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The Psychological Syndrome That Affects Only Medical Students - Education - Nairaland

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The Psychological Syndrome That Affects Only Medical Students by Nobody: 5:43pm On Jan 28, 2013
Medical Student Syndrome is a psychological disorder that's endemic to, well, medical students. It's when you become convinced that you have whatever terrible disease that you're studying.
You're in a new area, in a high-pressure situation, among strangers, and have likely taken on a new and exciting financial burden. You eat badly, sleep badly, and spend your time cramming your head full of horrible diseases that happened to unsuspecting people. This is not a recipe for a calm response to every new pang and weird rash. It's a recipe for Medical Student Syndrome. And here I thought the most dangerous mental illnesses suffered by medical students were the tendency to wear their school sweatshirts at all times and an inability to befriend anyone but other medical students.
The health problems that MSS sufferers imagine can be anything, from Lou Gehrig's disease to appendicitis. Appendicitis, apparently, is one of the more common complaints. Students learn, for the first time, the exact location of the appendix and suddenly an innocent stomach pain will turn into an inflamed appendix. It seems that more involved conditions would be more difficult to identify. But if the first symptoms of a condition are, for example, an itch bordering on pain, a persistent tremor, and occasional spasm, it doesn't take much concentration to make them happen in any part of the body one concentrates on. Try not to feel an itch in your right-hand little finger right now.
There are a few studies on MSS. Some suggest that the impact of the disease is exaggerated. Law students also tend towards hypochondria. It could just be a symptom of young people under pressure. Psychology students tend to become more sure of themselves, mentally, but also more likely to diagnose the people around them - especially family members. That must be a real treat for everybody.
Primarily, medical schools are concerned with finding a way for students to get timely medical advice about their fears. Some encourage students to write about their worries in their notes and review them. Others just make sure that campus health facilities are open. As for the general public, who have been suffering from WebMD hypochondria for some time, it's nice to know that the professionals start out by being just as jumpy as we are.
Re: The Psychological Syndrome That Affects Only Medical Students by Nobody: 5:55pm On Jan 28, 2013
SimonAndal: Medical Student Syndrome is a psychological disorder that's endemic to, well, medical students. It's when you become convinced that you have whatever terrible disease that you're studying.
You're in a new area, in a high-pressure situation, among strangers, and have likely taken on a new and exciting financial burden. You eat badly, sleep badly, and spend your time cramming your head full of horrible diseases that happened to unsuspecting people. This is not a recipe for a calm response to every new pang and weird rash. It's a recipe for Medical Student Syndrome. And here I thought the most dangerous mental illnesses suffered by medical students were the tendency to wear their school sweatshirts at all times and an inability to befriend anyone but other medical students.
The health problems that MSS sufferers imagine can be anything, from Lou Gehrig's disease to appendicitis. Appendicitis, apparently, is one of the more common complaints. Students learn, for the first time, the exact location of the appendix and suddenly an innocent stomach pain will turn into an inflamed appendix. It seems that more involved conditions would be more difficult to identify. But if the first symptoms of a condition are, for example, an itch bordering on pain, a persistent tremor, and occasional spasm, it doesn't take much concentration to make them happen in any part of the body one concentrates on. Try not to feel an itch in your right-hand little finger right now.
There are a few studies on MSS. Some suggest that the impact of the disease is exaggerated. Law students also tend towards hypochondria. It could just be a symptom of young people under pressure. Psychology students tend to become more sure of themselves, mentally, but also more likely to diagnose the people around them - especially family members. That must be a real treat for everybody.
Primarily, medical schools are concerned with finding a way for students to get timely medical advice about their fears. Some encourage students to write about their worries in their notes and review them. Others just make sure that campus health facilities are open. As for the general public, who have been suffering from WebMD hypochondria for some time, it's nice to know that the professionals start out by being just as jumpy as we are.



I know that medical students are under stress from their course of study. Stress is the gateway to many health problems. I have two friends that quit studying medicine to finish a 2 year degree in business.......


BTW; Wassap SimonAndal? You dont holla @ your brother from another mother anymore!
Re: The Psychological Syndrome That Affects Only Medical Students by eriegua83: 6:35pm On Jan 28, 2013
Oh how I pity my enviable medical practitioners
Re: The Psychological Syndrome That Affects Only Medical Students by survivor10(m): 6:42pm On Jan 28, 2013
Dts d bitter truth about being a medical student in naija. I am a medic so i stand to make a good comment on d issue. There is a lot of stress in med schl. They r; fear of being withdrawn,fear of failure, pressure frm family n friends, financial weaknes(for some sha) n hyper-strict lecturers
Re: The Psychological Syndrome That Affects Only Medical Students by Nobody: 7:12pm On Jan 28, 2013
survivor10: Dts d bitter truth about being a medical student in naija. I am a medic so i stand to make a good comment on d issue. There is a lot of stress in med schl. They r; fear of being withdrawn,fear of failure, pressure frm family n friends, financial weaknes(for some sha) n hyper-strict lecturers

Those are not the kinda stress that the topic is talking of.
Re: The Psychological Syndrome That Affects Only Medical Students by Nobody: 1:07am On Jan 29, 2013
Logicboy03:
I know that medical students are under stress from their course of study. Stress is the gateway to many health problems. I have two friends that quit studying medicine to finish a 2 year degree in business.......


BTW; Wassap SimonAndal? You dont holla @ your brother from another mother anymore!
_
Hey MacD! The only other dude that warms my cockles (so to speak)! Don't mind the long absence o, school's been an absolute bitch, my semester exams are coming up next week, I've got tons of assignments and reading to do so I end up sleeping for only 5 hours daily, coupled with the fact that the school wifi's been buggering up lately!
How's life over there in MacLand?
Re: The Psychological Syndrome That Affects Only Medical Students by Nobody: 1:49am On Jan 29, 2013
SimonAndal:
_
Hey MacD! The only other dude that warms my cockles (so to speak)! Don't mind the long absence o, school's been an absolute bitch, my semester exams are coming up next week, I've got tons of assignments and reading to do so I end up sleeping for only 5 hours daily, coupled with the fact that the school wifi's been buggering up lately!
How's life over there in MacLand?

Hey! I'm cool.


Goodluck with your studies bro!


By the way, are you a programmer or studying IT?
Re: The Psychological Syndrome That Affects Only Medical Students by Flashaldrin(m): 7:38am On Jan 29, 2013
Why do i feel forced to comment on this bullshyte??
Re: The Psychological Syndrome That Affects Only Medical Students by Flashaldrin(m): 7:40am On Jan 29, 2013
SimonAndal:
Don't mind the long absence o, school's been an absolute bitch, my semester exams are coming up next week, I've got tons of assignments and reading to do so I end up sleeping for only 5 hours daily, coupled with the fact that the school wifi's been buggering up lately!
you must be kidding me. You call 5hrs of sleep only?? Smh.

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Re: The Psychological Syndrome That Affects Only Medical Students by Nobody: 7:42am On Jan 29, 2013
'cause The Force, upon you it is.
_
@MacD, I'm doing computer science.
Re: The Psychological Syndrome That Affects Only Medical Students by Nobody: 7:46am On Jan 29, 2013
Flashaldrin:
you must be kidding me. You call 5hrs of sleep only?? Smh.
_
Yeah, 5 hours for me is "only". I need proper hibernation in order to function properly. 1st semester I was on 9.5 hours.
Re: The Psychological Syndrome That Affects Only Medical Students by Tobiustobius: 12:19pm On Jan 29, 2013
Oh yeah, I know what that is. I have a small twinge in my stomach and I believe I'm rupturing an ectopic pregnancy, my classmates braids her hair too tight and then murmurs darkly about raised intracranial pressure. C'est la vie. We get over it... Mostly.

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Re: The Psychological Syndrome That Affects Only Medical Students by Nobody: 1:27pm On Jan 29, 2013
Tobius tobius: Oh yeah, I know what that is. I have a small twinge in my stomach and I believe I'm rupturing an ectopic pregnancy, my classmates braids her hair too tight and then murmurs darkly about raised intracranial pressure. C'est la vie. We get over it... Mostly.
_
Ah, Tobi! Comest thou and impartest on us thy knowledge of the darkest plague afflicting thy kind.
Re: The Psychological Syndrome That Affects Only Medical Students by Lagusta(m): 8:10pm On Jan 29, 2013
I am in my final year, and I am scared to the marrow, I think I'm gonna suffer a ruptured aneurysm from one of my meningeal arteries!!! embarassed embarassed

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