No, not asking for a diagnosis of any sort. I’ve just been bothered by something ever since starting work in a hospital several months ago.
Now, I don’t have any patient contact to speak of; I just keep the computers running. But I do overhear patient/doctor or patient/nurse conversations quite a bit, and frankly… people are gross.
The outer layers can be quite aesthetically pleasing, don’t get me wrong. There are some really cute humans out there. But the perspectives on human anatomy you can get as a medical professional are, to a layman like myself, really oogy. I’m thinking gastroenterology, for instance, where you can get really clear pictures of people’s insides. Our head of GI has framed endoscopic photos on the walls in his office.
What I want to know is, as someone who deals with the frailties and weirdnesses of human anatomy day in and day out, how do you deal with knowing what you do about people? Does it affect your dealings with people to know what their inner organs look like? (“Honey, I love you with all my heart.” “Ewww.”) Do you see horrible things happen to people’s bodies, and then wonder about whether the same could happen to your loved ones?
After dealing with the bacteria from peoples’ mouths, can you still revel in the taste of your spouse’s kiss? Can you feel your wife’s breast without checking for lumps? How do you deal with that sort of knowledge?
I think most of us (healthcare professionals) get pretty desensitized to the yuckier aspect of our jobs. Remember, you’re talking about a class of people who think that a detailed description of a wound infection is appropriate mealtime conversation!
Seriously though, I just don’t think of it too much. Most of it is being able to draw a mental line so that I don’t think of everyone I see as a potential patient. And while I do see a lot of awful things happen to people, I try not to worry about it happening to my loved ones anymore than I would worry about them getting struck by lightning or run over by a truck. It could happen, but it’s highly unlikely.
I guess what I’m saying is that I cope with the things you’re talking about by leaving the job mentality at the job, and trying to just be a regular citizen during the off hours.
I got used to it pretty quick. But doing regular pelvic exams on women can really muck up one’s own sex life at home if one’s not very careful to keep the situations real separate and distinct in one’s mind. The main problem is if you start thinking of your partner as a patient. Then things get oogy.
When I was a Laboratory Technologist, I had the dubious privilege of taking a blood sample from my own mother. I actually was pleased to do it, because I knew that no other lab tech would be more careful with her than I would be. I believe it takes a certain type of person to be in medical fields in the first place; we would often be playing with people’s poop all morning, wash up, then go for lunch. All in a day’s work in a hospital lab. I think I have more respect for the human body because of my medical training, however, because I learned what an incredible machine it is.