<p>I really like studying biology and learning about the body itself. I really prefer the theoretical studies of the body. We are dissecting fetal pigs right now in biology and while I dont find it disgusting I dont really like it too much (whenever I cut some skin off the pig it just makes me feel weird). This is however my first dissection so things could change.</p>
<p>As it stands now is becoming a doctor the wrong career choice for me? </p>
<p>I am a high school student</p>
<p>I think feeling awkward about cutting into skin means you won't be an ax murderer. Then again, I'm in high school to. Maybe BDM or BRM are sociopaths who just love cutting into people (or is that the definition of a surgeon?) ;)</p>
<p>Just curious what are your school's initials? We're doing fetal pig at our school.</p>
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As it stands now is becoming a doctor the wrong career choice for me?
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<p>No, medicine is still a career choice you should still consider. </p>
<p>Dissecting in anatomy lab not mandatory at many medical schools. Many schools now pay people to do prosections so students spend more time learning the structures, rather than spending time cutting away adipose and other misc tissues. Even if that grosses you out you can still use atlases such as Atlas of Clinical Gross Anatomy or Rohens so you can look at what the structure looks like in real life or Netters for illustrations. </p>
<p>Most likely you wont be a surgeon or pathologist but you can still consider other medical professions such as family medicine, pediatrics, psychiatry, or anesthesiology (if you dont mind working with needles).</p>
<p>I'm going to take a different point than ASMAJ...</p>
<p>If you're going to be a doctor you are going to be doing a lot of things that you won't like to do. A LOT, many of which will never get more comfortable no matter how many times you do it. Digital rectal exams, male GC swabs, and female pelvic exams are just a few things that will be a major component of a lot types of medicine that don't require cutting and that aren't that comfortable for you or your patient. If you're going to whimper about cutting a dead fetal pig, what are you going to do when you're inserting a feeding tube on an awake, non-medicated mentally retarded child and you're causing them a lot of pain? What about helping out on a colonoscopy and getting liquid feces essentially sprayed all over you? (Both of these happened to me last summer) There a million other scenarios, but the point is this - if this is one dissection experience is going to continue to be a problem, there are going to be a lot of things that will stand in your way to becoming a doctor.</p>
<p>@BRM</p>
<p>I don't mind these things you're saying (except for liquid feces splashing obviously). I just really cannot stand the smell though. The pig is not too bad in terms of smell, but sometimes I think I could throw up if I whiffed it from a close distance for 5 minutes.</p>
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Many schools now pay people to do prosections
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I know of a couple that do this. I don't know that I'd say "many".</p>
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I know of a couple that do this. I don't know that I'd say "many".
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<p>I was actually going to change it to many/some because I wasn't 100% sure on that. I know some schools do all prosections, others do a combine of prosection + doing your own dissections, and others are entirely your own dissections.</p>
<p>Well if its the smell of a pig you can't take then I have to ask this... ever smell a patient? Might sound like a funny question, but its dead serious. Pigs aren't really bad, I've done a few in my day but human is a completely different smell. And at times... its umm not nice at all. So if a pig that is preserved makes your stomach turn so easily real patients might be even worse.</p>
<p>Hypothetically speaking, if you had some kind of very severe allergy to formaldehyde which your school was unwilling to accomodate, your first year of medical school would basically not be do-able.</p>