Marilyn1122 Posted June 20, 2010 Share Posted June 20, 2010 Hello Everyone! I am a newbie here, just starting on pre-requisites at Touro and starting a volunteer gig in ER in July. All day today I have been watching 'Trauma: Life in the ER' on Discovery Health channel and for most of the show I have been grossed out. I have never seen a stab wound up close or someone lose their eyeball in a car accident. I know that being a PA in surgery/ER can be completely different from being a PA in psychiatry, but I was curious to know if anyone here actually fainted or got sick when they first encounterd a traumatic situation? Does it get better the more you are exposed to it? I'm aware that for the most part you need a strong stomach within medicine, but getting over the hurdle of never beimg exposed to someone profusely bleeding worries me. :sweat: Any suggestions, thoughts? Thx -M Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrator rev ronin Posted June 20, 2010 Administrator Share Posted June 20, 2010 I would recommend getting a lot of good, appropriate HCE before actually applying. You'll find out it you can hack it or not. :-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator EMEDPA Posted June 20, 2010 Moderator Share Posted June 20, 2010 yup, agree with above. the best time to figure this out is before you start clinicals, preferably before you apply to pa school. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marilyn1122 Posted June 20, 2010 Author Share Posted June 20, 2010 Got it. I am looking forward to volunteering in the ER. I have a feeling that I will be ok. Might take a short while before I get used to seeing violent injuries...after this summer I will know for sure. I was curious to know other people's experience. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
just_me Posted June 20, 2010 Share Posted June 20, 2010 volunteering wont get you close enough lol but you will still see some stuff. I remember working as a registration rep in the ER and walking through the ER on a Sunday morning to the smell of old urine (the neighboring nursing homes seemed to send everyone over on sunday) and a code brown. Then there was the night that someone drove themselves to the ER with several gunshots and they parked in the ambulance parking and we had a patient coding on the way---guess who got to suit up and move the blood soaked car :-) I worked in the ICU as a unit clerk and got to help change the pad under the 750+lb lady----hmm so maybe as non-clinical staff you may get to do some stuff :-) lol I will say so far the only thing I have never been able to handle well is vomitt and vomitting and the sounds that are associated with it--makes me want to throw up too but I deal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
acozadd Posted June 20, 2010 Share Posted June 20, 2010 After spending a couple months in a cadaver once you are in PA school, nothing will phase you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marilyn1122 Posted June 21, 2010 Author Share Posted June 21, 2010 Ah.... I see that this will be my baptism by fire! I'm up for the challenge though. My desire to help people will hopefully annihilate all fear. Do you guys consider the Emergency Room PA to be the most challenging? I assume that a PA in Pediatrics or in a small family practice don't have see daily horror stories. I might be wrong though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marilyn1122 Posted June 21, 2010 Author Share Posted June 21, 2010 After spending a couple months in a cadaver once you are in PA school, nothing will phase you. Do you work in groups or by yourself? (Please say groups!!!) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
acozadd Posted June 21, 2010 Share Posted June 21, 2010 Do you work in groups or by yourself? (Please say groups!!!) We are in groups of 4 with a TA working with each group. Typically everyone is working on something because there is a lot to get through and very little time. The first week alone we dissected through all back mucles, did a laminectomy to expose the spinal cord, etc. Cut open the chest, removed the heart, lungs, other mediastinal contents. Whew. Not bad for your first week eh? Working on a cadaver is one of the best learning experiences I've had. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marilynpac Posted June 21, 2010 Share Posted June 21, 2010 You're going to see daily horror stories in every field, it will just be a different story. Walk softly and carry a big stick...keep close to the forum. It depends on motivation above all. Do you have the ambition? I don't mean now b/c you haven't even started. I mean years from now...that's when you have to answer the question. Most people on this forum ate, drank, slept and would dream nothing but PA for years.....that's the motivation that keeps you going. As for the blood and guts...it won't matter at all, any obstacle that's put in front of you...you jump over, work around, climb under, or barrel right through it...that's a PA! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marilyn1122 Posted June 21, 2010 Author Share Posted June 21, 2010 Marilynpac- Thanks so much for the positive input! I have been obsessed with the PA profession for a short 12 months, but I am doing everything within my power to gain experience within the medical field along with reading books on the profession. I believe that your state of mind dictates the outcome of situtations. Although I was grossed out by the show today, now I'm curious and willing to face anything as a volunteer. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that I come back in July to report how in love with ER I am. :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest UrgentUnguent Posted June 21, 2010 Share Posted June 21, 2010 The icky bits are a lot less icky when you have something to do about or with them. As an EMT or paramedic you have to act and not watch, and that's a HUGE difference. Same thing applies in the cadaver lab, and later in the or. Your anxiety isn't about ickyness, it's about making the right decision, but I'm getting a little ahead here. So go get you some observation and hands on experience! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
acozadd Posted June 21, 2010 Share Posted June 21, 2010 Once you get puked/pooped/urinated on a few times you get used to it... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PM2PA Posted June 21, 2010 Share Posted June 21, 2010 Soon you'll change from saying, "That's disgusting" to "That's pretty awesome". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JFarnsworth Posted June 21, 2010 Share Posted June 21, 2010 Having worked in both surgery and the ER, let me just say that you will have your "things" that gross you out. I've always been good with blood, guts, poop, vomit, etc, but as soon as someone starts coughing up lung cookies I am out the door. And I'm not too fond of eye injuries where the eyeball is out of its socket and looks like a mass of jelly, hanging by a thread. There are also other reasons I get sick to my stomach, like the babies who come in after being abused by their parents, or the woman miscarrying right there in the ER and the baby is expelled and moving and you know it's not gonna make it. To each his own. Unless you are a robot, you will be better at some things and not so good at others. It's part of being human. And the only way to know is to experience it. PS Just my opinion but cadaver lab is nothing like the real world. A cadaver doesn't bleed or move or scream, it's cold and gray, not warm and conscious. I know some people hated that part but did fine in surgery (maybe it has to do with death and the smell of formaldehyde that gets into everything and you can smell it for what seems like months afterward.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
istat2 Posted June 21, 2010 Share Posted June 21, 2010 Ah.... I see that this will be my baptism by fire! I'm up for the challenge though. My desire to help people will hopefully annihilate all fear. Do you guys consider the Emergency Room PA to be the most challenging? I assume that a PA in Pediatrics or in a small family practice don't have see daily horror stories. I might be wrong though. You would (and will) be amazed of the things that walk in the door. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jwells78 Posted June 21, 2010 Share Posted June 21, 2010 PS Just my opinion but cadaver lab is nothing like the real world. A cadaver doesn't bleed or move or scream, it's cold and gray, not warm and consciousThe other day I had a 2 y/o kid with a lip laceration across the vermillion border- full thickness. Had to stitch him and like hell if I was going to sedate him. He wouldn't keep the LET on it, and he was a freaking handful because his mother and father were CRAZY and basically enabled him to run amok tearing up the joint (you EM peeps know the type I'm talking about). So there I am, ER techs (2 of them, mind you) holding this kid in place with hands on head/ batman cape/ papoose board and all; kid screaming as I'm anesthetizing his lip, then spitting blood and saliva in my face during my suturing, mother and father eyeballing me and mom asking me question after question while I'm trying to align the flaps on this crazy 2 y/o who is squirming like a hedgehog on speed; "yes this is normal m'am; yes it will look good; yes it will be ok; yes I've done this before; No, I'm not lying; Yes, you should probably be quiet and let me do my job....ect, ect... It's hot; I'm sweating in the small room; I am a perfectionist- this kid's face will forever be changed if I jack it up; he and his parents want a good end result, but not as much as I DO. That is everyday there... tension... tension from family, patients; tension from YOURSELF because you have to perform and get after that shyyt and get it done. One of the techs (who is in first year at UC Davis PA school) looked at me in disbelief afterwards and mumbled- "I couldn't have done that..." I saw a PA work through crap like that once to sew a tongue on a peds... I was holding the kid's head as a nurse. The PA's I worked with for all those years were AWESOME; they could do anything, and they were THE BEST at what they did. EMEDPA was one of them, and he knows the rest of the crew. I credit my knowledge to those PAs; they did stuff I thought I could never pull off, and it is because of them that I knew I wanted to do this. If you think you will like ER, then do it. But it isn't glamorous, and certainly isn't like what you see on TV or in movies. I encourage you to get HCE before you decide to go to PA school; it will change your perspective unlike anything else. Good luck. sorry about the long post, it's me and blue moon here tonight.. LOL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marilynpac Posted June 21, 2010 Share Posted June 21, 2010 I remember doing my ER rotation. I remember thinking "oh man, teacher let the monkeys out"..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marilyn1122 Posted June 21, 2010 Author Share Posted June 21, 2010 If you think you will like ER, then do it. But it isn't glamorous, and certainly isn't like what you see on TV or in movies. I encourage you to get HCE before you decide to go to PA school; it will change your perspective unlike anything else. Good luck. Thanks! My interest in medicine lies in dermatology, possibly psychiatry. It was just by chance that I was placed in the ER unit. I have a full schedule already and I asked for a Saturday night spot -wrong move lol!!. My volunteer coordinator almost fell off her seat when she blurted out "Perfect, I'll place you in the emergency room!". My heart dropped. Apparently, there's a shortage of volunteers in ER for Saturday nights. Now I know why!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator ventana Posted June 21, 2010 Moderator Share Posted June 21, 2010 no one has brought up the fact that there is plenty of fields to work in with hardly any blood and guts and gore - yeah ER is not it (god I hate those crazy kids and useless parents....) But primary care with out urgent care can be pretty mellow - pain management is a cake walk (never see anything) and i am sure there is plenty of other places - ie psych, occ health (outpatient) The amazing thing with a PA (and why I love it so) is that we can try out different things.... granted had i gone to medschool i would have been IM and that is where i am heading back to but i have had the amazing experience to see and do things i never thought I would - if you have the desire do it!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JFarnsworth Posted June 22, 2010 Share Posted June 22, 2010 You also might be surprised once you get in there and find that you really like blood and guts. Or many other things that you thought you wouldn't like. I thought I'd hate clinic and urgent care but I really like it now that I am back in it. I don't miss surgery at all! In derm you will probably see a little blood and there are some crazy derm problems that personally I am not too fond of. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lightbearer06 Posted June 22, 2010 Share Posted June 22, 2010 Its just another day at the office...I remember the first day of cadaver lab and wondering if I could really handle this, but after taking a bone saw to a cadaver's cranium, you find that things get a bit easier. Never pilonidal cysts though...but if you are working in psych, there are fewer varieties of funny smells and much fewer procedures than EM. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marilyn1122 Posted June 22, 2010 Author Share Posted June 22, 2010 no one has brought up the fact that there is plenty of fields to work in with hardly any blood and guts and gore - yeah ER is not it (god I hate those crazy kids and useless parents....) But primary care with out urgent care can be pretty mellow - pain management is a cake walk (never see anything) and i am sure there is plenty of other places - ie psych, occ health (outpatient) The amazing thing with a PA (and why I love it so) is that we can try out different things.... granted had i gone to medschool i would have been IM and that is where i am heading back to but i have had the amazing experience to see and do things i never thought I would - if you have the desire do it!! Hey Ventana! That's the for the "bright side" of the coin. :) Are pain management jobs hard to come by? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator ventana Posted June 22, 2010 Moderator Share Posted June 22, 2010 I don't think pain management jobs are hard to come by - but they are pretty basic and in the practice I was in a very limited scope...... also known as boring.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Febrifuge Posted June 24, 2010 Share Posted June 24, 2010 Ah.... I see that this will be my baptism by fire! I'm up for the challenge though. My desire to help people will hopefully annihilate all fear. Do you guys consider the Emergency Room PA to be the most challenging? I assume that a PA in Pediatrics or in a small family practice don't have see daily horror stories. I might be wrong though. For me, working in a specialty outside of what I really enjoy doing was far more challenging. I'd rather be incising and draining a nasty ol' abscess or doing chest compressions in the ER, where I'm with 'my people,' than wear a tie and chase after Mrs. Johnson's potassium level for a week. But that's me. You'll figure out your own deal with time and experience. Best thing you can do now is to be open to it. Every day, come home and think: 1) what happened today that totally sucked? And was there anything I could have done differently, to make it suck less? 2) what happened today that was awesome? 3) what did I learn? #3 is the most important but pay attention to 1 and 2; that's how you get to be really good at anything. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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