i feel like i was the freak show

[btp54]

I am a man and had a procedure done at a near by hospital about 10 days ago, it has left me very angry but didn't say anything at the time as I didn't know if they did wrong.
I was brought into the theatre and got on the bed I was lying there and was told to lift my gown where I was naked from waist down , they made no attempt to cover me up to save my dignity there were 5 members of staff including nurses , consultant and others in the room, 3 of them doing nothing but all having a look and making comments, I know they have seen it all before, so am I right to feel angry, would I have been treated differently if I was a woman.
as the procedure failed I now have to have an operation, but I am already angry that if they can not look after my dignity when I am awake what will happen when I am under a general anaesthetic, should I make a complaint

So you have hydrocele?
If you honestly think that you weren’t treated appropriately then contact the hospital in order to discuss it.

Haha giveitfive you’ve made me laugh

Quite normal in a hospital situation. It's how people learn.

Absolute bullshit. People shouldn’t just be wandering over for a look unless they have a genuine reason to be involved with patient care. If anybody wants anybody, a student or a staff member, to learn from anything, they have to inform the patient and get their permission. You can’t use a patient as a learning tool unless they consent. They’re a person, not an anatomical model.

You wouldn’t have been treated any differently if you were a woman. There is no glamour in gynae.

I no longer say yes to medical students because I was treated like a piece of meat when I had abnormal cervical cells.

Four children and a lot of rummaging around by medical professionals - it’s not dignified no. They have a job today.

Oh, I’ve just told my DH about this, and yes we had a laugh at your expense. DH pointed out that he ended up butt naked for a stent to be fitted when he had his heart attack. (The stent to the heart went in via a artery or vain in his groin.

So if you really expect a testicular operation to be done by all male staff wearing blindfolds whilst you wear a full scuba diving outfit?

Bertrand Russell has it right.

In addition, anyone present in the room should think before they speak, preferably only making necessary observations, asking relevant questions or perhaps making smalltalk if it's felt the patient may benefit from some distraction.

No, you wouldn't have been treated differently. It happens all the time to women. That doesn't mean it was nice that it happened to you, but to think you would have been treated differently as a woman really is quite something.

The OP has every right to feel the way he does. I am not sure a woman would be getting better treatment but it sounds as if his dignity was compromised needlessly. Just because you had your vagina seen by umpteen medical personnel does not preclude somebody else for feeling that they have been treated without respect.

This thread It has a good chance of making women look bad. Some people have already made a good fist of that by the 'get a grip' comments.

Be aware it may not have been started in good faith though and you're playing into their hands.

Of course they'd be looking at your tackle if they're dealing with your testicle! Should they have flung the old chap over your leg and put a tiny drape on it?

Do you think the NHS can spare staff to have in theatre for no reason? There'd be at the very least a surgeon, a second, a scrub nurse, an anaesthetist, an ODP, a runner and possibly another recovery nurse. Sometimes you get extras of each if required. None of them will care a jot about your winky, other than making it all better. Talking during surgery is vital. Horrible mistakes can be made if colleagues don't speak up and share experience. This is honestly really reassuring that they were doing this.

No women don't have much dignity afforded them either. We might drape a towel over their pubic region while down there. We can still see into their vagina but I think not being able to make eye contact helps a bit.
Maybe next time ask for a screen.

would I have been treated differently if I was a woman
LOLZ

Using women for training while under anesthetic has been dones for fuckng years. Women can't be covered during birth obviously, but we don't need randoms walking in, which guess what, continues to happen. Pressure to consent to exams, HCPs putting a hand up a birthing women without consent at all isn't even uncommon.

Can you explain why you decided to ask a group of women this question?

www.forbes.com/sites/paulhsieh/2018/05/14/pelvic-exams-on-anesthetized-women-without-consent-a-troubling-and-outdated-practice/#74faad697846

UterusUterusGhali what an apt username for this thread

This thread It has a good chance of making women look bad. Some people have already made a good fist of that by the 'get a grip' comments.

I've seen worse said to women who have been physically manhandled by HCPs on here. I don't see why this guy should get better treatment because somenoe who is supposed to see his penis saw his penis.

Also the OP was told to take his pants down, knowing the people in the room would see. He didn't have to do it, he chose to do it. They didn't walk in while he was naked as happens to women

Peepeeteepee?

I understand that some procedures can not be covered up but I knew my one could be, I would expect everyone should be treated with dignity, which I felt I wasn't.
as for the staff in the room, I haven't a clue what 3 of them were there for as it was a fairly simple needle in the testicle to drain fluid, nothing was explained prior to this happening or why anyone was there except for the consultant, it was such an easy procedure that he had told me that my own GP could have done it

Nobody should be treated like this regardless of their sex.

I agree with PP and this type of thing happens to women all the time, so hard as it sounds you will just have to suck it up . I know that sounds unsympathetic but women have been enduring worse and more intimate examinations for years.

Medical staff have seen it all before and have you thought that the staff in the room were actually doing other bits and pieces and may have been training.

i had a hip operation recently which resulted in my labia being brused and swollen.

the surgeon, his assitant, anaesthetist and nurse all stood at the bottom of the bed and had a look. i was on plenty of morphine and happily flashed my vag to everyone

YABVU to think a woman would have been treated differently/better - the opposite is usually true. YABU to think they could have safely done the procedure without adequate exposure.

YANBU that there should have been better communication about what was happening and why. It only takes 5 seconds to say "this is Dr X who's observing to learn how to do the procedure".

I think this entire thread would have had a very different tone if you'd asked "AIBU to think my dignity could have been better respected". It's the weird assumption that women would have had their dignity more respected, when the absolute opposite is the case, that has made some of the replies probably feel unhelpful and unsupportive.

What do you want the outcome of your complaint to be @btp54?

You were not treated worse than women are. You were treated just as badly as women are treated.

Just because people want to have a look doesnt mean they should take a look without asking first and waiting for the answer.

I was having a gynaecological exam and the doctor brought in ten students, he asked if it was ok for "a couple" so I had said yes. They all got given gloves and told to have a look for themselves. I wasn't asked about that part. I didn't have a cover over me. It happens all the time to women. Once you're on the table only the bit they're looking at exists!

Women don't get treated better. I feel angry about that comment. Many of us have had many smears and gynea appointments.

i have a female anomally reproductive system.whenever i go to a gyn i become the learning tool.bothered me at first but once i realized the interns learning about it would be helpful to other woman i just go along now.lots of bizarre jokes etc/it is very rare 1 in 10,000 woman have a form of it.
that being said.more than on doctor in the early years handled the information in very sexist ways.finally went to female docs for my yearly checkups.was 21 before one accutually explained it to me and did a show and tell for me.
as colours says>
Sadly, I think that those who see it every day get so used to it that they lose sight at the person on the other end.