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Maggots, Mucous and Monkey Meat: Does Disgust Sensitivity Affect Case Mix Seen During Residency?
Benjamin H Schnapp1, Emily Fleming1, Aaron S Kraut1
1University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, BerbeeWalsh Department of Emergency Medicine, Madison, Wisconsin.
Introduction:
Emergency physicians encounter scenarios daily that many would consider "disgusting," including exposure to blood, pus, and stool. Physicians in procedural specialties such as surgery and emergency medicine (EM) have lower disgust sensitivity overall, but the role this plays in clinical practice is unclear. The objective of this study was to determine whether emergency physicians with higher disgust sensitivity see fewer "disgusting" cases during training.
Methods:
All EM residents at a midsize urban EM program were eligible to complete the Disgust Scale Revised (DS-R). We preidentified cases as "disgust elicitors" based on diagnoses likely to induce disgust due to physician exposure to bodily fluids, anogenital anatomy, or gross deformity. The "disgust elicitor" case percent was determined by "disgust elicitor" cases seen as the primary resident divided by the number of cases seen thus far in residency. We calculated Pearson's r, t-tests and descriptive statistics on resident and population DS-R scores and "disgust elicitor" cases per month.
Results:
Mean DS-R for EM residents (n = 40) was 1.20 (standard deviation [SD] 1.24), significantly less than the population mean of 1.67 (SD 0.61, p<0.05). There was no correlation (r = -0.04) between "disgust elicitor" case (n = 2191) percent and DS-R scores. There was no significant difference between DS-R scores for junior residents (31.1, 95% confidence interval [CI], 26.8-35.4) and for senior residents (29.0, 95%CI, 23.4-34.6).
Conclusion:
Higher disgust sensitivity does not appear to be correlated with a lower percentage of "disgust elicitor" cases seen during EM residency.
Insights
Emergency physicians' disgust sensitivity was assessed, finding no link between higher sensitivity and fewer exposure to "disgusting" cases during emergency medicine (EM) training. This suggests disgust levels do not influence clinical case exposure for EM residents.
Area of Science:
- Medical Education
- Psychology
- Emergency Medicine
Background:
- Emergency physicians regularly encounter highly unpleasant situations involving bodily fluids and deformities.
- While procedural specialists like emergency medicine (EM) physicians generally exhibit lower disgust sensitivity, its impact on clinical practice remains unclear.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate if higher disgust sensitivity correlates with fewer exposure to "disgusting" cases during emergency medicine residency training.
Main Methods:
- Emergency medicine residents (n=40) completed the Disgust Scale Revised (DS-R).
- Cases were categorized as "disgust elicitors" based on potential for inducing disgust.
- The percentage of "disgust elicitor" cases was calculated relative to total cases seen by residents.
Main Results:
- EM residents had a mean DS-R score of 1.20, significantly lower than the general population mean of 1.67.
- No significant correlation (r = -0.04) was found between "disgust elicitor" case percentage and DS-R scores.
- No significant difference in DS-R scores was observed between junior and senior residents.
Conclusions:
- Increased disgust sensitivity does not appear to be associated with a reduced proportion of "disgust elicitor" cases encountered during emergency medicine residency.
- Findings suggest that disgust sensitivity may not be a determining factor in the types of clinical cases residents are exposed to.
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