Cha Eun Jae
I badly need her backstory to know reaons of her symptoms, her desperation to be a doctor despite her symptoms and what actually made her to be doctor in first place. It’s so badly confusing for me.
she has these hyperventilation- nausea thr moment she enters a Operation Theatre and am really wondering is it really possible for a person to be a doctor and not got these symptoms diagnosed/noticed by someone else. Like how can she be a licensed doctor when she cant even enter OT ?
any medical beanies help ???

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    I haven’t graduated yet but I think it’s possible to be a licensed doctor and have some sort of phobia for the theater… but not a Surgeon! I mean, your surgery rotations (time spent in a surgical department) would suck but there are numerous specialties that have no business with the OR.
    I had a short surgical rotation in November and met a student (also in her 4th year and happens to be Korean) who said she just found out she has haemophobia. She nearly passed out 3 times but by the end of the rotation, she said she was getting better. Luckily, she has no interest in Surgery. She’s interested in Rheumatolgy.
    Same with my flatmate! She’s a 5th year student and she has a phobia for needles. She gets lightheaded every time we do any procedure involved with needles – especially, big ones. But she wants to be a Radiologist so she’s okay!
    But to be a surgeon? 🤔 I’m not sure how that’ll work. I, personally, find the OR very calming.

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      got it. so Cha Eun Jae can be a licensed doctor but not the surgeon keeping in mind her phobias.
      And thanks for such detailed reply.

      Now i have one more question… when she said she wanted to be a surgeon and we saw her taking calming pills (i guess those are anti anxiety pills benzodiazepines to be exact). is that possible.. like how could she got the designation of a with her symptoms.

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        I haven’t watched the drama yet. The thing is once you’ve graduated med school, you’re a doctor but not a doctor in the sense that you’re not allowed to practice without supervision. In most countries, this is how it works – you graduate and then spend a year or two rotating around different departments and then, finally pick a specialty. But you’re not licensed yet, you’re just a specialty doctor in training.
        So, as a licensed doctor who wants to be a surgeon, it is plausible to have a phobia of the OR! Maybe in training process with appropriate therapy and desensitization, you could get over said phobia, at least well enough to stop anxiety attacks. So, as long as she’s not the Surgeon in charge (and she’s just observing or being a 2nd assistant – like being delegated to holding an instrument or something) and if it’s a low dose anti-anxiety drug, it is PLAUSIBLE! But in all the times I’ve been in the OR, I don’t remember being screened for anything. Unless it’s something I’m not aware of, I don’t think Surgeons get screened for being on anti-anxiety drugs.
        But anxiety attacks are too serious of a disorder to be in the OR. No one wants anybody fainting during a surgery. I don’t see how anyone can endanger themself and a patient’s life in such a manner.

        Anxiety disorders – hyperventilations and fainting that comes with it – are too hard to not be noticed. Someone should have noticed it by now. Didn’t she ever fall or falter in the OR? It’s all about technicalities, I guess. As long as she’s not performing the surgery, I guess it’s okay.

        Oh, and you’re welcome 😊

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          *my pharmacology isn’t the best but just realized I’m not sure about the concept of β€˜low dose’ anti-anxiety medication because I think the essence of anti-anxiety medications is to calm and not really sedate/put to sleep so you can go about your daily life. Low dose benzodiazepines can be used as anti-anxiety medications.
          I just wanted to correct that.

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      Maybe this is a long shot, but I’m thinking that she was probably fine in the operating room or with blood at some point and developed some trauma that manifests itself as uncontrollable anxiety and narcolepsy during stressful situations. I need a back story too. However, it does seem strange she would pick surgery as her specialty if she had issues before her first anatomy class. I also had a good friend in med school who would past out at the sight of blood. She had so much anxiety during her surgical and OB rotation and would meditate/pray constantly so she wouldn’t just lay out during surgery. She’s a neonatologist now.

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