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Medicine but squeamish

I really want to study medicine and become a doctor in the future, i think i have the right academic ability (all As and A*s predicted for GCSEs) and am planning on doing chem, bio, maths n psychology for a level... i also want to do work experience with the nhs.. the only problem is that i am squeamish... how do u advise that i get over this. I dont want me being squeamish stoppinng me from pursuing my ultimate ambition.... btw if this is relevant my aunt who is a consultant in gynaecology said she fainted the first time she watched an operation in hospital

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Reply 1
Expose yourself to the things that make you squeamish. You'll become hardened to them and they won't affect you any more.
*Princess*
I really want to study medicine and become a doctor in the future, i think i have the right academic ability (all As and A*s predicted for GCSEs) and am planning on doing chem, bio, maths n psychology for a level... i also want to do work experience with the nhs.. the only problem is that i am squeamish... how do u advise that i get over this. I dont want me being squeamish stoppinng me from pursuing my ultimate ambition.... btw if this is relevant my aunt who is a consultant in gynaecology said she fainted the first time she watched an operation in hospital
In all repects, if it was your 'ultimate ambition', would you be squeamish? You could probably overcome it though, but i'm guessing it will take time. Is it a real phobia? If it is it may take much longer. As you said also, your aunt fainted the first time she watched an operation. If I was overcoming something like this, I would try and get as much exposure to it as possible, try watching surgery on the tv first.
Reply 3
It depends on how many things make you sqeamish and how bad it affects you. A critical care consultant told me that everyone who works under him is allowed one secretion that they 'just don't do' (his is sputum lol).

Personally blood used to bother me a lot, and I still always hesitate before i can take a scalpel to human skin, but generally you get over your squeamishness, or at least learn to deal with it so that it doesn't affect you ability to perform.
Reply 4
if you really want to do medicine, then being squeamish shouldn't stop you - you will probably find that once you start, you will be able to cope with it - actually being in a situation is different from watching from a distance.
I have a friend who faints at the sight of blood (or even on discussing blood...) and he has fainted a few times in lectures! He's not so bad now though. Another friend can't stand to touch the cadavers in anatomy, but I'm sure once we start surgery she'll be able to bite her lip, and just get on with it.

Perhaps the work experience will give you an indication as to whether or not you could cope with it?

Good Luck x
Reply 5
I used to have a really bad fear of needles and couldnt be anywhere near them. I was also pathetic enough to faint at the sight of blood...now, would you believe it, I am a phlebotomist!

Good exp too for when i go to med school!!
Reply 6
Dan3274
I used to have a really bad fear of needles and couldnt be anywhere near them. I was also pathetic enough to faint at the sight of blood...now, would you believe it, I am a phlebotomist!

Good exp too for when i go to med school!!

I think sticking needles in other people is great aversion therapy for people who don't like needles stuck in them :p:
Reply 7
I'd say just get your head down and get on with it, nothing to worry about! I take blood at the hospital and although I wasn't scared of it myself, some people I worked with were. But after a period of time it becomes so mundane that you think nothing of it. I imagine most things in hospital are the same:smile:

It isn't the sight of things which are the worst though...smells get me, and most other people, a lot more!

End of the day, it isn't going to hurt you so don't worry, you've got plenty of time to harden yourself to it. I think all people going into medicine have, to a certain extent, some kind of worry and fear of squeamish things, but soon after you break the squeam barrier and hit fascination....
Reply 8
It will change with time. Don't let it keep you from doing medicine.
Ethereal
Expose yourself to the things that make you squeamish. You'll become hardened to them and they won't affect you any more.



Does this actually work? it's just that I also had a bad experience about a year or so ago, when I fainted in a PSE tutorial whilst talking about first aid and stuff. I often feel kind of warm and flushed when the conversation switches to something gory. Now I try my best to avoid anything that has blood/gore to do with it and it's really starting to become a problem.
If it something you really want to do go for it. Im slightly squeamish too and im going to be a nurse, it does not bother me though because I know I will get over it.
Reply 11
Well, the police etc get used to gory scenes, so it must work.
Reply 12
It does help. I don't like situations that smell unpleasantly (abdomen operation on perforated colon, i.e. when it is swimming in sh** to illustrate what I mean), but you do get used to it.
In stress situations such as emergencies you usually don't have time to feel squeamish.
When the "warm feeling" comes try to bend down in order to get some blood back into your head, that should help. Never think about how it might hurt the person! Concentrate on what you are supposed to do.
Expose yourself, you'll get used to things and you don't have to be a doctor that deals with grotesque physical symtoms anyway.
Reply 14
why do people get faint at the sight of blood and gore?

the smell is what really gets me.

i think its quite psychological, i never fainted til work experience, then when i had a nose bleed i was pretty horrified and i think i imagined fainting, which led me to faint :rolleyes:

oh and i said at interview about my fainting experience, and they still offered me a place!
Reply 15
I dont like inflicting pain. Sqirming a needle around in someones arm cos I went down the side of the vein is enough to make me very faint. Its the wiggling that does it. saying that, til about a year ago I'd never looked at the needle going in my arm during an injection and I wasnt at all keen on needles. Now I can take blood (2 years early, we dont really learn til 3rd year but Im part of a charity that takes blood) and cut up a cadaver every week..and be fine!

Just do it.
Reply 16
Don't let it stop you. I used to be squeamish when I saw blood but now when I see operations and stuff being done, I just find it fascinating. For many thing, the more you get exposed to it, the more accustomed to it you become. Also I never thought I would be able to cut up a cadaver, but well we've been doing dissection since January and I've been fine.
Trust me, bakc in year 11 i used to be SOO squeamish- i couldn't even dare touch hearts/livers etc. thats how scared i was. (that's hard for me to admit being male)

but this year, i just absolutely love biology, i though i'd never get over my sqeaumishness but now i love dissections. my bio teacher literally had to drag me out of the lab when we were doing a heart dissection.

when i did work experience at my local hospital, one of the doctors (not totally legally) got me into the orthopaedic operation theatre.

i had the pleasure (not) of watching 3 hip operations (distal hip screws) and one toe amputation. at first i thought i was going to faint, but after a while i was breathing down the surgeon's neck (quite literally)

you'll get over it
Reply 18
The best thing i have ever done, forget watching operations or blood being taken ( well maybe if your afriad of needles or blood be a phlebotomist), work in a residenital home for people with dementia inc. alzhiemers. It is truely eye opening and does give you a wide variety of nasty jobs (practically get involved) from blood fillind stools to tender ned sores to vomiting! Its not nice but a great experience. Watching operations etc is easy.
Reply 19
I thought that I am not squimish at all. Until one night I was assisting with puting a central line (by that I mean distracting the patient with a conversation). It took about 5 attempts, blood seemed to be everywhere and I knew that I will be the one to clean the aftermath plus patient was getting realy scared. I have gone really pale and doctor who was performing the procedure was like "Gosh, medical students this days. Get yourself a chair dear". It turned out ok in the end though. The patient got interested in the fact that I may land on the floor any minute which turned his attention away from the procedure much better then the chit chat and I got excused from cleaning the mess to was my face and have a cup of tea after. All win lol. The point I am traying to make is that even if you feel unwell in some situations it is not end of the world. It can happen to anyone even if you are normaly ok with blood and gore.