Guest deeMD Posted June 24, 2005 Report Share Posted June 24, 2005 So I'm entering med this year. I'm a self-professed hypochondriac and was wondering if anyone out there has had experience in med school with this and how they deal with it. thanks, DMD Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest noncestvrai Posted June 24, 2005 Report Share Posted June 24, 2005 Some get even worse in medschool... I am not, maybe because I was a boyscout and I worked in $hit (facotries, engines, farm work et al.)...for a good part. You have to die of something someday right? noncestvrai Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest scrubbed Posted June 25, 2005 Report Share Posted June 25, 2005 If the literature has an answer ... Medical Education Volume 38 Issue 5 Page 479 - May 2004 doi:10.1046/j.1365-2929.2004.01813.x undergraduate medical education Does medical school cause health anxiety and worry in medical students? Gurminder Singh, Matthew Hankins & John A Weinman Objectives The aim of this study was to investigate the self-reported experience of health anxiety and worry in medical students compared with control subjects. It was hypothesised that medical students would experience more health anxiety as a consequence of being exposed to medical education, compared to students who are not routinely exposed to such knowledge. Design The design was cross-sectional. Setting Participants were recruited from London University (Guy's, King's & St Thomas' School of Medicine and King's College). Participants Medical students (n = 449) and non-medical students (n = 485) were recruited across Years 1-4. Questionnaires relating to health anxiety and worry were completed at the end of their lectures. Main outcome measures Health anxiety was measured using a questionnaire known as the Health Anxiety Questionnaire (HAQ). Worry was assessed using the Anxious Thoughts Inventory (ANTI). Results Health anxiety was significantly lower in medical students in Years 1 and 4 than in controls (P = 0.017 and P < 0.001, respectively). Worry was significantly lower in the medical students in all years of study. Conclusions Medical students are not a cohort of preselected health-anxious people, nor are they 'worriers'. Medical education at a clinical level was shown to mitigate health anxiety in the medical student population. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest noncestvrai Posted June 25, 2005 Report Share Posted June 25, 2005 Yeah, I have n=3 in my class, so bleh. One self diagnosed polycythemia vera, the other everything people touch is a fomite...the other, I don't know she thinks she's got some N. gonorrhea growing in her throat. Maybe I should do the study. noncestvrai Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest UWOMED2005 Posted June 25, 2005 Report Share Posted June 25, 2005 "Med Studentitis" There's a name for med school hypochondriasis. I think it's most common in 2nd year, where you study REALLY rare diseases with extremely vague symptoms and everybody worries they have. I'd be lying if I said I didn't have a bout or two myself in 2nd year. I think it's only normal. 3rd year puts things into context (ie you barely to rarely see most diseases and the patients are often 75+) so I think things get better. If you're really worried, talk to the med school counselling office and advise them of the situation. And BE AWARE of your tendencies. . . insight is often key to managing such problems. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest leviathan Posted June 26, 2005 Report Share Posted June 26, 2005 I think it's pretty normal for everyone to go through a hypochondriac stage to one degree or another. Personally, after reading about tapeworms and other parasites in pork, I find it difficult to eat pork anymore (even fully cooked). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest McMastergirl Posted June 27, 2005 Report Share Posted June 27, 2005 I'm convinced I had West Nile virus in the summer between 2nd and 3rd year. No one believes me, but I had all the symptoms, and I was bitten by mosquitos only 3 days previous! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest cracked30 Posted June 28, 2005 Report Share Posted June 28, 2005 mmmmmmm....bacon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest tiaga3 Posted June 29, 2005 Report Share Posted June 29, 2005 Don't worry about your West nile, I am sure I had Leprosy after watching a world vision program, so I have no clue as to how I will react once in med school!!! Tiaga Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest strider2004 Posted June 29, 2005 Report Share Posted June 29, 2005 The truth is you actually may have gotten west nile, but remember less than 1% have a life-threatening reaction. The vast majority only have flulike symptoms. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest McMastergirl Posted June 30, 2005 Report Share Posted June 30, 2005 I think I probably did have it, since it was in the area at the time. I woke up in the middle of night with a fever, and for the next 3 days I had myalgias and anorexia and extreme fatigue. I made an uneventful recovery. I've never had anything like that before! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest purplefairy13 Posted July 2, 2005 Report Share Posted July 2, 2005 Speaking of west nile....I'm also worried about SARS (yes, I realize that its 'under control'...). When dealing with patients who are coughing, can we wear masks (and goggles) if we want? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest uteng Posted July 2, 2005 Report Share Posted July 2, 2005 hey purplefairy, since you're going to UofT, there are new protocols in place in many of the Toronto hospitals. I don't know the details, but it seems like patients who present with a cough are given a mask right away, and then put into isolation or are at least curtained off with a type of plastic (depending which hospital you're in). Doctors will don masks, and sometimes gloves and gowns before entering the room. Disposable face shields are available if you want. I followed an ER doc around for a bit at a community hospital, and was myself admitted for Norwalk at a downtown hospital so got to see some of the precautions post-SARS Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest kaymcee Posted July 2, 2005 Report Share Posted July 2, 2005 Ouch! I'm very sorry to hear about your Norovirus experience. Downright unpleasant. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest purplefairy13 Posted July 2, 2005 Report Share Posted July 2, 2005 Yes...that has to suck Thanks for the info though! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest opiedog Posted July 2, 2005 Report Share Posted July 2, 2005 Not to be insensitive or anything, but have you ever noticed how limps get worse when you are taking a patient down the hall to the examininng room? Or clients suddenly develop a deeper more convulsive cough without being able to cover their mouths!! It's no wonder some of us think/know we have a bug the patients have brought in. Coughs and limps often improve by the time the client leaves the office. Usually, in flu season, I feel like I have the flu by the end of my shift from being coughed on so much, and go shower before I hug anyone at home. I can feel a phlegm ball develop just thinking about it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest purplefairy13 Posted July 2, 2005 Report Share Posted July 2, 2005 I'm tempted to purchase a hazmat suit...or maybe just get vaccinated :rollin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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