Surgical shadowing as M1

[thegreengreatdragon]

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I'm trying to figure out whether or not surgery is something I'd be interested in, and one of my biggest concerns before I even start thinking about lifestyle or personality fit is whether or not I even have the stomach for it.
I'm not super squeamish generally. Did a lot of mouse dissections for undergrad lab (the worst part was killing them, not opening them up), did some cadaver studying in an undergrad physio class without much issue. I have a history of fainting (usually due to sudden injury to myself, once due to stress + overheating, never because of something disturbing I saw) as a teenager, although I haven't passed out in a few years.
Is there a good surgical specialty for me to get my feet wet in? A specialty with procedures that are maybe a little less intense/skin-crawling? Or should I just take the plunge and hope I don't pass out or throw up?

tl;dr: if I'm not sure about how well I can stomach surgery yet, what's a good specialty to shadow to try and figure this out?

 

[wanderingorion]

Maybe wait until your anatomy lab starts (if you're dissecting donors), try that, and then go shadow some surgeons. =)

 

[longhaul3]

Ortho is usually the best surgical speciality to shadow in as a pre-clinical student because it's most relevant to what you're learning. The anatomy is all out there in front of you. And it gets pretty bloody so it's a good place to test your mettle.

No reason to believe you won't be able to handle it, though. Watching surgery is not a normal thing for humans to do, so it takes a little while to adapt. Almost everyone does (and pretty quickly).

 

[ed*26]

Also, I can't overstate the importance of being hydrated and well fed before seeing surgery (or even cadaveric dissection). I passed out the first surgery I shadowed in pre-med, thought I would never want to be a surgeon. In hindsight it had as much to do with having only coffee + fruit for breakfast as it did the shock of seeing surgery. Now I just make sure to drink a bunch of water and eat a heavier meal that I would usually, and I'm just fine.

The waiting until after seeing a cadaver is good advice -- even that can be a little shocking.

 

[mehc012]

I'm trying to figure out whether or not surgery is something I'd be interested in, and one of my biggest concerns before I even start thinking about lifestyle or personality fit is whether or not I even have the stomach for it.
I'm not super squeamish generally. Did a lot of mouse dissections for undergrad lab (the worst part was killing them, not opening them up), did some cadaver studying in an undergrad physio class without much issue. I have a history of fainting (usually due to sudden injury to myself, once due to stress + overheating, never because of something disturbing I saw) as a teenager, although I haven't passed out in a few years.
Is there a good surgical specialty for me to get my feet wet in? A specialty with procedures that are maybe a little less intense/skin-crawling? Or should I just take the plunge and hope I don't pass out or throw up?

tl;dr: if I'm not sure about how well I can stomach surgery yet, what's a good specialty to shadow to try and figure this out?

Definitely do it - it's not as jarring as you think it'd be.

 

[ortnakas]

You don’t need to shadow as an extracurricular like you did as a premed, but it is a great way to find out what you’re interested in (and not interested in).

If you’re interested in surgery, that’s a good one to do. Eat and be hydrated first (but also, try to time it so you won’t have to go to the bathroom). It’s also not a bad idea to shadow in other fields you might be interested in but are less likely to have many M3 rotations in (surgery subspecialties, EM, PM&R, etc).

 

[mistafab]

I did some gen surg shadowing year 1. Really was a wonderful experience!

Great mix of blood, poop, and guts! Would highly recommend it for anyone surgery-naive.

 

[NotaCop]

1. Don’t lock your knees.
2. ???????
3. Profit

 

[OrthoTraumaMD]

For what it’s worth...

I did pass out in my intern year in ortho residency (granted it was while i was in gensurg rotation, damn bowels + no breakfast)

I would never kill or dissect a mouse (they’re so cute!), but I can cut a human without blinking, and i was surprised to find out I could.

You’ll be fine, it’s not that bad...come down and shadow some orthopods, we are usually friendly and love to chat/show off. It’s a nice specialty to shadow if you’re nervous about it. Yes, it’s bloody sometimes, but when everyone is just chilling and ac/dc is on, it’s hard to freak out.


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[thegreengreatdragon]

Thanks for all of the advice, guys, I feel a lot more confident that I won't pass out. I have so little surgical knowledge, and I really want to see if this is a field I'll enjoy.
I was lucky enough to handle cadavers for a class I took in undergrad and didn't have a problem with them, so that's heartening! I will maybe try ortho, since I think 2 of you mentioned it and my school has a pretty robust ortho program. Will definitely eat well before observing.

 

[Treebeard]

Surgery is really not particularly gory, unless something goes very wrong, which is of course very rare. In my experience, the incisions are much smaller than you'd expect and there is very little active bleeding (and when there is it immediately becomes priority #1 to cauterize it).

 

[Preston Garvey]

You can shadow a pediatric ENT. Tonsillectomies aren't so bad.

Or just an ENT

 

[UnoMas]

If gore is what you want, go shadow some OBs on the L and D.