Will being squeamish be a problem for a med student?

[Toooldforms]

I hope to go into internal medicine (maybe endo from there), pediatrics or ent for the record

I'm not squeamish around blood but I'm squeamish around things like toenails hanging half off or objects jammed in the eye. and I'm an easily disgusted person by things vomit.

Does this get better with time or are there any ways I can desensitize myself so I'm no longer easily disgusted?;

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[Lannister]

Exposure is the only way to get over this. Shadow. Volunteer in a hospital. You'll get used to it with time.

 

[NotASerialKiller]

... I'm squeamish around things like ... objects jammed in the eye

Exposure is the only way to get over this.

I like where this is heading

 

[21Rush12]

You will get used to it. You are far from the first person to have this issue and also want to be a doctor. Lannister is right, you will have to get over this with exposure and time. Personally, I find that being there as someone who is helping/fixing the gross thing makes it much easier to set aside those feelings and focus on the task at hand.

You will be fine! Don't limit your specialty choice going in because of this, let that come to you with experience and exposure.


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[unicornshadow888]

Exposure is the only way to get over this. Shadow. Volunteer in a hospital. You'll get used to it with time.

THIS! The more you see (and sometimes smell) these things irl, the more accustomed you become to it. Shadow, volunteer in a hospital, work in the ER (that's where the really graphic stuff is mostly), etc.

 

[SpoiledMilk]

Let the desensitizing begin shall we?

 

[DrYoda]

You'll probably get used to it as others have said. But really as long as you can stand it for the few rotations that have gross stuff. You can always pick a field that doesn't have a lot of body fluids or whatever it is you don't like.

 

[Princeton Medical Student]

www.reddit.com/r/surgerygifs is a good place to start.

 

[ladymiresa]

I can't stand looking at slides of cells. The nuclei physically repulse me and that is not an exaggeration, I can't really explain it. Similarly, in my anatomy lab, I hated looking at the little gaps in the spongey bone. Even typing it disturbs me! So anyway... I'm sure everyone has the thing(s) that kind of trigger them but we'll all be fine in the end.

 

[SpoiledMilk]

I can't stand looking at slides of cells. The nuclei physically repulse me and that is not an exaggeration, I can't really explain it. Similarly, in my anatomy lab, I hated looking at the little gaps in the spongey bone. Even typing it disturbs me! So anyway... I'm sure everyone has the thing(s) that kind of trigger them but we'll all be fine in the end.

Sounds like you have trypophobia?

 

[ladymiresa]

Sounds like you have trypophobia?

Is there comorbidity with OCD? Buzzfeed articles about trypophobia are not a fun experience for me, but I thought the "diagnosis" was mostly a pop science thing.

 

[efle]

Why did I Google that...gross

 

[SpoiledMilk]

Is there comorbidity with OCD? Buzzfeed articles about trypophobia are not a fun experience for me, but I thought the "diagnosis" was mostly a pop science thing.

Sorry, I don't know the answer to your question. Maybe a practicing SDN psychiatrist would.

 

[ladymiresa]

Sorry, I don't know the answer to your question. Maybe a practicing SDN psychiatrist would.

Haha, don't worry I didn't expect you to. I might look into it. Point was, I think everyone has their little personal things that worry them about med school!

 

[tessellations]

Why did I Google that...gross

I'm convinced that the first couple of images are purposely there to freak people out. There are very few things that really freak me out but trypophobia is 100% one of them.

I can't stand looking at slides of cells. The nuclei physically repulse me and that is not an exaggeration, I can't really explain it. Similarly, in my anatomy lab, I hated looking at the little gaps in the spongey bone. Even typing it disturbs me! So anyway... I'm sure everyone has the thing(s) that kind of trigger them but we'll all be fine in the end.

I feel the same way about spongey bone...the holes are freaky!

 

[SpoiledMilk]

This article suggests that trypophobia is more prevalent among females than males.

Are You Afraid of Holes?

 

[FlameBroiledDoc]

I've been a doc for more than 15 years, and some things still make me squeamish: adult poop, ear wax, open fractures, others.

More than the sights, it's the smells in medicine that get you.

 

[SpoiledMilk]

While not a doc yet, but with years in the ER, I wholeheartedly agree that odors are much more worse than sights, esp in small examining rooms with little circulation. Hard to stifle the gag reflex.

Reminds me of the Seinfeld episode about BO being an entity onto itself.

 

[CyrilFiggis]

First procedure I ever saw was a c-section of 34 week triplets. I wasn't prepared for the physicality of it all or how the smell of cauterized flesh really isn't that unpleasant or the almost comical clown-car nature of the OB pulling out all the babies. By the end, when the resident asked if I wanted to hold the placenta, I was like sure, why not.

 

[Med student 18]

This will either make or break it for you. Exposure is the only way. In my experience, things get better with repeated exposure, but i know people who couldn't. only way to find out is to.....be exposed repeatedly.

 

[AnatomyGrey12]

More than the sights, it's the smells in medicine that get you.

Ah yes, nothing quite like a peri-rectal abscess I&D in the morning.

 

[medicsf]

I'm a Paramedic and I can deal with blood, severed limbs, eviscerations , etc. all day long but every time I have to suction an airway I almost vomit. The sound gets me... It takes time and the ability to put it behind you so you can get the job done.

 

[Pusheen]

I greatly regret visiting this thread
Who thought buzzfeed could be so horrifying..

 

[SpoiledMilk]

WARNING!!! Don't hit play if ya don't got the stomach for it.

Introducing Mother Nature and its creation, the Pipa Pipa Toad aka Surinam Toad giving birth.

 

[Doctor-S]

I hope to go into internal medicine (maybe endo from there), pediatrics or ent for the record

I'm not squeamish around blood but I'm squeamish around things like toenails hanging half off or objects jammed in the eye. and I'm an easily disgusted person by things vomit.

Does this get better with time or are there any ways I can desensitize myself so I'm no longer easily disgusted?;

This is a common feeling for many individuals (including pre-medical students and medical students).

In time, you will grow accustomed to (and familiar with) certain things that currently cause you to feel squeamish.

You'll "be in the moment" and you won't be thinking about feeling queasy. Instead, your exposure to different things in medicine will grow higher (more abundant) and you'll become increasingly resilient and desensitized to the things that may have caused you to feel squeamish or disgusted in the past.

 

[darkjedi]

Not only is ENT super competitive, but it's also definitely not for the squeamish.

Whatever you do don't look up pictures of a mandibulotomy, but if you've ever seen the Predator movies, just imagine that, except in people, and a lot bloodier.

 

[Professional Student]

Exposure is the only way to get over this. Shadow. Volunteer in a hospital. You'll get used to it with time.

Jelly Belly makes some really awful jelly beans if you wan't to build the stomach of an Iron Titan.

 

[Toooldforms]

Not only is ENT super competitive, but it's also definitely not for the squeamish.

Whatever you do don't look up pictures of a mandibulotomy, but if you've ever seen the Predator movies, just imagine that, except in people, and a lot bloodier.

I googled it. I can handle that kind of thing blood is no biggie its other nastier bodily fluids/waste I can't stand!

 

[raiderette]

I am fine with blood, pus and vomit, but the smells of BO and feces has made me gag before at a free clinic. I am better, but I still worry that I will lose it in front of a patient.

 

[rolliespring]

I remember these f**kers back in high school when I saw them on national geographic. Still gives me the chills.

WARNING!!! Don't hit play if ya don't got the stomach for it.

Introducing Mother Nature and its creation, the Pipa Pipa Toad aka Surinam Toad giving birth.