"Med Student" syndrome

Nurses General Nursing

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Specializes in B.S. Psychology.

For nurses or nursing students...While in the process of learning about all of the different diseases and symptoms of diseases in school, did you find yourself being overly concerned with your own health, thinking every little pain was something terrible? I did this in my Abnormal Psych class and I was just wondering if it is common! If you did have this, did you grown out of this yet or is it still plaguing you?

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It's probably lupus :D

P.S. very common, happens to med students as well.

Regards,

Levin

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Not so much the physical ailments but when it came to abnormal psych, by the time I'd completed the section I had diagnosed myself and everyone in my family.

'course, we ARE a crazy bunch.

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Specializes in nicu.

It is common for students to think that they have certain "psych" diseases when learning about them, but I am not sure about physical ones. In fact the first lecture of my psych class we were told about how common it is that students will start to think that they have some of the mental symptoms characterizing certain diseases like depression or schizophrenia, etc. My instructor told us all that if we were able to make it to school and learn, chances were great that we didn't have anything wrong with us. Healthy people all have a range of moods. The people with psych issues go to extremes and it strongly interferes with their functioning in life, school, job, and/or relationships with others. Hope that helps! :)

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Specializes in SICU/CVICU.

Haha yes I have done that several times. I recall one time almost convincing myself that I had bacterial meningitis because I had a headache and the lights were hurting my eyes.....turns out it was just a headache. ;)

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Specializes in Corrections, neurology, dialysis.

Oh yeah. I was sure I had peripheral neuropathy, pulmonary dysplasia, duodenal ulcer, schizoaffective disorder - you name it.

Actually it helped me rule out what I have. When we studies abnormal psych I noticed that I have a little bit of all those characteristics, but not all of one thing. I realized that we ALL do.

It also helped me realize that someone close to me whom I labeled as OCD for years, really isn't. When I looked at what the characteristics for this condition are, I concluded that she is just picky and a pain in the butt.

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Specializes in orthopedics, ED observation.
For nurses or nursing students...While in the process of learning about all of the different diseases and symptoms of diseases in school, did you find yourself being overly concerned with your own health, thinking every little pain was something terrible? I did this in my Abnormal Psych class and I was just wondering if it is common! If you did have this, did you grown out of this yet or is it still plaguing you?

You are completely normal. :devil: At least, as far as this experience. We (I and my classmates) experienced this on a fairly regular basis. And, as another poster stated, our instructors also made mention of how common this experience was. The psych nurse instructor was also careful to mention that many people may have various characteristics of any (several) mental illnesses, but the severity and clustering of s/s were needed for a true (MD) diagnosis.

As for growing out of it - no, we all just got the next disease... :lol2: Actually, by the time you graduate and study for Boards you will be "over it" and worried about the next stage - taking the N-Clex, finding a job, and so on.

Good luck to you as you continue your career! :balloons:

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My school was systems based, and I had ailments related to everyone: chronic diarrhea during GI, wheezing during pulmonary, irregular heartbeat during cardiac, facial flushing during endocrine, chronic headaches in neuro. Only thing that didn't evoke symptoms was musculoskeletal, which is probably the reason I went after Orthopedics for residency . . .

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Only thing that didn't evoke symptoms was musculoskeletal, which is probably the reason I went after Orthopedics for residency . . .

that's the rotation i suffered chronic, lower back pain.

too many kicks in the butt from drill-sargeant instructor.

i've avoided ortho ever since.

the only time i went nuts w/dx, was w/my kids.

they were all babies, and i'd freak out, esp during neuro....dx'ing them w/the worst.

actually, it is the same time that hubby suggested i mull over the psyche dxs for myself.

*grunt*

leslie

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Specializes in LTC.

Absolutely,most of our class did. Both physical and psych dx. Including the friend who , after hours of taking notes on the neuro system , was convince she had Parkinson's. At the age of 23, no less.

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Specializes in Community, OB, Nursery.

I remember during psych when we took the GAF scores - we all scored like in the 60s-70s. :uhoh21:

Just a couple years ago I stabbed myself with a kitchen knife (accidentally, people!) and the first things I thought were 1) oh **** I've hit an artery (I hadn't), and 2) I've hit a bone, I'm going to get osteo, and I'll have a PICC line and be on abx for a 2 months (a 'no' on all 3).

Yes, I know a lot of nurses that tend to imagine the worst, simply because we know what's out there. We know what it COULD be. It started way back in nsg school.

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I remember during psych when we took the GAF scores - we all scored like in the 60s-70s. :uhoh21:

Just a couple years ago I stabbed myself with a kitchen knife (accidentally, people!) and the first things I thought were 1) oh **** I've hit an artery (I hadn't), and 2) I've hit a bone, I'm going to get osteo, and I'll have a PICC line and be on abx for a 2 months (a 'no' on all 3).

Yes, I know a lot of nurses that tend to imagine the worst, simply because we know what's out there. We know what it COULD be. It started way back in nsg school.

A little bit of knowledge, eh?

I had a nephrectomy while in NS, and when I awoke in PACU for some reason I seemed to remember my instructor telling us that a post-op patient could be sent back to their room once they were able to hold up their head. I'm sure she said more than that lol, but as I became more conscious, I was obsessed with the thought I HAD to hold up my head. I was laying there, ticked off because I couldn't move... when I realized I still had an airway in...that's the reason I couldn't do it!!! So I proceeded to pull at the airway, sending nurses flying to my bedside. Cool! It's out. Now concentrate...

I raised my head up off the pillow and held it in the air. Woohoo! I did it! But no one was paying attention :(

So I just lay there, head up in the air. Got a bit difficult after a while and my arms and legs had started to flop around a bit just as the doc walked in. He just about died laughing at me. Said I looked like a big bug stuck on my back.

I did get sent to my room though :)

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