Squeamish- is psychiatry the right career for me?

[Xinoria]

I have always wanted to do something in the psychology field and recently, I have been considering to go into psychiatry. I have strong ambitions for it and the problem isn't med school or residency or fellowship. I am deathly scared of anything bloody, surgical, cut, burned, you name it. Basically, I can't handle any gore, especially surgical (involving opening up, cutting, etc). In my high school biology class, I managed to dissect a baby pig but that was it. I didn't have too many troubles with that but it just wasn't pleasant.

Will this be a big problem if I want to do psychiatry? What I plan on doing is mostly counseling and if necessary, to prescribe medication. However, if I have to conduct surgery or anything of the likes, I'd have problems with that. Any opinions?

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[nitemagi]

It won't come up much in psychiatry, but it will during medical school. That being said I wouldn't worry about it too much. Most of us get conditioned out of it quite quickly. My own med school coupled anatomy lab with timing at the end of the morning. You're dissecting while simultaneously feeling physiologically hungry. Got over it in no time.

 

[notdeadyet]

It won't come up much in psychiatry, but it will during medical school.

And residency as well, depending on where you end up. Some programs have required rotations in things like Emergency Medicine in intern year, which can have plenty of blood and burns.

OP- I'd probably give different advice than nitemagi. If you have no stomach for medicine as a whole, medicine is probably a poor choice, regardless of field. You are a physician first and a psychiatrist second.

If you're just on the squeamish side, that's fine. You can try to condition yourself out of it. But that's advice for folks who have a great drive to practice medicine. Is that you? You mention that your goals are to do "mostly counseling and if necessary, to prescribe medication." Those goals might better be served by going the psychology route rather than psychiatry.

 

[Xinoria]

And residency as well, depending on where you end up. Some programs have required rotations in things like Emergency Medicine in intern year, which can have plenty of blood and burns.

OP- I'd probably give different advice than nitemagi. If you have no stomach for medicine as a whole, medicine is probably a poor choice, regardless of field. You are a physician first and a psychiatrist second.

If you're just on the squeamish side, that's fine. You can try to condition yourself out of it. But that's advice for folks who have a great drive to practice medicine. Is that you? You mention that your goals are to do "mostly counseling and if necessary, to prescribe medication." Those goals might better be served by going the psychology route rather than psychiatry.

I believe I can go a long way if I can prescribe medications too. I just want the ability to go further than just counseling when the situation comes up. But yes I've heard that many psychiatrists and psychologists consult with each other anyway.

My compassion for the field is endless but I am scared that 1st year anatomy classes will force me to withdraw from med school. It is hard for me to look at many injuries but I can adjust- just as I did in high school. Thanks for your advice!

 

[peppy]

To get in med school you will need to do volunteering and shadowing. I would recommend seeking out shadowing experiences with surgeries and emergency departments to see if you can learn to tolerate it. Better to learn if you can put up with it now than after you've gone to the trouble of getting into med school.

 

[nitemagi]

To get in med school you will need to do volunteering and shadowing. I would recommend seeking out shadowing experiences with surgeries and emergency departments to see if you can learn to tolerate it. Better to learn if you can put up with it now than after you've gone to the trouble of getting into med school.

Agreed.

 

[sideways]

I had to take a scalpel to the penis of a dead human and splay it open like I was making a bananas foster. Perhaps you should look elsewhere.

 

[Xinoria]

To get in med school you will need to do volunteering and shadowing. I would recommend seeking out shadowing experiences with surgeries and emergency departments to see if you can learn to tolerate it. Better to learn if you can put up with it now than after you've gone to the trouble of getting into med school.

That is true. Thanks very much!

I had to take a scalpel to the penis of a dead human and splay it open like I was making a bananas foster. Perhaps you should look elsewhere.

Eeeeee perhaps but I'm still willing to give it all a try.

 

[sideways]

Eeeeee perhaps but I'm still willing to give it all a try.

Well then you have your answer.

Truthfully, it's not a big deal. You literally get too bogged down in the stress and work of it all to sit and get creeped out over things. Maybe at the very beginning you'll get weirded out, but I promise you it'll all wash away into a sea of stress (not squeamishness).

 

[Xinoria]

Well then you have your answer.

Truthfully, it's not a big deal. You literally get too bogged down in the stress and work of it all to sit and get creeped out over things. Maybe at the very beginning you'll get weirded out, but I promise you it'll all wash away into a sea of stress (not squeamishness).

That's what I heard about it too. An anesthesiologist I know was a lot like me, as in he was petrified of blood and organs, especially. But he said after a while, he was able to dissect and then eat a sandwich on the side at the same time. Of course it's a comedic exaggeration but the point was that I will get over it. Thanks for your advice

 

[hefe]

Doesn't this just sound similar to a specific phobia from abnormal psy??

Why not plan on using behavior therapy ideas when the issue arises beginning w/ anatomy lab once you get in with in vivo exposure to blood, cutting bodies, ect?

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science?_ob=ArticleURL&_udi=B6WY6-46F707G-14&_user=10&_origUdi=B6V5W-45XTVJ9-3W&_fmt=high&_coverDate=10%2F31%2F2001&_rdoc=1&_orig=article&_origin=article&_zone=related_art&_acct=C000050221&_version=1&_urlVersion=0&_userid=10&md5=232ffa99ab1816145393419911a62db3

http://www.sciencedirect.com/scienc...77e90139fb58bab510d67075f1f3df46&searchtype=a

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Systematic_desensitization

Psych is by no means a specialty of mine , but this sort of thing came to mind.

Probably, by the time your through, you can share a similar sentiment as well.

That's what I heard about it too. An anesthesiologist I know was a lot like me, as in he was petrified of blood and organs, especially. But he said after a while, he was able to dissect and then eat a sandwich on the side at the same time. Of course it's a comedic exaggeration but the point was that I will get over it. Thanks for your advice

 

[WhoisJohnGalt]

That's what I heard about it too. An anesthesiologist I know was a lot like me, as in he was petrified of blood and organs, especially. But he said after a while, he was able to dissect and then eat a sandwich on the side at the same time. Of course it's a comedic exaggeration but the point was that I will get over it. Thanks for your advice

I wouldn't assume this was a "comedic exaggeration." I never ate in the lab because A) I couldn't tolerate the formaldehyde smell and B) I didn't spend nearly enough time in the lab. However, several of my peers, particularly the surgery types who spent every waking hour in the lab, literally ate in the anatomy lab. Pretty gross if you ask me, but that's the extent to which you can get desensitized to it. All that said, I would *definitely* recommend shadowing in the OR or ER before you decide one way or the other. Med school is not for the faint of heart.

 

[billypilgrim37]

I am a little embarrassed to say that I once had a Jimmy Johns sub in my left hand while my right hand was gloved and prodding inside a body studying for an anatomy practical probably around 3 AM. That was not good judgment for a myriad of reasons.

 

[Xinoria]

Doesn't this just sound similar to a specific phobia from abnormal psy??

Why not plan on using behavior therapy ideas when the issue arises beginning w/ anatomy lab once you get in with in vivo exposure to blood, cutting bodies, ect?

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science?_ob=ArticleURL&_udi=B6WY6-46F707G-14&_user=10&_origUdi=B6V5W-45XTVJ9-3W&_fmt=high&_coverDate=10%2F31%2F2001&_rdoc=1&_orig=article&_origin=article&_zone=related_art&_acct=C000050221&_version=1&_urlVersion=0&_userid=10&md5=232ffa99ab1816145393419911a62db3

http://www.sciencedirect.com/scienc...77e90139fb58bab510d67075f1f3df46&searchtype=a

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Systematic_desensitization

Psych is by no means a specialty of mine , but this sort of thing came to mind.

Probably, by the time your through, you can share a similar sentiment as well.

Interesting, I never thought of it like that. That's something I'll definitely look into.

I wouldn't assume this was a "comedic exaggeration." I never ate in the lab because A) I couldn't tolerate the formaldehyde smell and B) I didn't spend nearly enough time in the lab. However, several of my peers, particularly the surgery types who spent every waking hour in the lab, literally ate in the anatomy lab. Pretty gross if you ask me, but that's the extent to which you can get desensitized to it. All that said, I would *definitely* recommend shadowing in the OR or ER before you decide one way or the other. Med school is not for the faint of heart.

I guess I would be one of those people who would become disillusioned once they entered med school, but yes I'm definitely thinking about shadowing a doctor in the ER. I assumed my friend was exaggerating; thinking about it now though, I remember my teacher eating pizza while we all dissected animals- guess it's not that uncommon haha

I am a little embarrassed to say that I once had a Jimmy Johns sub in my left hand while my right hand was gloved and prodding inside a body studying for an anatomy practical probably around 3 AM. That was not good judgment for a myriad of reasons.

Lol I don't know how people would do that!

 

[jdwmont]

I gather from OP's post the s/he has not taken much bio. If you are seriously considering med school, take anatomy and physiology and see what you think of it. That will give you direct experience with a cadaver, but you probably won't dissect. If you can stomach the cadavers in a&p, you will be fine in med school.

 

[SpiritiualDuck]

As a boy, I would faint at the sight of needles. Just seeing blood used to make me sick. But I did it. I got through medical school because I made it the only option for me. The idea is exposure, exposure, exposure. I also saw a therapist and did some hypnotherapy, made some tapes, listened to them, and would also contract my muscles, pumping blood to my brain when I started to feel it coming on. During my surgical rotation, I would drink Gatorade, stay hydrated, before I'd enter the OR. Eventually, through the process of exposure, I just began to see it as just another day. I'm never around it now. I'm a 3rd year resident, but with any phobia, exposure is the key to success, also learning some simple techniques like contracting your quads to pump keep your blood from pooling in your extremities, and staying hydrated, eating a little before entering the OR, helped me. You can do this. I'm not sure if hynotherapy worked, but placebo is driven by not just expectation, but need. And I needed to get through this. Today, I never think about it anymore.

 

[PAprincess1987]

Spiritual Duck-

I am in PA school and having the same problem. I have been passing out during medical procedures ( more than once). Can this be overcome? What area of medicine are you in now?? Do you have any other tips for me. I want to be in the medical career but I am scared I am in the wrong field bc I pass out more than the average person. We you passed out where docs pretty understanding??

thank you

 

[PAprincess1987]

Spiritual Duck-

I am in PA school and having the same problem. I have been passing out during medical procedures ( more than once). Can this be overcome? What area of medicine are you in now?? Do you have any other tips for me. I want to be in the medical career but I am scared I am in the wrong field bc I pass out more than the average person. We you passed out where docs pretty understanding??

thank you