I have never been unfortunate enough to need to have a doctor put his finger up my bum. I hope I never need to, but the thought of me having to do that to someone else isn't much better.
I nearly had to do my first rectal exam today - I managed to go the loo at an excellent time and so my clinical partner was landed with it. He was told to "Go and do a rectal" on an constipated alcoholic patient. The SHO told him that it had to be done "To see if there is poo in his rectum"
WTF???? Of course there is going to be poo in there! If he hasn't poo-ed for four days, where is it going to be, other than in his rectum?
I kind of hovered around the bed whilst my clinical partner got his gloves ready. The SHO told him what to do and so, after covering himself and the bed in KY jelly, he did the deed. Although we had the curtains around the patient, The SHO managed to shout really loudly "Put your finger in and tell me if there is hard faeces there" The other patients sniggered and the visitors around the next bed went very quiet.
My clinical partner didn't say much for the rest of the day and struggled to eat his free curry (Drug reps are wonderful people!)
It's hard to think that these things will soon become as routine as taking blood - just part of the everyday routine. The funny thing is that if I was training to be a vet, I don't think that I would have any worries about sticking my finger up a dogs' bum. It just seems a dreadful thing to have to do to a man. I wander too, how necessary some of the rectal exams are. I can understand their need to assess prostate size and prescence of malignany, but I am not too convinced about doing them for constipation, like the one today. I asked the SHO why this was needed for constipated patients and he really couldn't answer me, only to say that "This is how we assess the level of constipation"
Oh well - I expect this time next week, I will no longer be a rectal exam virgin!
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3 comments:
On the rectals that i've done so far there has always been someone there to explain what is going to happen. i'm not looking forward to saying "ok sir, i'm just going to put a finger in your bottom"
i actually had to have one done because no one could figure out my low red blood cell count...and the doctor who did it explained n o t h i n g and was mean at that...! thanks for letting me rant! the kicker....wait for it.....
he was a p s y c h i a t r i s t !!!!!!!
I've had to have a rectal examination too, unfortunately. Thankfully my GP did explain it all to me (although I'n not quite sure who I was meant to "relax"). Nor does it really help to hear that "we do it all the time" - not to me you don't!
Fiona
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