People with gory jobs...how, just how, do you do it?!

[lookatgiraffenow]

Having a GP appointment this week, it hit me that I could NEVER be a phlebotomist or a surgeon or nurse or anything medical-related...HOW do you stomach it?? My job means I have to deal with extremely unpalatable things reasonably often but nothing too blood and gutsy.
I have a surgeon friend and my brain is boggled that she can operate on someone. Like, actually cut someone open and have a rummage around! Without passing out, puking or having shaky hands!
I'm in awe, actually.

I work with severely autistic young people, some of whom smear poo, eat it etc. I can handle that no problem, dislike being spat at , but I am useless with vomit.. I retch and join in!

My DD1 is a doctor and absolutely nothing grosses her out.. I remember her ringing me as a med student to say how she had been picking live maggots (not medical ones either.. a poor homeless man with a very nasty leg) out of a wound and how exciting it was...

I’m a student HCP at the non gory end, we always ask to watch the surgeries and get to sit in on treating the necrotic limbs or toes that are days from snapping off. As a HEaltjcare assistant too it just doesn’t phase me anymore, except the occasional very smelly poo, when you instinctively start breathing through your mouth to dodge the smell, then realise you’re getting faecal particles in your mouth

I love a massive abscess, where just loads and loads of pus comes out.
I find surgeries really fascinating. Its so interesting to see exactly how the human body works, see all the structures. I have seen lots of big facial surgeries and facial trauma and it never really bothered me. Maybe the first time. Stitching someones face back together is again really satisfying, its really nice to see someones actual face reemerge, clean them up. Its just what the body looks like inside, you just get used to it.

Im a dentist by trade and love a proper deep clean. Its so satisfying to see inflamed, angry gums and removed all the crap. Or when you have lots of extractions and you get rid of a grossly decayed pussy tooth, or a nice cyst. I personally think dentistry is like the ultimate sporner job.

Am the wrong end for poo but it doesnt bother me. Dead bodies dont bother me, its still a person.

I agree though sputum is horrible. And I really hate leftover food in the sink 🤢

Another dentist here and like pps my best bits are sticking a scalpel in a juicy abscess or doing a scale on someone who’s not been for years and removing huge chunks of black calculus . Agree with angrymum22 not so keen on bits of food under dentures the exception being when I had to numb someone up to remove an immediate partial denture that hadn’t been taken out for three years since it was placed and the gum had overgrown the edges and clasps and remaining teeth rotted to stumps, there was bone showing underneath.

It's funny because I was a police officer for years and I was never squeamish about anything. Prior to that I had worked variously with the elderly, children and animals, all fertile breeding grounds for seeing the unspeakable. I have the ability to turn off when something nasty comes up - except swatting flies. We are plagued with them during the summer, big, fat, slow flying and juicy. If you whack them, I find the resultant mess totally revolting and often feel my stomach somersault. Yet I have dealt with stab victims with their intestines coming out, but all I felt was concern. It's very strange. I hate flies.

I'm a nurse and the only thing I can't stand is cat poo

Today I caught a poo in my (gloved) hands as we were transferring a patient from bed to commode and I felt like an NHS hero. If it had been a cat poo I'd have run off screaming

A lot of patients get constipated or can t clear there own secretions so I'm always pleased to see poo and phlegm! Vomit is horrible for the person doing the vomitting but I can never understand why it upsets others so much? Faecal vomit is the worst, I always feel so sorry for patients and think imagine that coming up

I learned from a young age to deal with everything - my dad had a smallholding so very early on I dealt with hoof abcesses, lamb castrating, sorting out the birth of twin lambs etc. And very happy memories of taking goats to the vets where they let me watch caesareans, horn bud removal and other operations.
At 18 I got a holiday job as a HCA in a psychiatric hospital where I dealt with a lot of poo, phlegm, blood, wee and other stuff. Mum and dad, I found out later, had a bet on how long I'd last which was between 1 and 4 hours. I did it all through uni and loved it.
My career since has all been in radiotherapy, and I specialise in a form where the radiation is given internally, which needs surgical access sometimes. You forget sometimes that other people are bothered by this tbh

Another from pathology here - except I'm a biomedical scientist in Microbiology. We get everything that could possibly be infected - from pus to poo to bits of body (including gangrenous toes/fingers) for culture.

It's work, so we just get on with it. The only thing that makes me really heave is dealing with a really thick green sputum not envy

@BikerWife vomit is fairly upsetting for me - if I smell vomit, it does makes me nauseous and gag. I have actually chundered on the spot before! I would be useless as a nurse

Can't imagine being a pathologist determining causes of death but they are scientists and offer closure to the relatives of people who have died. Also for those murdered it may bring sòmeone to justice

@frappuccinofran

Ring me if you need vomit incident support, I will ring you if there's any cat poo

I'm just not squeamish about that kind of thing ( when it comes to humans at least).

But I encountered a dead bird unexpectedly on a couple of occasions and just could not deal with it at all.

I quite like it and forget that others don’t. Apparently it’s not normal to talk about poo in your daily life. Who knew!
I’m a nurse, great with people’s leakages but if the cat vomits I’m gone.

I’m ok with blood and guts and can watch surgery on tv. But anything that really smells I can’t handle. So no way could I deal with poo, vomit, pus, stale urine, ulcers etc. I would be throw up. I’m super sensitive to bad smells.

I have no problem for some reason dealing with DGCs poo, wee, sick though. The things with them that I find terribly distressing is seeing them unwell ie with high temps and being all shaky and very upset. Or a nasty fall with bad grazes etc. Those sort of everyday things just break my heart. They seem so terribly vulnerable and I feel so bad that I can’t make it less horrible for them apart from comforting/distracting them.

I would make a dreadful medic. I find it fascinating on tv where I don’t have to smell anything bad and I can look away if something is turning my stomach but in real life I’d be no use. I am in awe of HCPs being able to handle all the nitty gritty of humanity.

It is out of sheer morbid curiosity that I’m looking on this thread. obviously not .

Reading through these has been very interesting!
I dont mind cleaning up bits of food from dirty dish water, actually I find it quite enjoyable sometimes because once the sink is clean I can see the difference.

I also dont mind childrens snot or poo or animal poo.

I cant stand smells though, and crusty things are more likely to make me feel sick.
I once worked in a hospital where one of the other nurses claimed she had seen the bottom of someones foot come off (not their actual foot but a thick layer of dead crispy skin). That was disgusting to think about and I'm glad I did not see that myself.

It's odd to think that traumatic amputations didn't turn my stomach, but eye surgery and toenail surgery was unbearable to watch.

I could happily do a "gory" job such as a surgeon where I'm dealing with blood/guts/cutting people open.

But I absolutely 100% could not do a "caring" role where I had to deal with bodily functions such as sick or poop.

Luckily DH is the opposite to me so when DS was little "injuries" fell to me to deal with and DH dealt with "illnesses"

Different strokes for different folks!

I cannot watch anything to do with childbirth ( even though I did it twice though I wasn't watching )

I could cope , I think , with most First Aid emergencies until the Paramedics arrive . But if someone was in labour my mind would go into lockdown .