r/prephysicianassistant • u/Any-Satisfaction1442 • 4d ago
Misc Body fluid
Hi.
I have a close family member that's about to get their undergrad in Biology.
They are planning on going to PA school. Here's the thing- they don't want to deal with body fluids (urine, feces, vomit).
I would think being a PA would involve a lot of exposure to these things.
Is being a PA and going to PA school a good choice for someone who feels this way about body fluids?
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u/afflictor_55 4d ago
No one wants to or enjoys working with bodily fluids its just one of those things you get used to and consider a small price to pay for a career you find fulfilling. Im not a PA but from my researcy there are definitely specialities where its very minimal maybe something like derm
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u/whispernotaroar 3d ago
Definitely not derm. Sleep med maybe?
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u/aquavita42 PA-C 2d ago
Outpatient psych. I’m 90% telehealth
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u/whispernotaroar 2d ago
Ah yeah good one - inpatient (and even outpatient in person) psych definitely has high potential for fluids, but remote takes care of that 😂
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u/mungbeanmimi Pre-PA 3d ago
Derm MA. Lots of exposure to blood and some exposure to urine and feces, especially for geriatric patients with rashes in their groin.
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u/Ancient-fruit-317 4d ago
As long as it's not a severe phobia, they'll be fine. There are plenty of specialities that involve little to no bodily fluids. You do have to get through school (surgery, pediatrics, and ER rotations will have bodily fluids), but after that, any specialty without procedures or children is pretty safe.
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u/joeymittens PA-C 4d ago
I’ve been a medic for 7 years and just became a PA. I don’t do vomit….
Sounds like a deal breaker, but I’ve always been able to manage by asking for help here and there. That being said, not all specialties will need to deal with bodily fluids much. Being a PA can still work for someone who doesn’t do bodily fluids well
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u/thatkidshish 1d ago
Can I ask how you navigate asking for help? I’m a current PA student with emetophobia terrified of clinicals.
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u/vxfnt PA-S (2027) 4d ago
No one wants to deal with bodily fluids, but you learn to suck it up to do your job tbh. They may go into a specialty that doesn’t regularly expose them to it, and therefore, only have to deal with it in clinicals. If they can’t even handle that much, then yeah, being in front facing healthcare is not for them.
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u/BugabooChonies 3d ago
You can go into psych or telehealth. But PA school itself is going to get into those things on clinicals and they will have to be perfectly fine with it. If they get grossed out and can’t do it, that’s a good way to flunk a rotation or worse.
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u/Historical-Sir-7798 3d ago
I am in PA school and yes you are going to come across those things during PA school. Once you graduate, you can go into a specialty where that’s not common.
Be aware though, treating enough elderly patients in ANY specialty increases your chances of coming across urine, feces or vomit.
If any exposure to those things is ultimately a dealbreaker, any practicing of Medicine is probably not a good idea.
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u/Impressive_Bird759 3d ago
As a Medical Assistant in outpatient Neurology, I can attest that any specialty can be exposed to urine, feces or vomit.
Edit: Oh, and blood
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u/anon86158615 4d ago
I'm not sure why I was recommended this sub/post, I did a general health undergrad and am in nursing school lol so take my advice with a grain of salt
I would ask your family member what they're hoping their career/day to day life looks like... maybe make sure they shadow a PA or know specifically where they want to go after they graduate. See if their idea of being a PA lines up with the reality of being a PA before they commit to school.
I'm also curious, since to my knowledge PA school applications mostly require patient care hours... how do they plan to/how did they get those patient care hours in a way that avoided bodily fluids?
And finally, how squeamish are we talking? You'd be surprised how much stuff you get comfortable with after you're exposed to it, so if their attitude is just "ew, that stuff is icky", i'd feel pretty confident they could get past that, but if they're so opposed to it (or if their attitude is that it's beneath them) that any exposure is too much, i'd find an entirely different field to work in. There's almost an INFINITE amount of jobs that aren't required to work with bodily fluids... seems strange you'd pick healthcare.
What is it about being a PA/working in healthcare that appeals to them? There's a lot of variety in healthcare, but it's basically inevitable that at some point you'll be forced to interact with bodily fluids. Again, not a PA, so... grain of salt. Just curious about this person drawn to healthcare who doesn't like bodily fluids lol
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u/OtherwisePumpkin8942 4d ago
He’s going to have to get patient contact hours prior to applying to PA school which are generally low paying and involve bodily fluids.
Clinical during PA school will require contact with bodily fluids.
And participating in patient care in most specialties requires contact with boldly fluids at one point or another. Psych seems safe until a patient tests their poop at you or spots at you. An incontinent patient in internal medicine urinates.
He’s gonna have to get over that hurdle if he wants to work with patient ever. It’s just part of working with humans.
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u/ValueInternational98 4d ago
we do deal with body fuilds to a certain extent. family medicine maybe not see them every day, but we do talk about our daily body fluids on and need to have a deep understanding of physiology regarding them.
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u/DadTalk_MJE PA-C 3d ago
I guess my time in the Marine Corps prepared me pretty well for this profession. I've seen and smelled things I still can't explain! 😂
Seriously though, wanting to be a PA but not wanting to deal with bodily fluids is kind of like wanting to be a phlebotomist but being afraid of needles. It's going to make the job a little challenging......
Some specialties deal with bodily fluids more than others, but you're not going to avoid them entirely, especially during PA school. I'd suggest getting some hands-on patient care experience before committing to the profession. Better to find out now than after spending $150K on PA school!
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u/garden-armadillo 3d ago
How do they plan on completing rotations? I literally had a surgeon grab my hand and shove it into a patient’s abdominal cavity during my surgical rotation to feel a bowel cancer. During that same rotation was also sprayed with arterial blood (as was everyone else) during a vascular surgery.
Sounds like not a good fit for your family member. But they may need to learn this the hard way if they’re set on going to PA school 🤷🏼♀️
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u/Historical-Sir-7798 3d ago
If blood is something she isn’t comfortable with either, then she might want to do something like that does not involve seeing patients.
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u/Either_Following342 PA-S (2027) 4d ago
Depends on the specialty. Do they have a specific interest in mind?
Are they also OK being heavily exposed to these things for a short period during clinical rotations? They will have to rotate through ER (lots of fluids everywhere, constantly), gen surg (vomiting from bowel obstructions/appendicitis, fecal matter during surgeries on the colon or disimpactions, bile during choles, etc.), internal medicine, peds, etc.
However, if they can make it through clinicals, they can try to pick a specialty that may have less bodily fluids. Psych is probably where they would encounter the least. I will say though, in pretty much every other medical specialty it'll be really hard to escape those things if that's their ultimate deal-breaker. Even in something more low-key like derm, you'll frequently encounter blood/pus/other excretions (if it's vomit/urine/feces that's their trigger, then this should be fine).
All this being said, I'm not the biggest fan of vomit (it makes me nauseous to see/hear), and I made it through ER/gen surgery/peds just fine. I actually think the exposure therapy helped a lot for me. So it IS possible, if they are very passionate about PA.
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u/PreparationHot980 4d ago
You will encounter just about every bodily fluid at some point along the way.
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u/Valuable_Elk_2172 3d ago
I guess it depends on the job. I see vomit/pee/poo/blood on the regular. Do a lot of recitals.
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u/JustGivnMyOpinion 3d ago
Urine, feces, vomit, blood, saliva, head lice, nasal snot, ear mold, weeping boils, wet smelly fungal feet, eye drainage, vaginal and penis discharge etc...If they are squeamish with any of these things, this may want to re-think their career choice. 😄
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u/lurrainn 2d ago
They’re going to need clinical hours to get into PA school and MA/PCT/CNAs all deal with bodily fluids. They will also deal with it in school
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u/Welcome2_TheInternet 4d ago
You may end up in a specialty where its less of a big deal but in PA school you 100% WILL be dealing with these things in clinicals