

[Uncle_Tbag]

Wait - what do you do and why were you cleaning up the barf???

I'm not a doctor lol (geddy lee is from my favorite band and I though doc geddy sounded funny).

I'm a pacs admin and post-processing tech, but I also cover xray on and off. Hence the puke clean-up.

 

[veenut]

today's tom sawyer: mean, mean pride

 

[Uncle_Tbag]

wait...we're expected to clean up the room?? 😱

Not when we're doctors. At least not any place I'll be working

 

[Uncle_Tbag]

today's tom sawyer: mean, mean pride

A modern-day warrior Mean mean stride
Today's Tom Sawyer Mean mean pride

Though his mind is not for rent
Don't put him down as arrogant
His reserve, a quiet defense
Riding out the day's events ---
The river

What you say about his company
Is what you say about society
--- Catch the mist --- Catch the myth
--- Catch the mystery --- Catch the drift

The world is the world is
Love and life are deep
Maybe as his skies are wide

Today's Tom Sawyer He gets high on you
And the space he invades He gets by on you

No, his mind is not for rent
To any god or government
Always hopeful, yet discontent
He knows changes aren't permanent ---
But change is

What you say about his company
Is what you say about society
--- Catch the witness --- Catch the wit
--- Catch the spirit --- Catch the spit

The world is the world is
Love and life are deep
Maybe as his eyes are wide

Exit the warrior Today's Tom Sawyer He gets high on you And the energy you trade
He gets right on to The friction of the day

 

[PlasticMan]

I worked in the operating room for five years, and saw a fair number of people faint. Most were reps or people who did not work in the OR, but occasionally it would happen to a regular. I got a little woozy scrubbed in on a total hip replacement once; working under hot lights in a hot gown wearing a mask and safety eyewear, not to mention smells of bone cement and cautery can make almost anyone feel queezy once in a while.

The gross thing in the OR is not the wounds, but the smells. Breast reductions, bad bowel preps, gaping decubitus ulcers...

Agreed. My first time in the OR, nothing I viewed bothered me at all. The only thing that bothered me is the smell of human fat burning as they work their way down to the heart. It didn't make me feel sick or anything, just annoyed me to the point that I started breathing through my mouth. The first time I smelled it, I remember how I thought it reminded me of some kind of demented summer BBQ

 

[-Goose-]

Agreed. My first time in the OR, nothing I viewed bothered me at all. The only thing that bothered me is the smell of human fat burning as they work their way down to the heart. It didn't make me feel sick or anything, just annoyed me to the point that I started breathing through my mouth. The first time I smelled it, I remember how I thought it reminded me of some kind of demented summer BBQ

whoa. thats $%#@&* up. i'll agree, though, nothing like the smell of burning flesh... gets into your clothes, hair, skin... blech.

 

[pagemmapants]

It's like in my A&P class this summer. . . after spending a good 3 hours poking around the musculature of the upper torso someone just had to ask "Ok, so who wants to go out for some ribs?!"

I think that fixed muscle looks more like jerky myself. . .

 

[nrddct]

I was in the ER once and almost vomited while watching a surgeon stitch a gaping cut in a guys finger. I always get queasy at the first part when they inject the lidocaine into wound and the flesh balloons up and starts oozing.

 

[mustangsally65]

you're female right? it's much worse for a guy to get a Foley

Good point. I'm sure it is much worse, since the urethra is longer.

I was in the ED one time with my mom (she had an emergency) and I was sitting in one of the curtained partitions, and from somewhere across the hall I could hear the wails of an older man whose voice I recognized from the waiting room (small town, we were the only people in there at the time). From the associated conversation, I surmised that he was having a Foley or something placed, and the sounds he was making were horrible.

Not looking forward to learning how to place them in med school/residency. 😱

 

[Uncle_Tbag]

My late grandpa had many caths placed in the years leading up to his death, but I never realized the extent of what he was going through. He had a cath in him more often than not in the last years of his life and never complained about it once. What a trooper 🙁

 

[BooMed]

Good point. I'm sure it is much worse, since the urethra is longer.

I was in the ED one time with my mom (she had an emergency) and I was sitting in one of the curtained partitions, and from somewhere across the hall I could hear the wails of an older man whose voice I recognized from the waiting room (small town, we were the only people in there at the time). From the associated conversation, I surmised that he was having a Foley or something placed, and the sounds he was making were horrible.

Not looking forward to learning how to place them in med school/residency. 😱

Oh my god, how about some pain killers or something because that is AWFUL.

I want to do my best not to hurt people. 🙁

 

[LT2]

Does anyone but me feel an abnormal adversion to patient vomit? I know it is a nasty site, but I literally go nuts when I hear people even start to cough. I've done hypnosis for my vomit "fear" but honestly, who isn't even slightly effected by it???

I am the same way!! i can't stand it to the point i'll nearly have a panic attack if someone is going to throw up everywhere. i don't know why it's such a big deal to me but it really freaks me out. but i think eye surgery is the coolest thing in the world...

 

[sweet2th]

I am the same way!! i can't stand it to the point i'll nearly have a panic attack if someone is going to throw up everywhere. i don't know why it's such a big deal to me but it really freaks me out. but i think eye surgery is the coolest thing in the world...[/ahUOTE]
LT2 - what are you going to do about the near panic attacks b/c i have the same thing. serious anxiety. i love medicine but i am nervous about dealing with all the vomit situations i know i will face....blah

 

[LT2]

LT2 - what are you going to do about the near panic attacks b/c i have the same thing. serious anxiety. i love medicine but i am nervous about dealing with all the vomit situations i know i will face....blah

i have yet to figure it out. i was thinking about seeing a hypnotist about it, but it doesn't sound like that'll be enough. i'm just glad there are others out there like me!! if you come up with anything, let me know and vice versa!!

 

[sweet2th]

i have yet to figure it out. i was thinking about seeing a hypnotist about it, but it doesn't sound like that'll be enough. i'm just glad there are others out there like me!! if you come up with anything, let me know and vice versa!!

yes please let me know. i've done hypnosis...it helped a little (though i don't know how). this has held me back in doing a lot of group related activites but i will conquer this emetaphobia!!! glad to know i'm not alone. maybe when i have kids it will get better....

 

[MollyMalone]

Good point. I'm sure it is much worse, since the urethra is longer.

I was in the ED one time with my mom (she had an emergency) and I was sitting in one of the curtained partitions, and from somewhere across the hall I could hear the wails of an older man whose voice I recognized from the waiting room (small town, we were the only people in there at the time). From the associated conversation, I surmised that he was having a Foley or something placed, and the sounds he was making were horrible.

Not looking forward to learning how to place them in med school/residency. 😱

Heh. Having one placed is bad enough... just try to imagine how a poor old demented guy who pulls his Foley out with the balloon inflated feels!! 😱