Comments on: Canadian women are livid…and rightfully so

By: mom2gcnj

mom2gcnj — Sun, 28 Mar 2010 15:44:17 +0000

How about this: medical students practice on each other. No degree or license until you submit to 20 pelvic and/or rectal exams performed by your fellow students. Problem solved. No more ritually raped patients. I’m not joking.

Almost every day I come a across a new reason to be even more disgusted with the medical establishment. In my opinion, this practice is not about students learning skills, it is about reinforcing power structures. Doctors have power and patients do not. Doctors can weild their power and patients are expected to submit. Doctors are gods and patients are bodies – or worse – body parts.

The whole thing makes me sick.

By: MC Kean

MC Kean — Fri, 26 Mar 2010 06:28:47 +0000

In all states save CA and VA it is legal. It is common practice, even on teens.

By: MC Kean

MC Kean — Fri, 26 Mar 2010 06:25:35 +0000

It is common in the U.S. Only CA and VA have outlawed the practice.

By: Apprentice Mom » I don’t even know what to say about that…

Apprentice Mom » I don’t even know what to say about that… — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 22:56:42 +0000

[...] since there is already LOTS to read from many other rightfully livid bloggers out there like this one. There is also a petition you can sign [...]

By: Sarah V.

Sarah V. — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 06:42:34 +0000

It certainly occurs to some. I always refused to do it, even when I got an earful for it. But that doesn’t get the practice changed. At the time, I reported it to our year representatives for them to pass on as a concern, which was the accepted channel for a student to report any sort of problems with the course. Years later, I found out that if the woman in charge of the course had known what was going on she would have put a stop to it (from which I’m deducing that the message never did get back to her). I should have contacted her directly to pass on my concerns, but when you’re a student you don’t necessarily know about the best ways to get something changed.

By: Darcel

Darcel — Sun, 31 Jan 2010 05:56:41 +0000

WTF is wrong with people? Why do people continue to think they can go around doing whatever they want! Always in the name of medicine.

By: jenn

jenn — Sat, 30 Jan 2010 19:34:41 +0000

thanks for the additional suggestions who to email ~ my morning of letter writing is now complete. this is beyond comprehension and i am beyond outraged ~ rawr!

By: phdinparenting

phdinparenting — Sat, 30 Jan 2010 19:28:44 +0000

@Melodie: Thanks for letting me know that Unnecesarean wrote about it to. I’m going to grab her link and add it here.

By: Melodie

Melodie — Sat, 30 Jan 2010 19:03:29 +0000

Although she doesn’t live in Canada a friend of mine who is in the field of medicine wrote me this when I posted the article by Unnecessarean on FB yesterday:
“I read through the article, and it definitely isn’t true everywhere. At least where I did my rotations, there were pages of consent forms, and a meeting with the patient, the MD, and myself before any kind of procedure… from an IV, to an intubation, to an assisted delivery. I was actually surprised at how many people consented to having a lowly paramedic student assist, and were very encouraging. Not all medicine is removed from dignity!”
So I thought – well that’s great but what about the rest of us? Which is who the information was brought to light for, right?

By: Carrie

Carrie — Sat, 30 Jan 2010 18:37:22 +0000

I said this on HerBadMother: if I was asked prior I’d say fine. Like you I have allowed students to be involved with my exams in the past. How is the next generation supposed to be able to do it without the opportunity to do it on a real person. But to NOT ask it just wrong on SO many levels.