Should I be prepared to get sick often during rotations?

[Inquiringmind24]

As an MSII starting rotations in July, I was curious to know how many MSIIIs and MSIVs out there got sick frequently due to exposure to sick people for long periods of time. Any problems with nosocomial pneumonias? During the first two years I've only been sick once so far (knock on wood), but I know that could change once I'm in the hospitals and clinics.

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[raidermedic]

I've gotten sick pretty often during rotations. The hospitals a pretty dirty place to be. People always talk about building a resistance to all the bugs due to exposure. But I think they forgot to factor in what stress, lack of sleep, and less than ideal diet due to your immune system.

 

[BigNavyPedsGuy]

Every time I finish a peds rotation, those little rugrats leave me a going away virus. . . but I know of one class mate that got REALLY sick during rotations.

 

[deleted87716]

Wash your hands, and don't pick your nose.

 

[Sharkfan]

Any problems with nosocomial pneumonias?

No, but watch out for RSV; kids are impossible to keep clean, and impossible to keep from contaminating the rooms they're in, especially with mucus pouring out of them. Trust me RSV is NOT fun to get. Think worst cold of your life.

 

[DOctorJay]

a wicked GI bug just went around our hospital. i got sick right before xmas and almost didn't make it home. really sucked, and i am a handwashing/coloplast pumping freak.

-J

 

[Bertelman]

I only got sick once, which is my standard most years. Same bug (same Sx). If you're really concerned, stay away from Peds during the "sick months". Do it in the summer or spring. Don't worry about the pneumonia stuff unless you have some immunodeficiency (ahem) or happen to be >65 y.o.

Of course, I had worked in a hospital for several years prior to med school, so maybe my resistance has been established.

 

[QuinnB]

I got really sick during my month of pulm on IM...it was literally 5-6 weeks of terribleness. I can almost promise you that you'll get a wicked cold sometime during the year and if not congrats.

 

[felipe5]

yeah its definitely not fun to have to play the role of the enthusiastic "YAY everything" 3rd year when you feel like crap.....i was pretty damn lucky to walk away from peds without getting sick but low and behold I got a super nasty virus during my family med rotation that practically floored me for a week. part of the game I guess.....

 

[mdphd2b]

...If you're really concerned, stay away from Peds during the "sick months". Do it in the summer or spring.

I did Peds in July, and one of my classmates (same team) got bilateral AOM and was MISERABLE! Prior to Peds, she had never had an ear infection in her life!!

 

[Bertelman]

I did Peds in July, and one of my classmates (same team) got bilateral AOM and was MISERABLE! Prior to Peds, she had never had an ear infection in her life!!

That sucks for your friend. I was only implying that one would be less likely to become infected during this period, when there are less sick children in the clinics, etc.

 

[DOtobe]

I only got sick twice when I was in my MSIII and MSIV year (give or take the occasional cold). Both GI bugs...in my third year I did peds in late April-early May and got rota and basically lived in the bathroom for a day. In my fourth year I got another bug that kind of ran its way through all the med students and one of the two attendings on our IM service. As a resident I've only gotten sick once other than colds, and that was just this past week, and it was another GI bug. But I kind of suspect that that was food poisoning because it hit me like a ton of bricks and left me just as quickly.

Your immune system does get built up the more and more years you spend in a hospital full of germs.

 

[Jalopycat]

I got some kinda of nasty GI bug on peds, the night before the shelf exam. I was up all night in the bathroom and took the test anyway that morning (still sick). What an awful memory.... I missed making an A in peds by 1/2 point. I still blame it on my poor performance on the exam because I felt so awful.

 

[abc56]

yup, def caught RSV in peds last month. i was really sick and had to miss 2 days (they sent me home the 2nd day). i was so paranoid about missing those 2 days, but seriously, nobody even CARED!! hahaha. the truth is, they dont want you spreading your germs. they kicked me out of the nursery for obvious reasons.

it was nice to have a little break. but its true, getting sick on peds is inevitable. oh and get a flu shot

 

[Taciturngosamer]

Thus far the disease goodness of the hospital has blessed me three times during third year:
Peds: strep throat.
Ob/Gyn: some funtastic gi bug from hell that lasted over a week
Family Medicine: Noro virus....good times but at least quick.

And I carry around a hand sanatizer and seriously have developed a Pilate complex!!!

Moral of the story is: bath in anaseptic daily and hope to God you don't get something really interesting.

 

[pillowhead]

during a month of pediatric surgery, i got horrible bronchitis. then even worse--during pediatric anesthesiology, i got strep throat. and i was wearing a face mask like 99% of the time on that rotation! despite all this, still hoping to sub-specialize in peds something.

 

[Taciturngosamer]

Goodness, that's definately setting yourself up for a lifetime of fun buggies. Nothing like the cute little disease vectors to get you sick.

 

[Mayhem]

I only got sick after peds (tonsillitis) but everybody got sick after peds because there are more infectious illnesses on that ward. Plus we had to pick up the kids and they hadn't learned to cover their mouths when coughing etc.

 

[hale-bopp]

Thanks to compulsive use of hand sanitizer, I have not yet gotten sick in the hospital (knocking on wood). That and the fact that my little brother (who always had something nasty from his high school and also I'm pretty sure is my HLA-match, since I get EVERY bug he has) is away at college, instead of at my Dad's house, I am getting a lot less colds this year than last. If only I didn't feel like a freak using hand sanitizer outside the hospital as much as I do in it, I think I might never catch a cold.

 

[Inquiringmind24]

As a resident I've only gotten sick once other than colds, and that was just this past week, and it was another GI bug. But I kind of suspect that that was food poisoning because it hit me like a ton of bricks and left me just as quickly.

Your immune system does get built up the more and more years you spend in a hospital full of germs.

Staph aureus maybe?????

 

[DOtobe]

Staph aureus maybe?????

That's what I was thinking. I ate some somewhat shady looking yogurt that am...

 

[Wizard of Oz]

Staph aureus maybe?????

Been there twice in the last couple of years. Sounds like Mr. aureus to me.

 

[nykka3]

i am sick right now. started surgery this week. geez. i haven't had so many bad colds since 3rd year started.

 

[yalla22]

Are they good about letting people take time off to rest?

 

[h2cooper]

Ugh...Family Medicine did it to me. After looking down sick people's throats 25+ times a day at my preceptor's office, I got a cold three times! It's hard to be happy when you're coughing, sniffing, and achey for a week, and people come in because their throat started hurting "yesterday." Oh, well....hand wash, hand wash, hand wash!

 

[Mayhem]

Peds is the rotation that keeps on giving. I just found out yesterday that one of the patients that was admitted while I was on ward in Sept has been diagnosed with Isoniazid resistant TB. And so 2/3 of the class is being offered free Mantoux tests. I doubt I caught it cause I tended not to pick up the kids too much but we'll see Monday. Some of the girls in class are terrified though.

What annoys me is I have another Peds rotation next year. This time I'll know better. Gallons of hand soap and a permanent face mask. I don't care if I look or sound like Darth Vader. This is war now.

 

[hippiedoc13]

This week I had my third URI in four months...would be no big deal except that I got laryngitis and I'm on my psych rotation! Makes it kinda hard to do your job when you're mute. Getting sick this often is definitely out of the ordinary for me, so I attribute it to being overworked, underslept, and malnourished by gross cafeteria food.

 

[Bertelman]

Are they good about letting people take time off to rest?

Ha. Not really. FP preceptor, probably. IM inpt., unlikely. Doctors show up to work sick. They expect med studs to do the same.

 

[chicamedica]

Seriously i know what you guys mean about germy kids on peds though. Especially in clinic. I could not believe how some kids would drop a toy on the HOSPITAL floor, pick it up, and PUT IT IN THEIR MOUTHS . And the parents would just watch!! I swear, when i'm a parent i'm not gonna let my kid do that! ICK!

Those of you who keep recurrently getting sick on the wards though might want to reevaluate whether you are washing/sanitizing your hands enough. Like hale-bopp here, I too am a compulsive sanitizer-user. It helps that I like the smell and feel of purell , but i'm also a bit grossed out by germs. But this has helped me stay pretty darned healthy during most of my rotations. I think i've been sick a total of four times throughout 2.5 years on the wards. Three of the four times I was infected by an inconsiderate resident or med student who talked directly into my face. one of the latter was in peds clinic when the entire team (but me) was sick with URIs--i came down with it right after the rotation was over. The 4th time, it was an elderly patient's family member who would spit when she talked, and she was sick/hoarse as heck. I have to say, i dont think i've gotten sick from a patient yet, thank God.

But please, if you do find yourself sick with a URI, PLEASE be considerate of both your patients and your colleagues--wash your hands even more religiously than usual, and wear a face mask if you're sneezy/mucousy/coughing. I make sure to wear one in such situations, because I know all too well how much it sucks to get a URI from people you work with breathing on you. And just think how unfair it is for patients--they come in the hospital to get better, not to get a URI on top of it all! We can get better no problem, but for some patients, a simple viral URI could be the cause of their death. Would you want to be the cause of their death? I doubt anyone here would. If you dont care about your colleagues, keep in mind that the infection you spread to them could end up infecting (and killing) patients.

 

[QuinnB]

Peds is the rotation that keeps on giving. I just found out yesterday that one of the patients that was admitted while I was on ward in Sept has been diagnosed with Isoniazid resistant TB. And so 2/3 of the class is being offered free Mantoux tests. I doubt I caught it cause I tended not to pick up the kids too much but we'll see Monday. Some of the girls in class are terrified though.

What annoys me is I have another Peds rotation next year. This time I'll know better. Gallons of hand soap and a permanent face mask. I don't care if I look or sound like Darth Vader. This is war now.

ummm...you don't need to "pick up" a kid to catch Tb...being in the viscinity is good enough.

 

[Blue Frog]

My thoughts..on medicine and surgery there wasn't much going on that a healthy individual would catch..though there is a rumor everyone gets conlonized with MRSA after a few days...my nasal swab was negative after several months in the hospital.

I had a lot of patients with colds on primary care and psych (go figure) I became OCD about hand washing and showering when I got home...never got sick.

Finally, on peds...for some reason i thought adults were immune to the bugs i was dealing with...decided not to be OCD about it...then found out med students get sick all the time..at which point i realized i was already screwed.
...1st hour of a 34hour call i come down with rotavirus AND some sort of URI thing...i can only imagine how i smelled after sweating profusely in the same clothes for a day and a half.

Most of my friends have been sick about once as far as i know...no biggie..just colds usually. And if you're OCD about it you may avoid it all together.

 

[Tired Pigeon]

Are they good about letting people take time off to rest?

 

[Tired]

Exactly.

Let's be honest. It really makes no difference if you get sick a lot or not. Because short of a disease that requires quarantine or hospitalization, you're going to show up every day. Wash your hands all you want, do your best to keep away from the vectors (ie - children), but expect not to take any time off unless mandated by your state health department.

 

[carliecat]

During my Peds outpatient month I caught a nasty URI. I went in to the office with the intention of toughing it out, but my attending took one look at me and started laughing. He sent me home and told me that he gets a little suspicous when his students don't catch at least a little something. He said it shows him that we're being "interactive" enough with the patients. I'm more inclined to think I got snotted on one too many times.

The only other time I got "sick" was during my IM month when I got kidney stones ( too much coffee, not enough water ) I got sent home in the middle of rounds with the advice to "swing by the ED for a shot of toradol and come back tomorrow."

At least where I'm at, if you're obviously sick then they really don't want you around. This may have a lot to do with the fact that we have a big class, so one missing MS3 isn't too big a deal...unless you're on Surgery, then it's a whole different ballgame.

 

[c.bear]

I have an immune system of steal (flex bicepes)!!! Grrrrr!!!!

No sick days yet. EVER!!!! Well some little colds and coughs but nothing to stay home for. I wore a mask for 2 days when in the NICU during peds just to not spread any germs from a minor viral syndrome.



But try to take care of yourself: personally and physically. Treat your body good. Or at least treat your body the best you can

 

[MadameLULU]

3+ months into rotations and I have yet to get sick. On the flip side of things, I know I (or other members of my team) have transmitted bugs to patients. I was recently on a service where most of our patients got VRE while they were in the hospital.

 

[tomatoattack]

didnt read the thread, but the title made me laugh.

Yes, better up your health insurance - third and fourth years are constantly one big day in bed with a runny nose.

But not really.

Are you serious? do you think that people who work in hospitals are sick all the time? I haven't been sick yet and i'm not the anal hand/stethescope/PDA/wristwatch/everything else I have on sterilized person that you will see in the hospital. that person really cracks me up though.

We had this girl on medicine who must have gone through 1000 little alcohol pads wiping every bit of her equipment on a daily basis to "protect herself"

I don't even think that I've had anyone on any of my teams get sick.

There is always that girl - yes it is always a girl - in your class who is constantly "sick" but is really more of a hypocondriac - and she will probably fill your head with nonsense about how sick the hospital makes her, but don't worry about it. You probably won't get any more sick than you did before. At least that is my observational experience.

Obviously this post invites flaming with its confrontational tone, sorry about that.

 

[chicamedica]

We had this girl on medicine who must have gone through 1000 little alcohol pads wiping every bit of her equipment on a daily basis to "protect herself"

Actually I admire her. Even if her intentions were to "protect herself" as you somehow quote, in disinfecting her equipment daily she was doing more to protect patients than any of you guys that smirked/laughed at her were doing. Actually, in reality we should be wiping our stethoscopes, equipment, hands, etc, after every patient.