Surgery

[wackyfizzle]

I am very interested in the surgery aspect of DPM, but so far, I've sat through 2 surgeries and am only batting .500. By that I mean I couldnt make it through my first viewing and got woozy. Im due to watch another set of surgeries soon and am worried that I'll again be tempted to pass out...I really want to do this with the rest of my life, are there tricks, or any way that I can get over these fits? I'd hate to embarrass myself agian! thanks.

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[podoc123]

I'm pre-pod as well and had similar problems when I started shadowing, but now I'm fine during surgery. Most pods and other surgeons I've talked to say its not uncommon to feel woozy or like you'll pass out when you first start shadowing. During my first surgery I had to leave for a little while, but when I returned to the OR I was fine and it didn't bother me anymore.

One of the nurses assisting in the surgery said she feels woozy and light headed about once a month. She said there are just random triggers for her every once and awhile. The bottom line is just try and stick with it and observe as much as you can. In my experience it is something you can overcome so just keep on shadowing.

I also found it helpful to not think about the patient and concentrate only on what the surgeon is doing. I think detaching yourself from the patient makes it easier at first

 

[Stafocker]

I am very interested in the surgery aspect of DPM, but so far, I've sat through 2 surgeries and am only batting .500. By that I mean I couldnt make it through my first viewing and got woozy. Im due to watch another set of surgeries soon and am worried that I'll again be tempted to pass out...I really want to do this with the rest of my life, are there tricks, or any way that I can get over these fits? I'd hate to embarrass myself agian! thanks.

just keep watching more and more and more... it's really the only way to get numb to it. it gets real old after a while.

Don't worry about it. If you've never seen it or smelled it before, it's definitely an experience.

 

[wackyfizzle]

that makes me feel better to know that other people feel the same way and were able to get over it! I was worried about having to stop my career before it started!

 

[NatCh]

Like the others said, people usually get used to it. You could always wear a surgery helmet just in case...

It does happen to students occasionally, so do not be embarrassed. It's more important that if you do find yourself feeling lightheaded, tell someone immediately and sit down! The last thing they need is to worry about treating a head injury.

 

[narkotiks]

I am very interested in the surgery aspect of DPM, but so far, I've sat through 2 surgeries and am only batting .500. By that I mean I couldnt make it through my first viewing and got woozy. Im due to watch another set of surgeries soon and am worried that I'll again be tempted to pass out...I really want to do this with the rest of my life, are there tricks, or any way that I can get over these fits? I'd hate to embarrass myself agian! thanks.

the cure-all will come after your first year of pod classes. first semester, gross anatomy, all you do is cut and play with dead bodies. second semester, the lower limb...samething. you'll be fine!! if not, there is always chip and clip!

 

[whiskers]

the cure-all will come after your first year of pod classes. first semester, gross anatomy, all you do is cut and play with dead bodies. second semester, the lower limb...samething. you'll be fine!! if not, there is always chip and clip!

You get to "cut and PLAY" with dead bodies???? Oh my, something about that statement doesn't seem right.

In my opinion good ethics starts in anatomy lab but there are probably laws or rules just in case.

I have to ask... Does OCPM have cadaver lab rules and are they enforced?

 

[OSUDDS]

were all crooks remember... what rules do we need?

 

[MurrayButler]

If it makes you feel any better, I actually caught someone last week (that is a practicing physician in another country) just before that person's head hit the floor. Pretty crazy, but it happens...a lot. Just don't lock your knees out the entire time and eat a good meal before you go in that day. It will be fine!

 

[Feli]

..eat a good meal before you go in that day. It will be fine!

This is good advice^. A lot of the people who get lightheaded are ones who skipped breakfast and just had black coffee. Can you say "hypoglycemia?" As NatCh said, you do need to sit down right away if you experience this. You definitely don't want to fall and hurt yourself or stumble into a scrubbed surgeon or assistant.

You will probably get used to the surgery field, but it might take awhile. My first surgery shadowing as a pre-med was CABG, so I guess I'm one of those people who has no problem. Then again, I had seen a ton of minor and moderate lacs and trauma injuries in the ER, so I was fairly used to blood and fluids. The poditary surgery (toe amps and bunions) I subsequently watched while shadowing pods seemed pretty minor compared to the cardio-thoracic stuff I watched when I was considering going to school for MS perfusion science.

The one thing that I've heard will really get your stomach flipping is an autopsy. I don't have my path rotation until next semester (and even then there's no guarantee there will be any performed in that timespan). Still, I've heard that dissection can be upsetting to even someone who is comfortable with cadavers, OR surgery, etc.

 

[Creflo]

Chuck Yeager used to puke every time he got into an airplane, then ended up breaking the sound barrier...

 

[NatCh]

The one thing that I've heard will really get your stomach flipping is an autopsy. I don't have my path rotation until next semester (and even then there's no guarantee there will be any performed in that timespan). Still, I've heard that dissection can be upsetting to even someone who is comfortable with cadavers, OR surgery, etc.

As a pre-med I had a job as a Pathology Assistant in which I'd assist on the post-mortems. They were by far more vivid than anything I'd done in a lab or even now in surgery. I never got nauseated or lightheaded but it took me a few cases to learn how to disassociate myself from the work I was doing. I think that's the key; detach yourself mentally.

 

[crhoody12]

I agree. The more you watch the more you'll get used to it. I was thinking dentistry awhile back and sat in on a few oral surgery procedures (chin implants, jaw re-alignments) and didn't feel sick at all. The nurses and doctors were telling me to stay back initially incase I faint and fall on him, but within 20 mintues I was on a stool right over his shoulder so I could get a close-up look. Funny though, as much as I can take the actual procedures, I still get a squeemish feeling when I would watch that MTV show Scarred. I think it had not so much to do with the injury as much as watching it happen.

 

[narkotiks]

You get to "cut and PLAY" with dead bodies???? Oh my, something about that statement doesn't seem right.

In my opinion good ethics starts in anatomy lab but there are probably laws or rules just in case.

I have to ask... Does OCPM have cadaver lab rules and are they enforced?

thats right...i almost forgot that we now have word-usage police on our forum.
let me have a crack at it:
"...a more proper and accurate description of the activity and endeavor found in a cadaver laboratory at OCPM would include scientific dissection and study of cadaveric specimen. After significant practice in such a laboratory, one may find that the feelings of light-headedness and/or nausea may subdue, at which point, one could say with reasonable surety that performing or observing a surgical procedure on a living subject may be less nauseating, considering previous experience, than if one never had said experience prior to the surgical procedure."

children, please don't take this lightly. we are a group of people yearning for professional respect and parity with our esteemed and revered and respected MD & DO idols. everything we say must be carefully planned as to contribute to acceptance of us by the professionals whom we wish we were.


as for cadaver laboratory rules, yes, existent are a set of rules with professional and ethical origin. with regards to enforcement, you would know as well as i if an established governing body actively patrols the laboratory and locker rooms ensuring nothing less than professional and ethical thought/action is ensuing at all times, and in all places.

-Amen

 

[OSUDDS]

as for cadaver laboratory rules, yes, existent are a set of rules with professional and ethical origin. with regards to enforcement, you would know as well as i if an established governing body actively patrols the laboratory and locker rooms ensuring nothing less than professional and ethical thought/action is ensuing at all times, and in all places.

-Amen

assuming whiskers is even in pod school