Did doctor inform what he/she going to do?

Ponders SG

Maybe i selected the wrong forum but can't seem to find other suitable....

anyway, any of you here ever experience going to the doctor for some simple checkup and in the end he/she did things you never expected and in the end felt rather "violated".

what i mean is in those instances where your employer require you to go to some checkup, or you are going to some country and the embassy wants to do do the checkup.

what happened was that someone close to me (don't want to be specific as ppl in this forum knows me), is applying for a visa and the embassy wanted her to go to medical checkup, no where in the documents ever mentioned what's involved.

She thought it could be nothing much other than, blood/urine, xray and listening to the heart.

At the doctor's, she was asked about medical history and doctor asked her to lie down as he wants to check her abdomen (the one use finger to hit and listen).

what came next was unexpected as the doctor asked her to pull her shirt higher up. She thought the doctor needed to check ribcage area, but to her surprise, the doctor also asked the bra to be pulled up and he proceeded with breast exam.

what disturbed her was that, the doctor did not brief what's going to happen or nobody or no where was informing her what checks are involved.

also, the doctor did not offer if she preferred a chaperone during the check.

when she later questioned the doctor's assistant, the reply was simple, "there's no legal requirment for chaperones but patients can always ask for one".

well, she said she would be ok with it had the doctor mentioned what's gonna be involved in the subsequent moments at least she's mentally prepared, as opposed to sudden just asking her to expose herself.

she did feel violated but at the same time helpless, but since realised she's not alone anyway... thought some friends do have to sign an acknowlegdement saying that checks in private areas will be carried out.

browniebaobao SG

I tot if it's a full body check up..it will include everything?

and is the doc a male? so those present saw whatever they shouldn't have seen la...

I always request for a female doc..I was told at the polyclinic that female patients can only be examined by female docs..

Ponders SG

well, they did not mention its full-body check up.

just "medical check-up",

i mean who would have thought applying a visa to go another country need such "thorough" exam.

anyway.... are those pre-employment check-up, university admission check-up equally thorough ???

browniebaobao SG

Where did she go for the check up?

I have nv done pre-employment check-up before..but heard from my ex colleagues that it includes b***** check up also..they were feeling uncomfortable abt it, to let someone they duno to anyhow touch their body..

I know some polys like SP and certain courses require admission check up...but I duno how thorough isit..

Ponders SG

those private doctors ... because these embassies.. only appoint certain doctors that is authorised to do the check-up.

But most embassies appoint like 4-10 authorised doctors in singapore, and most of them are males. For some countries... their designated doctor are males only.

Eas99 SG

erm yes i guess they do check the privates for check ups .. i had one B4 i went NZ ... female Doc. went on to check my private quite embarassing but she is professional did not fiddle around with it so its okie ... i guess its just normal job scope ... dun need to worry Wink

wendy81 SG

When I was asked to go for a medical check up before I signed the bond with MOE, I had the same experience and I thought was norm. Anyway, I had signed an agreement too which I didn't bother to read what were the contents. So long as the doctor didn't insert the finger into your vaginal should be fine. *shrugs*

Guessed what the doctor wanted to do was to check for the probability of breast cancer. Confused

oxford mushroom SG

More likely the embassy stipulated that the doctor should check for evidence of pregnancy….

deathscythe99 SG

I guess u've to trust them as professionals lor... Rolling Eyes

laosu SG

Usually pre employment check ups are the usual urine test..blood test..eyesight and medical history. Some company requires more information depending on the nature of the jobscope which they think that certain illness or diseases might affect the work performance of inflict danger.

Before the checkup, you can actually request the doc for a list of what was needed to be done and if I'm not wrong, you'll usually be asked to sign on the list to make sure you understand what is going to be done.

And also, if it's a male doc, He will have to be accompained by a female nurse during the checkup in case the patient accused the doc of violation or other way.

Ito_^ SG

ya she may be carrying b-reasts flu. Laughing

Ponders SG

it's not a matter of trusting them as professionals but rather if they are professional enough to be trusted.

by guidelines.... doctor should inform in advance what procedures are involved rather than suddenly just ask one to "strip" him/herself.

By guidelines, if a male checking a female, the doc should have offered a chaperone... which did not happen in this case.

that "someone close to me" actually felt the doctor checking her b-reast was a adhoc thing since it was so sudden.

actually she was quite disturbed in the following days.

chguy SG

hmm..i will have a pre employment check up soon. What should i expect? is it dependent on the company policy?? or the doctor??

Ponders SG

if i'm not wrong, you can only go to the doctor your employer wants you to go right? If that's the case, the doctor and company already have an agreement on what the doctor should look for depending the nature of your job.

this reminds me... if you are beyond certain age and buying life insurance.. don't they require you to go thru a check up also?

Devil1976 SG

Next time if you want to play safe, just request for a chaperone.

At any point of the examination, if you feel uncertain or unclear, you can always request for the doctor to explain the procedures to you. A professional doctor should describe the proceedings before they do anything to the patient. But of course, some doctors doing routine check ups might just neglect that.

Doctors often have no rights to force a patient to do or go for any examination against their own will.

Ponders SG

that's what they always say a patient should do "ask for a chaperone".

But in actual case... the patient would usually be too shocked to think and simply comply the "order" at hand and feel uneasy about it.

oxford mushroom SG

Was in a very busy polyclinic once and they did not have enough female nurses to chaperone...that day for some reason all male doctors. Overheard the nursing sister arguing with the doctor.

The male doctors all wanted chaperones before they would see the female patients but as a result, the patients could not have their injections, blood tests and blood pressure taken. They even took the clerk and pharmacy nurse, everyone had to wait like crazy. They tried to 'share' one chaperone between two doctors but when both had female patients, one doctor would just shake leg until the chaperone came along.

The sister was saying that the doctors were crazy to want chaperone even for little girls and old women but the doctor said you don't know who will sue nowadays.

Devil1976 SG

When it comes to any physical examination... Make it a habit to ask precisely what the doctor intend to do for you. Particularly when you're asked to lie down on a bed, draw a curtain so that examination could be carried out, asked to remove / lift up / pull down any of your clothings.

Know about patients' rights and safety's always in your own hands...

Devil1976 SG

Originally posted by oxford mushroom:
Was in a very busy polyclinic once and they did not have enough female nurses to chaperone...that day for some reason all male doctors. Overheard the nursing sister arguing with the doctor.

The male doctors [b]all wanted chaperones before they would see the female patients but as a result, the patients could not have their injections, blood tests and blood pressure taken. They even took the clerk and pharmacy nurse, everyone had to wait like crazy. They tried to 'share' one chaperone between two doctors but when both had female patients, one doctor would just shake leg until the chaperone came along.

The sister was saying that the doctors were crazy to want chaperone even for little girls and old women but the doctor said you don't know who will sue nowadays.

[/b]

Yeah. Many doctors are dead worried about their own 'safety'.

LyCaN SG

I wanna be a doc... Mad