I entered the room as Jose followed me in and closed the door behind him. Room 2 was brightly lit like the rest of the office with the typical vinyl topped exam table covered with the smooth white paper at an angle going into the center of the room. There was a large adjustable exam light suspended over the table. There was also a set of stationary steps in one corner and a milk crate of weights in another corner. The temperature of the room seemed much warmer than the rest of the office and the air smelled like some sort of disinfectant.

“So you’re here for a complete physical,” Jose said as he sat down on the small rolling stool in front of me. “I’ll be going over your health history before the doctor comes in. Have a seat on the table,” he said as he began looking at my chart.

“Yeah, I thought it was time since it had been a while and I just turned thirty,” I commented nervously as I got onto the table while Jose continued reading my chart and the forms I had filled out.

I had not anticipated anyone else besides Dr. Johnson being involved with my exam. As I sat there waiting, I looked around more at the room. There were several laminated charts on the walls detailing the anatomy of the skeletal system and the male and female reproductive systems. The counter had a red biohazard sharps bin, a sink and soap dispenser, glass jars of gauze and tongue depressors and the box of infamous latex gloves.

“You did a good job of completely filling out the forms,” he said as he finished reading my chart.

“OK,” he said as he got up off the stool and closed my chart. “Doc will be with you in a moment. Shirt, shoes and socks off and have a seat up on the table,” he said as he left the room and closed the door behind him. I guess Jose was just Dr. Johnson’s assistant. I was relieved he had left so I could get undressed.

I got off the table and took off my shirt, shoes and socks as instructed. I placed my shoes under the chair and hung my shirt on the hooks provided on the wall. My sweaty feet stuck to the cool tile floor.

A few minutes later, there was a brief knock at the door. The exam room door opened and in walked the doctor. He was probably in his late forties, with closely cropped salt and pepper hair, wearing wire rimmed eyeglasses and a lab coat with scrubs underneath.

“Jonathan, I’m Dr. Johnson.” he said as he walked over to the table and we exchanged a firm handshake.

“So we’re doing a full physical on you today,” he said as he set my chart down on the counter and walked back to the table.

“Looks like you’re basically pretty healthy. Any concerns you’d like to discuss today?”

He asked as reached out and touched my face, pulling my eyelids down. Then he grabbed the opthalmoscope off the wall and looked into each of my eyes with the bright light. He replaced the opthalmoscope on the wall and grabbed the otoscope, fitted it with one of the little plastic cones then peered into both my ears.

I started to relax a little as his exam proceeded. He seemed to be taking his time but it seemed pretty normal…ears, nose, mouth, and feeling the glands around my neck with his fingers. Then he put the stethoscope into his ears and listened to my back and chest as I took deep breaths in and out. He didn’t comment on how fast my heart was beating.

He said nothing as he walked over to the counter and made notes on my chart. “OK, take your pants off and have a seat back up on the table,” he said as he continued writing on my chart.

“My pants?” I asked nervously. I knew this part would happen but was surprised at how quickly the time had come.

“Pants need to come off now. Then get back on the table,” he said calmly as he looked at my chart.

I climbed off the table and unbuttoned my jeans then reluctantly pulled them down and stepped out of them. The doctor picked up the reflex hammer off the counter and went and stood next to the table impatiently waiting for me and watching me undress. I stood there in my tighty whities as I hung my pants on the hook along with my shirt. I took a deep breath as I went over and climbed back up on the table, the table creaking and the paper crinkling under my butt as I sat down.