Unconsented Pelvic Exams

*Sharing my homework assignment with everyone because it matters and I always choose important topics.

Intro To Healthcare Assignment: Ethical Issue

Ethical issue: Performing unconsented pelvic exams on women while they are under anesthesia is legal in 45 states.

My Perspective:

Medical students are practicing pelvic exam while patients are under anesthesia. During Shawn Barnes’ third year in medical school, he was asked to and did perform pelvic exams during his obstetrician and gynecology training. Once anesthesia was administered, the attending physician or resident would ask Barnes to perform a pelvic exam for educational purposes.

When later voicing his opinion of this ethical conflict, Barnes learned that this was, in fact, a standard protocol to perform unconsented internal vaginal exams on unsuspecting ob/gyn patients. Many people outside of the medical field are shocked and horrified to learn that doctor-patient trust could be violated in this way.

Why wouldn’t the doctor or the hospital require consent? It has been nearly a decade since Shawn Barnes voiced his opinion and nearly thirty years since this topic has first been discussed and yet these exams still occur in 45 states, legally. Simply put, we need to end the practice of uninformed and unconsented internal vaginal exams.

I can’t help but wonder if I have ever had an unconsented pelvic exam during one of my many ob/gyn surgeries. Please contact your local government.

*Hawaii, California, Illinois, Virginia, and Oregon have outlawed the practice