By A troubled ex med school student - 06/02/2013 03:08 - United States - Dublin

Today, I attended my first surgery as part of my program at med school. I found out that when I see someone's intestines, I vomit. Even if I'm still wearing a surgical mask. There goes the thousands of dollars I spent on college. FML
I agree, your life sucks 33 213
You deserved it 6 693

Same thing different taste

Top comments

I have a fear of that happening when I train to be a vet. I can't stand blood but apparently I'll get used of it...

You could always try different medical fields if you have trouble operating on people. I could never do it, that's for sure, so good job on the effort

Comments

I have a fear of that happening when I train to be a vet. I can't stand blood but apparently I'll get used of it...

Test it out! I'm studying to be a vet and have worked in animal hospitals since I was 16. Watched necropsies and surgeries and it doesn't bother me at all. Don't wait till vet school like this FML.

I had several people in my class at vet school who fainted during our first practical, which included dissecting a cat. They all got used to it after a few times, though, and had no more issues fainting. Don't give up after one incident like that :)

You'll see a lot worse than blood at vet school. If you're at all squeamish it's really not the job for you. Nowhere will accept you without work experience anyway, so go and see for yourself.

RocketNinjaFish 12

That's why I can never be a vet :( I just can't get used to things like that.

But it IS possible for someone to get over something like that! My brother absolutely loves horror movies and other gory stuff like that, and when he went to med school he watched countless videos of surgeries, but he still fainted the first time he did an actual surgery. He did get through it, though, and now, only a month later, he isn't squeamish anymore! Practice makes perfect :)

Bur maybe it's just cause it was the first time. You will get used to it. I know a woman who worked for the first time at a birth and as soon as the baby came out, she couldn't stop screaming and now, she is the hospital's chief anesthetist. So keep on going! You'll make if you really like it.

It's often not just the sight of blood or guts, but also the SMELL of surgery that makes some people feel sick. I'll freely admit that it's not for everyone.

Whoever faints during stuff like this, just pretend its like gutting a moose for food. Except with moose, you have blood up to your elbows, and gotta watch out for broken bones, hurts like a bitch being cut by one:/ and you gotta take the guys out instead of performing surgery. Up close a personal haha

chell1894 13

I work at a shelter with the vets and always thought I would throw up at surgeries and stuff. But I've seen it all and have never thrown up or fainted. Sometimes you surprise yourself.

Quiet_one 22

You need to desensitize yourself by working at or shadowing in vet clinics. But don't worry too much about it- everyone has one thing that gets to them. I've had almost every bodily fluid splashed or secreted on me while working at a vet clinic, but for some reason the only one I react badly to is saliva. My coworkers actually made fun of me because I didn't bat an eye when a kitten I was holding had diarrhea all over me, but then I almost threw up when a dog drooled on my arm. I've gotten better at dealing with that since then. :)

34, I took a vet assisting class in high school, and I also dissected a cat, I thought it was very cool to see the insides of a cat, I did it twice, once in my junior year, and once in my senior year!

Corrupt_waffles 13

I'm training to be a Forensic entomologist. Part of my job will include picking bugs off of corpses. There are a few tricks to avoid nausea in situations like surgery or dissection. My professor told me shoving Vicks up my nose will help with the smell. Maybe there is something that will help you not vomit when looking at somethings insides. Try different things, but don't give up!

Life_sucks_13 6

It's okay. Shadow a vet for a day and see of they'll let you watch in on a surgery. I can't do human blood it makes me queasy but I'm fine with animal blood and I'm fascinated with the surgeries. If you can't shadow a vet try looking up "Emergency Intern Vets" it's from animal planet and an old show but they show EVERYTHING!

That's rough OP. You'll get used to it if you just power through it.

...and you'll see a lot worse in your future. But like 2 said, you will get used to all the gross things you have yet to see and smell. Remember, breath through your mouth so the smell doesn't make you nauseous. I've been there and you won't even think about those things really soon. You'll be fine OP. Good luck.

You could always try different medical fields if you have trouble operating on people. I could never do it, that's for sure, so good job on the effort

Yeah, there are plenty of medical fields where you don't see intestines. And all the time and money you spent wont be wasted at least. Kudos on making it into med school!

TheManager 6

C'mon OP! Surgery takes guts, cut I think you can do it. Just make sure you're not masking the truth of the situation. Keep your mind on the goal and don't let fear in-cision your mind.

TheManager 6

Damn.... These puns were awful...

BlueFlatts 20

Someone's trying too hard. I leave it to the professionals to write the puns because if I tried I'd get the same first response.

NotGabe 28

I find the scents way more... Impacting.

i sat on a surgery a few times this past month. the smell of burnt flesh is something else.

Lizzy500 16

Impaction.... that one has a distinct odor all its own.

BlueFlatts 20

If it's something your seeing I doubt a surgical mask would prevent you from vomiting. Nevertheless I can't help but wonder how someone gets this far in medical school without realizing this through a video or what not. Better luck next time?

Watching a video and seeing a surgery in person are very different!

I don't think th OP was trying to say the surgical mask would have helped prevent the throwing up, but rather was adding to the FML that the surgical mask kept the vomit "contained" and thus more disgusting.

My bad, I mis-read it. But vomiting in a surgical mask would make this FML even worse.

I think the difference is seeing AND smelling, watching a video doesn't give you the smells that are there.

Jorcar 8

It sounds like you don't have the guts to go through with it.

This is why before I specialized in Forensic Entomology I went to the morgue with the med students. Still, ouch, hope you get over it

untouchable763 10

How did you have no idea this would happen until now? You must of known if you have a weak stomach.

Surgery Takes a pretty strong stomach to handle in person, I doubt very many people witness their first first-hand surgery without some sort of adverse reaction to it.

you must HAVE* known! You just scored an 8.5 on the british-o-meter

It's okay OP! You'll get used to it I'm sure you make the cut