Intimate examinations by Doctors and Role of chaperones : Guidelines
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Intimate examinations are indeed something that most medical practitioners come across in their daily practice . An intimate examination gone wrong can have cause both the patient as well as the doctor, a lot of embarrassment as well as putting a medical practitioners in a vulnerable situation, legally speaking.
In a conservative society of our country, these have vast implications for the medical profession. To address the issue of intimate examinations in mind, recently the Rajasthan government came out with the notification stating that gynecological examination shall be conducted by female doctors and staff only. The order was immediately criticized for its harshness and impracticality and soon had to be retracted by the government . However, it indeed brought forward into limelight the tricky situations that medical practitioners face during intimate examinations as well as opposite gender examinations
While there are no straight cut guidelines, by the medical bodies in India regarding how to perform intimate examinations, here are the guidelines made by General Medical Council, GMC UK concerning this issue. Here are its major recommendations ( * slightly amended for Indian Doctors)
Intimate examinations can be embarrassing or distressing for patients and whenever you examine a patient you should be sensitive to what they may think of as intimate. This is likely to include examinations of breasts, genitalia and rectum, but could also include any examination where it is necessary to touch or even be close to the patient.
In a conservative society of our country, these have vast implications for the medical profession. To address the issue of intimate examinations in mind, recently the Rajasthan government came out with the notification stating that gynecological examination shall be conducted by female doctors and staff only. The order was immediately criticized for its harshness and impracticality and soon had to be retracted by the government . However, it indeed brought forward into limelight the tricky situations that medical practitioners face during intimate examinations as well as opposite gender examinations
While there are no straight cut guidelines, by the medical bodies in India regarding how to perform intimate examinations, here are the guidelines made by General Medical Council, GMC UK concerning this issue. Here are its major recommendations ( * slightly amended for Indian Doctors)
Intimate examinations
Intimate examinations can be embarrassing or distressing for patients and whenever you examine a patient you should be sensitive to what they may think of as intimate. This is likely to include examinations of breasts, genitalia and rectum, but could also include any examination where it is necessary to touch or even be close to the patient.
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