DIY doctors: New Zealand medical students "operating on themselves at home"

A number of medical students at New Zealand’s oldest university are practising invasive medical procedures on their own bodies, and the bodies of their fellow students.

A study published today in the New Zealand Medical Journal found 5% of medical students surveyed by researchers at Otago University medical school in Dunedin are practising in what is believed to give the aspiring medics stress-free conditions in which to hone their skills.

Procedures include inserting IVs, withdrawing blood and removing cysts on their own or other students bodies, some in their own homes using pilfered equipment.

The survey’s sample size was 284 students from a cohort of 800 in their fourth, fifth and sixth year of medical study.

Five percent – or 15 students – described practising on themselves or fellow students.

Co-author and deputy vice-chancellor Helen Nicholson said the findings were “very concerning” and warranted immediate further investigation.
“At the moment we don’t really know why the students are doing this, but anecdotally we have been told it is to practice their skills in a private and stress-free environment,” said Nicholson.

“It is pretty strange behaviour. We know some students were doing these procedures at home, with equipment they had taken from the hospital. So we do have serious concerns that this sort of behaviour is not displaying self-care or a professional attitude.”

Nicholson said while there were plenty of reports of doctors self-diagnosing and self-prescribing, to her knowledge this was the first study to identify students practicing medical procedures on themselves.

The most common practice the medical students tested on themselves was the insertion of an IV line into a vein, and the most common procedure students tested on each other was taking blood.

Nicholson said taking blood, removing a cyst or mole and inserting an IV were all particularly difficult procedures to perform on your own body, and all of them involved some degree of pain.

Professor Barry Taylor, dean of the Dunedin School of Medicine, said it was “pretty common” for students to practice a range of medical procedures on themselves such as using an ultrasound, examining inside each others ears or taking blood pressure.

But Prof Taylor said he drew the line at students practicing any surgical procedures on themselves or each other, and doing so in their own homes with no clinical supervision was dangerous.

“There is a broad philosophy in medicine that doctors shouldn’t promote what they haven’t experienced,” said Prof Taylor.

“And if you are practising on yourself you could argue that you are certainly getting informed consent. But the risks of something going wrong are similar to if you are treating a family member, which we discourage because you are not in a position to make unbiased or objective decisions.

“Taking blood and removing cysts are definitely on the margins of acceptable and could potentially be dangerous procedures if something goes wrong.”

DIY doctors: New Zealand medical students "operating on themselves at home"

Faeces linked to gastroenteritis outbreak that hit thousands in New Zealand town

Thousands of residents of a small New Zealand town in the North Island are seriously ill after the local water supply was contaminated – possibly by animal faeces.

On Thursday afternoon hundreds of residents of Havelock North in the Hawke’s Bay (population 3,000), began reporting severe symptoms of gastroenteritis such as vomiting and diarrhoea.

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Many schools in the area were closed on Friday and over the weekend local medical centres, doctor’s surgeries and pharmacies were besieged with sick residents.

A spokesman for the Hawke’s Bay Distict Health Board (DHB) said thousands were affected by the outbreak, although most people were treating themselves at home.

However, more than 50 people presented to the emergency department at Hawke’s Bay Hospital, and 18 people were hospitalised.

Two elderly people were in intensive care, both as a result of the water contamination.

The death of a rest home resident in Havelock North from a gastro-like illness was also being investigated, Radio New Zealand reported.

Some schools in Havelock North remain closed on Monday, with many students and teachers too ill to attend.

The Hastings District Council was criticised for not informing residents of the contamination soon enough.

It said in a statement that the contamination and resulting sickness was “very serious”, and the water supply was found to be infected with Campylobacter – most likely a result of animal faeces finding its way into the bore.

Nick Jones, a Hawke’s Bay DHB medical officer, told Radio New Zealand the council had no idea how the faecal matter entered the water supply, but they were investigating.

The water supply has since been chlorinated but the council were advising residents to continue to boil their water until given the all-clear.

Medical centres in the area said they were prioritising caring for the young and elderly, as they were most severely affected by the bug.

The DHB and the local council were encouraging the community to check on their neighbours and any vulnerable people who may not be able to access medical help.

Andrew Lesperance, of the Hastings Health Centre, said they had tripled the number of staff working over the weekend, and set up an IV station at the clinic for rapid hydration.

Liz Dixon, co-owner of Gilmours Pharmacy in Havelock North said the community had pulled together over the weekend and organised groups of volunteers to visit elderly people living alone and bring them essential supplies – such as packets of electrolytes, water and toilet paper.

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The local supermarket – New World – sold 12,000l of bottled water and were selling bottled water at the discounted price of NZ$ 5.

The supermarket also noted a “significant increase” in the sales of toilet paper and hand sanitiser since the outbreak.

Faeces linked to gastroenteritis outbreak that hit thousands in New Zealand town