Quote:
Originally Posted by JustJess
As a PA in training, I can tell you that we are especially trained in performing a pelvic exam differently than other parts of the physical exam. Whereas we practice other parts on fellow students, for the pelvic (and the uro-rectal-genital exam on males) we have special teaching assistants come in. They teach us not just the procedures necessary, but also how to treat our patients and show respect and care in our behavior and language.
I can assure you that as a person who has both "chaperoned" for others giving the pelvic exam, and as someone who now must perform them, there is nothing sexual in our minds at all (this from someone who dabbles with females on occasion, so could possibly see them sexually). I can tell you that my male classmates feel just the same as I do - we want to make our patients comfortable, and do a good job so that we can catch any health issues before they become more complicated. That's it. Once you are trained as a medical professional, you view the body, well, differently.
I think I see MORE beauty in the human form now than I did before, but that's because of my greater understanding of how the body works, and how it's put together. We're pretty neat, you know? But it is not a sexual thing. It couldn't be. In order to think clinically, there just isn't room for sexuality.
Now, I am not saying there aren't bad practitioners out there who do cross those lines, and I hope we find every last one of them and completely destroy their reputations (since that is what typically matters to them)... but it is NOT the norm. If you are uncomfortable with your doctor or PA, then find a new one. You owe it to yourself and your health.
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I appreciate this post.
The problem some women have, and I think some offices are not aware of this, is that the exam IS so clinical. It's cookie-cutter. The woman has been reduced to a body part, not a person who can feel pain or humiliation. I posted previously about the book
Public Privates written by gynecology instructor Terri Kapsalis. She dares to address these issues of doctors being insensitive and clinical. This is happening today, not in all cases, but it is not seldom either. Different women have to be approached different ways. Different women have different perceptions of sexuality. The whole gyno approach needs an overhaul.
For example, dental spas. There is such a population of people who have such anxiety about going to the dentist, that dental spas have become the rage: herb tea, ambient lighting, soothing music, massages. And this approach is effective. It is socially acceptable to have anxiety about the dentist, and the industry has addressed this effectively. Gyno exams should follow suit.
Also, and this is not directed at you personally, but there are some women who are bothered by the chaperone being in the room. Though it's tradition, it shouldn't be assumed that this is a help to the patient. She should be asked first.
There should be a diagnostic survey for each woman that will determine what kind of doctor would be most suited to her. Some women like a paternal approach, others like a clinical approach, some like a dental spa approach, etc. Then the woman can be directed to a specific doctor who practices with that approach.
But anyway, my whole point of posting is directed back to the OP: women shouldn't be ridiculed for asking the questions the OP did and for desiring a different approach. It's the "you should suck it up and take it" social stigma that drives women even further away from the gyno. (I know you didn't come across like that, but some earlier in the thread did.) Everyone perceives sexuality in diverse ways, and tradiional Western medicine has not caught onto this yet -- even in this modern age. Some of the women's wellness centers, which tend to be more liberal in thought, have caught on. Kudos to them.
-----Added 2/8/2008 at 06 : 57 : 50-----
Quote:
Originally Posted by ngdawg
Kapsalis Bio
This is her faculty bio and it says nothing about her credentials regarding "gynecology instructor". She's an artist.
Source
Not even worth paying attention to, really.
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Here in my hardback copy, it says:
"Terri Kapsalis is a health educator and performer. Her writings have appeared in Lusitania, New Formations, Public, and TDR. She has taught in art schools and medical schools..."
Look on page 8 of the book. Do you even own a copy or have read the book? I will quote it for you:
"I approach this topic as not only a medical consumer, but as an educator and performance practitioner....I was working as a gynecology teaching associate for a Chicago medical school, teaching a small group of second-year medical students breast and pelvic exams on my own body....Soon thereafter, I became a member of a women's health collective, working as a health educator, teaching women breast and cervical exam."