Doctor stays in the exam room while I undress

After the interview/history portion of the physical exam my doc asks me to strip down to my skivvies and stays in the room while I do so. No gown or drape is offered.

Perhaps if he wanted me naked under a gown he would leave the room. And I would bet that he probably always leaves the room for his female patients. But my guess is that most docs these days make it a point to always leave the room whenever a patient of either sex changes for the exam.

I'm not complaining at all--in fact I find the lack of "fuss" kind of refreshing. We are both men, and he's going to see me naked shortly thereafter anyway.

Anyone else have a (real life) doc who does this?

A few years ago I went to a free skin exam at a dermatologist's office and was scheduled with one of the male PA's. The nurse calls my name and I follow her back to a room. She holds the door for me and tells me to have a seat. She then tells me, "Brad will be in soon", and walks out shutting the door behind her. I had been to one other dermatologist one other time and had been instructed to strip completely and put on a gown. So now I was confused and began thinking I miss understood, or that I didn't hear her instructions, or that I was supposed to be undressing, or something.

He came in and we talked for a couple of minutes before he explained that usually I undress down to my underwear and then he examines all of my skin. I said ok. He sat there and stared at me for a few seconds. He then said, "So just go ahead and undress" ... staring ... "Leave on your underwear" ... staring ... I sat waiting for him to get up and walk out, leaving me alone to get undressed, like all my other doctor exams. "You mean right now?" "Yep... I'll just work on your chart until you're ready", and half turns his chair towards his desk at the end of the table. "Ohh... okaaay". As I started undressing, about every 5-10 seconds he would spin around in his chair, look at me, and say something like, "Doing ok?", "About done?", or something along those lines. It was extremely creepy.

As soon as I was standing there in just my boxer briefs he told me to have a seat on the table. As soon as my butt hit that paper and started crinkling a nurse came into the room and just stood inside the door staring at me. She had to be waiting outside the door until she heard me sit on the exam paper and then entered. She never said a word, never documented anything, never moved... just stared. Again, creepy. What was really weird was he sent her away out of the room just before he pulled my underwear down in back to examine by butt. It was like he was trying to protect my modesty or something.

At the end of the exam, I sat up but he never pushed in the leg extension. So I was sitting on the table, legs spread wide, one on either side of the table, wearing just my underwear. He opens the door to leave but just stops and continues talking to me. So I'm sitting on the exam table spread eagle in just my underwear with the door to the hallway wide open. I remember thinking I was on Candid Camera or something. I also remember thinking that this was the kind of stuff that I read about on zity and never believe!

Yeah I could see how it could be confusing since many of us have come to expect that the doc always leaves the room. I was honestly surprised when my PCP didn't make any moves like he was going to leave. But I just took his cues and went with it. I wanted to send the signal to him that I didn't have any problem with it.

Not sure with your derm PA, but I think my doc is just of the old-school mentality--when a male doc is examining a male adult patient you can dispense with many of the formalities because men do not expect/require accommodations be made for their modesty. Not saying it's right for everyone, but I for one prefer that straightforward approach.

My doctor only sees me take off my tighty whities because I strip down to just them before he comes into the room.

My pediatrician that I saw from ages 11 through 18 always stayed in the room while I undressed. He would come into the exam room while I was completely dressed and would ask about school, sports I played, and general health questions. Then he would say “go ahead and strip down to your underwear and sit on the table.” It would only take me about 30 seconds to strip down and I was relieved there was no wait to get started with the dreaded examination. As an adult, I have only had one doctor stay in the room while I undressed. It was a strip-as-necessary-for-the-area-of-focus exam, so it was just shirt first, then unbuckle and unhook the pants, and finally lower pants and briefs.

I'm never asked to undress these days. But I do anyway. After the nurse takes my vitals and says "the doctor will be in soon," I strip down to briefs and a t-shirt.

Whenever I'm asked to undress at a physical after the doctor takes my history they stay in the room whilst I strip down. To me, there's no point in them leaving anyways. They're going to be seeing me there in my boxers so why leave while I take my shirt, pants and shoes and socks off?

As a kid it was the same if I was at the doctors and they wanted to do a more detailed examination of me. The doctor would ask my mother or father to strip me down to my underpants and they would help me take my clothes off down to my briefs (or boxers depending on my age). For a school physical it was slightly different as we had to strip down to our undies in the changing room and then walk down to the gym so the doctor would do the history taking while I was already in my boxers.

In the 80s when three misfortunes in succession required quite a few GP visits, my doctor usually required me to undress. He just stood waiting while I took off my shirt, shoes, socks and trousers in front of him. After a few minutes' prodding on the exam couch, I'd be asked to let my underpants down. I remember him examining my manhood with a magnifying glass (to examine a fine rash, not because it's small...) and lifting my scrotum to check my taint.

I've had two doctors who did that. After the nurse took me back to the exam room and checked my vitals, there would be no instruction to undress as the nurse left. All she would say is "the doctor will be in soon". Then the doctor would come in, have a seat at his desk, and do the interview part where he would ask me about my health and whether I was having any problems. This could take 15-30 minutes. Only then would these doctors tell me to strip down to my underpants. I don't remember how they would say it but it would be something like "Let's take a look at you. Undress to your shorts please" or "Go ahead and take off everything but your underpants". These doctors wouldn't leave the room while I undressed and I didn't see any reason for them to do that. I have been undressing in locker rooms all my life so why should I care about a doctor being in the room while I strip down to my underwear? Undressing takes less than a minute unless a patient is really slow. I don't think that the doctors watched me undress as they were probably writing their notes on my history while I stripped down. Then the doctors would do the exam, which ended with my underpants around my ankles or completely off for the rectal exam. Once told that I could get dressed, these doctors would finish their notes while I dressed. Seems an efficient way to handle this for male patients.

I have had only one doctor that I remember who would do this same routine except the first time that I saw him, he stepped out of the exam room while I stripped to my underwear. He was gone for only a minute so I don't think that he had time to check in with another patient or do some other work in his office. I assume that he really did just step out so that I wouldn't have to undress in front of him. I never could figure that routine out since when he stepped back in to the exam room, I was sitting on the exam table in my underpants just as he instructed. I thought it was weird to show concern about my modesty when a minute later he saw exactly what he would have seen had he stayed in the room. I saw him a few times after that for physical exams and he never stepped out again while I undressed to my underwear. Maybe he decided out that stepping out was unnecessary and stopped doing that for his male patients or maybe that was some quirky thing that he did for first-time male patients only. He wasn't a young doctor when I saw him the first time so he should have been experienced enough to have his routine on the patient undressing in front of him figured out by then. What was also weird was that he had been a doctor in the military before going into a civilian medical practice and we know that the military doesn't care about guys being undressed completely for exams and whatever. I grew up in a military family so knew from our Dad that I was lucky to be allowed to wear anything at all for my sports physicals at school. And the clinics for military families on base were run by military docs and although I didn't have a lot of experience being examined or treated in those, I never got to keep anything but my underpants even if I was just there as a sick kid with a bad cold.

Davidwest - That's pretty much the exact process my doc uses. The nurse only weighs me and asks a few basic questions. She doesn't instruct me to undress... just says the doc will be in shortly. He's the one who does most of the history-taking, followed by the physical exam itself.

Interesting to see the two responses from the UK. My sense was that docs are less fussed about modesty across the pond and in Europe (at least there is not widespread use of gowns for men at least).

My female doctor stays in the room while I pull my trousers and knickers down to get my tests done. She asks the questions after I've undressed while I'm stood in front of her, it's a bit embarrassing knowing she can see my lips!

I had to do it for my school physical exams. I remember them telling me to undress down to my underwear. At one point, I remember him watching me as I took various pieces of clothing off in-between him writing stuff down.

My doctor watches (observes) while I undress for my exam. I asked why once and he explained he is observing how freely I move; can I maintain my balance while removing shoes, socks, pants, or do I steady myself or sit. How is my finger dexterity as I unbutton my shirt; can I maintain a conversation while undressing, etc.

Hearing that, I thought I have a pretty smart doctor.

It's true that good docs observe their patients the whole time that the doc is in the room. I'm not sure that watching a younger patient undress is an important as watching an older patient undress as you wouldn't expect a younger patient to have mobility or balance problems. My current doc has never seen me undress but sees me get dressed after the exam. My current doc doesn't see me dressed before the exam as I'm already in my underpants only and sitting on the exam table when he arrives. Then he interviews me for what seems like 20 minutes before starting the physical exam part. The first time I saw him I thought that it was a weird way to meet a new patient for the first time. I had one other doctor several years ago that I met for the first time after his nurse had me change into a gown. Our first meeting was me sitting on the exam table wearing a short exam gown only and him sitting on a stool that was at eye level with my lower legs. I thought that even with my knees just six inches apart he was able to see up the gown. There wasn't a good way for me to sit comfortably with my legs closer together without squeezing my balls or sitting kind of weird. Even though it didn't really matter since he did a full exam in few minutes I thought later that it would have been more polite if he had met me first before I undressed. Guess it was more efficient to have his patients undressed first and get right down to business that do a meet and greet first and then have the patient undress.

Usually neither the doctor or nurse is in the room while undressing, but sometimes the doctor stays while getting dressed.

Both nurses and doctor stepped out while I have changed. Though I have no shame to strip in front of them.

I never understood why people thought they need privacy to undress. Especially some men.

Growing up, it was always the doctor or nurse present while I undressed, typically to briefs, and would be weighed. As I got older and surely in college using it's health clinic, I would be escorted to the room and left alone to undress. Most of the time, it was down to my briefs. I think that there is no need for the doc or an assistant to observe me undressing. There will be plenty of time later to observe all of me!

I always had to undress in front of the doctor or nurse. Never did he/she leave the room and there was also never a privacy screen or whatsoever.

I got used to always undressing in front of the doctor, nurses, and whoever else might be in the room, when I was young. At our family doctor., the exam room was also the doctor's office, and i would just get undressed in front of everyone, no curtain or divider, and usually down to just my briefs, or sometimes everything off. This went on until I was 16.

It was the same with early school physicals, in a small mobile medical unit where the exam room had no space, really, for separate changing area.

After our family doctor retired, when I was 17, then we switched to a small family practice with three or four doctors. This was the first time I'd really been given any privacy while undressing. Also, first time I'd been given a gown too. Most other doctors since then have either left the room, or had a screen to undress behind.

One of my favorite prostate massage lady (she was mentioned on this site) always stay and watch me undress while she prepares her gloves lube

If and when im hard or getting there ahe will say or mention that im happy to see her

My doctor only see me take off my underwear as I have removed all my other clothes before he comes in.

I never had a doctor or nurse watch we undress. When the nurse would tell me to remove everything except my underwear, she would leave the room and return about 5 minutes later. I don't know why this is/was, because they see you undressed; however, they never watched me undressing.

For anything involving nudity I’ve always been behind a screened off area that I’ve either been asked to go into, or the nurse/doctor has stepped out off, depending on where we are.

After the nurse takes my vitals and confirms my records are up to date she leaves the exam room. Shortly afterwards, the doctor comes and asks me a number of questions and discusses the blood test results. Then, while he remains in the room, he asks me to strip down to my underwear. I hop on the table and the exam begins from there.

That happened to me when I went to pediatrician, when I was 15-18 it was shameful

That happened to me when I went to pediatrician, when I was 15-18 it was shameful

@rinjection96 but the exam went that much quicker, and you were able to get out of there faster. Versus the pediatrician leaving you, then getting tied up in 3 other things and coming back a while later.

S/he's going to see you in that state of undress anyway. As long as they're not sitting there with their arms crossed, staring at you like you're doing a strip tease..

(I just managed to use all 3 homonymns of there in the same sentence)

My doctor watches (observes) while I undress for my exam. I asked why once and he explained he is observing how freely I move; can I maintain my balance while removing shoes, socks, pants, or do I steady myself or sit. How is my finger dexterity as I unbutton my shirt; can I maintain a conversation while undressing, etc..

@John_Sitter I'm impressed that he had an answer ready. And a seemingly good one - maintaining your balance, etc. Then when he gets to the finger dexterity, that seems a bit of a stretch. Maintaining a conversation while undressing, I'm wondering if that was a joke or smart ass remark because you asked him.

I never understood why people thought they need privacy to undress. Especially some men.

As I've said before, the doctor has always stayed in the room while I undress. They're going to be examining me while I'm in front of them stripped down to my boxers so what's the point in having privacy while I strip down to the same level of dress?

I cannot ever remember I time when a doctor has left the room when I undress. Nine times out of ten we just carry on talking as I strip down to whatever level of undress or nudity they have asked for.