Alleyoop90 Posted January 19, 2014 Share Posted January 19, 2014 Hi everyone.I am not a PA student yet but am in the process of taking my prereqs for PA school. I graduated with a Bachelors of Health Administration last december and after working in an office at a desk all day I realized I would much rather be out interacting and seeing patients, and working more hands on (I work at my states Health Department). I have always had a strong interest in medicine, but what kept holding me back was the fear that I would not be able to handle watching surgeries during rotations, extreme traumas in the ER etc. I thought about Physical Therapy, but I just dont find it as interesting. I dont want something this silly to hold me back from pursuing my dream. I think this is why I choose the health administration route, thinking Id be satisfied with working the clerical side of health but I'm not. Do you think this is something I can overcome? Any input would be appreciated! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PM2PA Posted January 19, 2014 Share Posted January 19, 2014 Do some shadowing in the ER and see how you like it. Is this just a fear or do you actually have a tendency to faint? Just don't turn into one of those people who makes it all the way through school and then quits when they freak out touching a real patient. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EKR007 Posted January 19, 2014 Share Posted January 19, 2014 There are tons of videos online (youtube is a good place to start) showing surgeries, cadaveric dissections, child birth, injuries, suturing and other procedures. I would suggest checking some of these out and seeing how you feel. Your next step would be to shadow an ER doc, or try to get in an OR somewhere (I know this can be difficult at many hospitals without connections) since if you want to become a PA, you'll absolutely encounter these situations. I don't have any experience with this problem, but I think it's definitely something you can overcome if you work at it--and after watching some you might realize you're a lot more comfortable seeing the stuff than you thought. I hope this helps! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
physio Posted January 19, 2014 Share Posted January 19, 2014 youll get over it. I started out PA school feeling like I had to pass out everytime I saw a needle stick! I was adamant about gradually exposing myself to such situations through my didactic year. Immerse yourself in every situation that makes you uncomfortable and eventually it wont bother you (youtube videos, volunteer at blood donation sites, volunteer at ERs,). I was initially nervous in the OR too and once a time even had to scrub out because I was feeling queezy but the longer time I spent in the OR the more comfortable I felt. By the 2nd/3rd wk of gen surg I feel like I was completely over my nervousness and then loved it! So much so that I decided to do both my electives in surgery too! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UGoLong Posted January 20, 2014 Share Posted January 20, 2014 When I started out as a hospital volunteer, they wanted to assign me to the ER. I didn't like the thought of blood and gore, but the coordinator asked me to try it, offering to reassign me if I couldn't handle it. It turned out that I could and I was curious about what the procedure was all about. I could be objective rather than subjective. This same attitude has been with me in EMS and, for the last 7 years, as a PA. Well after an event, I often find myself thinking, "boy, that must have hurt!" but, while I'm working, I am focused on doing my job or learning something. You can watch videos to see, I suppose, but I hate watching movies with violence and gratuitous gore, even after seeing what you would expect to see during 28 years in EMS. Rather than helplessly watch, when it's your job, you generally do your thing just fine. If you want to check yourself early, I agree with shadowing a PA in an ER. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alleyoop90 Posted January 20, 2014 Author Share Posted January 20, 2014 Do some shadowing in the ER and see how you like it. Is this just a fear or do you actually have a tendency to faint? Just don't turn into one of those people who makes it all the way through school and then quits when they freak out touching a real patient. Thanks for the advice. I have never actually fainted but came close to it twice.. Once while watching a spinal tap being preformed while i was interning at the Mayo Clinic during college (I think this was because I just had one of them done on myself two months before in the ER after a health scare), and the other time was when a friend sliced the tip of her finger off and when she went to show me I jgot a little weak in the knees. Because of those two things Im afraid major things like surgeries would make me go down. Shadowing is a good idea, I will look into this. Do you think volunteering in the ER would help as well? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alleyoop90 Posted January 20, 2014 Author Share Posted January 20, 2014 I was just trying to find videos of surgeries and came across this.. A med student fainting! I guess im not the only one. This is what I dont want to happen. [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5OX2eVD59PE] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cinntsp Posted January 20, 2014 Share Posted January 20, 2014 Watch a lot of videos on youtube of procedures that you think will make you sick. It's good to get that initial exposure where it's not so in-your-face and then go from there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
patachok Posted January 21, 2014 Share Posted January 21, 2014 I was just trying to find videos of surgeries and came across this.. A med student fainting! I guess im not the only one. This is what I dont want to happen. [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5OX2eVD59PE] I have heard of residents/med students passng out in the OR. Some things like OR are just not for them. However, I am sure some expisure beforehand should help! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PAruby Posted January 23, 2014 Share Posted January 23, 2014 Basically what everyone else has said. As I am rotating, I find that the first time I see any procedure I feel basically awful. I'm lucky enough to have a body that warns me of my impending faint, so I'm able to excuse myself and sit down outside the room. In the OR, I might have even had to sit down on the floor a time or two... but the preceptors are fine, noone laughed at me, and they were glad that I didn't actually faint (though my classmate did, and still didn't get bad treatment!) I LOVE procedures, but I have to get over learning them. Also, I find that once I am INVOLVED in the procedure (removing lipoma, i&d abscess, insert central line, retracting in surgery) I do a whole lot better. In my surgery rotation my preceptor always gave me the next days schedule ahead of time so i'd go watch the procedure on youtube, get used to the idea of what i'd be seeing, and be prepared for his pimping questions too! If you are genuinely interested, you'll be fine. You might find you just have to "get through" your surgery, ER, and OB rotations, but in the end you could end up in family med or somewhere else where bloody procedures are rare. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hitzgrl123 Posted January 25, 2014 Share Posted January 25, 2014 I've never been bothered by blood and guys, but I still fainted once during my ob/gyn rotation while assisting during a c-section. Classic case of not eating in ~12 hours and spending most of the day of my feet. I realized it was about to happen, let go of the retractor I was holding, announced that I had to step back and that I wasn't feeling well, and the circulating nurse got a chair under me just as I was about to go down. I didn't contaminate anything and I didn't fall on the patient or anyone else. My preceptor actually commended me later on handling it professionally and giving everyone a warning before it happened. My point , if you conduct yourself like a professional, no one is going to get mad at you or laugh at you (at least not to your face! I don't know what might have been said about me after I left the OR). Students faint sometimes, it's kind of normal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greenmood Posted January 28, 2014 Share Posted January 28, 2014 Lots of people pass out their first (second, etc) time in the OR (or name your graphic specialty). It's not the end of the world and it's overwhelmingly likely you will still have an excellent rotation. The closest I ever came to passing out was actually during a bedside wound care procedure, but I heard of several classmates hitting the floor in the OR and one in the ED. They all became PA-Cs and are gainfully employed now. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Paula Posted January 28, 2014 Share Posted January 28, 2014 And then there are those of us who live for this kind of stuff. Are we flawed individuals because we love to see the abscess spill purulent smelly thick fluid when we slice it open? I've often wondered that about myself. I fainted once when I lived in Africa and was visiting a mission hospital. I was not a PA then. I was invited to watch a hysterectomy and it was the most interesting procedure to see, but bam, down I went near the end when the uterus was pulled out and there was a very large cystic mass in it. At least I was far enough away to not hurt anyone or disrupt the surgery. It was surreal. Plus it was a very hot not air conditioned primitive hospital and I think that had something to do with it. I had just one incident in my surgical rotation when scrubbed in to surgery. Again, felt hot and flushed and said something like "Boy, it's hot in here" and a very smart scrub nurse said, "stand back, and sit down" which I did and all was well with the world. I hated surgery anyway and was so glad when that rotation was over. Good luck to the OP. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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