I was shocked and so, when I got home I looked it up online and was totally blown away to find out that it was 100% true. I read through the article from the Globe and Mail and found myself becoming more and more upset; I could not believe that it would be considered acceptable or ethical for a Canadian woman to have her rights or privacy violated in this way!
Sorry to all the men who are reading this blog, I am sure you don't need to know the deets of a Pelvic Exam but, it is basically a very invasive and vulnerable moment for a woman. We need to go through it every year or two and it is never something we are excited about.
You have to place trust in the person who is preforming it on you; you want to be able to meet the person and have a good feeling about them so you can feel comfortable and safe during the procedure. It is not something I would ever want done on me without my consent and certainly not while I was unaware and unconscious.
The reason that is given for this blatant disregard for human dignity and rights is ridiculous.
"The long-standing argument in favour of allowing these exams to be done on surgery patients is that it provides a unique opportunity for students to practice the delicate, invasive examination without causing the woman pain or embarrassment." ---- From the Globe and Mail Article by Andre Picard
WTF!! How do they know they are not causing the woman pain... she is unconscious!! She can't feel anything you freakin fools! You could be using a hot poker sick for the exam and she wouldn't know!! And about the not causing embarrassment thing. Are you kidding me? You don't think any woman would be ashamed and embarrassed to find out that a throng of medical students took turns completing a Pelvic Exam on her while she was out cold? If you want an unresponsive and unmoving patient just use a freakin cadaver!
Give your freakin heads a shake, this is wrong!!! There has to be a better way!
I am shocked and dismayed that this practice is considered acceptable in Canada. I am proud of the Canadian health care system and this makes me ashamed and, quiet frankly, it leaves me feeling sick to my stomach thinking of all the woman who have been violated in the name of medical training.
Just because a Doctor is doing something does not mean it is right. My body belongs to me and me only; if anything is going to be done to it, (other than in a life saving situation) I want the right to say yes or no.
I have scoured the internet looking for people and places that one could contact regarding this issue. So far, I have no concrete answer as to where one could send their thoughts or concerns to regarding this subject. The best thing any Canadian could do would be to contact their local MP and ask why this practice is allowed in a progressive country like Canada which values and promotes Human Rights.
If you are a medical student, you can easily put a stop to this by refusing to preform an exam on a woman unless they have given their explicit consent before hand. If I ever have surgery and any medical student or doctor does a Pelvic Exam on me without consent, you can be sure I would hunt them down and I would
Apparently, this is also a typical practice in the United States. The documentary, At Your Cervix, enters U.S. medical and nursing schools to break the silence around the unethical ways in which medical and nursing students learn to perform pelvic exams.
7 comments:
Oh god. This is totally messed up. How are the comfort of medical students valued over the comfort, privacy and human rights of women?!! This really disgusts me. Please let us know if you find out more information about this & what can be done to stop it.
WHA! For real?
From what I understand, most students practice on each other for many procedures. Why not for this? Oh, because you would be embarrassed to have a room full of students gawking at your cervix? Hm.
This should be done on a voluntary only basis and when many students spend time working in other doctors offices this is where this training should be done. I, myself, let a intern of my regular GP perform the exam with my doctor present. Not a room full of students but one intern acting professionally under the watchful eye of a GP.
Doing this to woman while they are unconscious and uninformed is completely unacceptable.
Thank you for posting this. I'll be sure to make my wishes known if I ever have to go under at VGH. After all, it's a teaching hospital.
OMG, I'm not impressed, if they just had consent, that'd be alright maybe. But seriously, you wake up after surgery on your spleen and your bleeding and sore in your private bits because unaware some bumbling student did it wrong. Yeah, I'd be freaked. Even my hubby says that's an outrage.... Meh on this practice!
I would be open to allowing a student to conduct an exam on me but not several and not in that manner. I am just shocked because it seems like a clear violation of informed consent to me.
It makes me nervous when things can be seen in such a wishy washy way. It makes me wonder what other things can be done to my body without my permission.
Oh my god!! This is insane! How can they think this is ok?!
I'm now having a panic attack remembering the fact that I've had a surgery where I was unconscious...
ps. I have to admit I love the name of the documentary... but jeez.
This is Crazy.
I just read your comment on my blog--you should definitely post a list of things that you would like to accomplish in decades to come. There is nothing wrong with appreciating what you have but still wanting more. The way I see it, going after your dreams teaches your kids to do the same. :)
And, I think by putting our dreams out there they stop just being "dreams" but rather concrete things we can work towards. It's so cool to hear that I inspired you :)
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