Medical school can be a scary place. Open cadavers, pots of diseased organs, fake blood squirting from plastic severed arms. All the while the existentially terrifying deadline of your end of year exams and OSCEs on the horizon. But if those things don’t frighten you, perhaps the following horror story will.

Medical School Horror stories are a cathartic and humourous way to share our struggles and triumphs  so we can have a laugh, a cry and make it easier for the next overwhelmed med student!

An unexpected Theatre Patient   

Emma is a 3rd medical student at Deakin

At my second hospital placement I was thrilled to be watching some gastroenterology procedures performed by, what I had been told, was one of the top gastroenterologists in our area. The procedures had been pretty straightforward, mostly gastroscopies. 

The gastroenterologist was eagerly chatting away to me and my colleague as we asked questions about his specialty, working in the hospital, work-life balance and how he liked our medical school. The theatre team were amazing, deft, a presence of emotional stability - calming the patient under their light anaesthesia, as they gagged and resisted against cameras heading towards their duodenums. I admired the team operating as a well-oiled machine, working together to deliver such incredible patient care.

I was three minutes away from completing what I thought had been a very successful and enlightening day of placement, when I turned to a colleague and said, “did it just get kind of hot in here?” I was shocked at how quickly the theatre staff put down their instruments, some staring in horror, moving towards me a voice saying “she’s gonna go!” I awoke sitting in a kitchen, being given juice and biscuits, the staff around me laughing. 

I had fainted because I hadn’t moved for several hours, leaning against a wall, scared to get in somebody’s way. All of the blood had pooled in my legs and my brain decided the only way to get the blood carried up to it ASAP was to lay down immediately. I was mortified. Apparently, they caught me before I would have landed on top of the patient. The team swapped their ‘first time fainting in theatre’ stories, with reassurances that it happens to everyone. The gastroenterologist eventually checked in and burst out in genuine laughter with a recollection that he hadn’t had a student faint on him for years. The most embarrassing part was he was also the Dean of our Medical School. Safe to say it was a strong first impression. 

Protips to avoid fainting in theatre: remember to wiggle your toes and rock back from the balls of your feet to your toes when spending a long time standing. Prepare by having enough to eat and drink beforehand when possible - keeping a stash of calorie dense snacks can be helpful!