Prison medical exam - what would you add?

I wanted to ask feedback on what to add for my new story about Dr. Schiffman and his newly formed medical company which provides outsourced medicals to companies and government departments, which focusses on the medical examinations had by three female prisoners at the teaching hospital. Three local magistrates are observing the process along with one of Dr Schiffman's colleagues and a couple of medical students.

Arriving straight from the court under escort from the prison officers they are taken straight to the changing room opposite the lecture theatre where the students are lining up. They are made to strip completely and undergo a full cavity search by the prison officers and have a shower. Their clothes are taken away for storage and prison issue uniforms laid out for them but as they reach to put these on are informed that they will only be putting these on after their examinations. The medical students fit them with surgical hairnets and foot covers but other than this they are to remain naked as they are handcuffed and led down the corridor past the students to the lecture theatre where they are examined one by one.

What should the physical examination contain / consist of?

How about a stress test. Gotta make sure the heart is ok.

Hi DrAllaire,

I really like Dr Schiffmann and his approach, his way of performing exams and happily provide feedback.

Personally, I liked the scenarios at his office much more than the lecture hall scenarios. I personally feel, that it simply is more realistic, but also the emotions and impressions of the patients are just better conveyed in these situations. With too many people it just gets really tough to describe all their actions, their facial expressions and the vibe they are generally giving of, but most importantly how it affects the main figures of the story. So maybe I can convince you to set the scene in the prison clinic, where Dr Schiffmann's company is contracted to perform the annual well women exams?

Something I would definitively add in a prison scenario is shaving the patients. A prison is a place where hygiene is of particular relevance, fleas can spread way too quickly. Then having the women go under the shower, before giving them first a soapy enema followed by a clear water rinse seems reasonable. The protagonists, probably new to the prison, might see how their fellow prisoners get the enemas and how uncomfortable they are, before being sent away to the restroom.

When the prep is finished, the prisoners are to queue, waiting for their turn for the exam. The exam room could have four exam tables, two on each side. Whenever one table is free, the next woman is asked to lay down, put her feet in the stirrups and wait for the doctor to return. When the doctor comes, he talks to them and performs the standard exams: breast, bimanual exam, speculum exam and a brief rectal. When the doctor is finished, the prisoner may go outside and wait in the hall until a bunch of prisoners are done (like a cell block). Then they are asked to queue again for the rectoscope exam...

I hope my thoughts are helpful for you to develop your story. I really appreciate the time you put into writing. If you want more input, please feel free to reach out to me.

Best

DoctorGyno

I really like the idea of shaving and them having to queue for the different part of the exams.

The idea of having the exams in the teaching hospital adds to the humiliation angle, in the dystopian setting of the story the prison and court service has divested the physical examinations to Dr. Schiffman's company to save them money on using their own staff time and resources, whilst Dr. Schiffman is using them as free teaching resources for the medical students to learn anatomy from...so instead of having the relative privacy of the prison they are marched straight into the changing room, stripped nude under the watchful eye of the matron, prison officers and the magistrates who have come to observe the process as an act of good citizenship.

To "speed up the process" the doctor explains to the observers and medical students, Dr. Schiffman and his colleagues have decided that the patients are to immediately get completely undressed on arrival, and are to stay naked until the doctor has finished with them at which point they can put on their prison uniforms.

Really like the idea of a stress test too, in the nude of course to allow the medical students to observe their anatomy ...