I was screened for another study, this time was a dermatalogic one, where they asked me to get undressed, everything off down to my briefs, and put on a gown. I wasn’t wearing underwear, so just undressed, and put on the gown. After the nurse went through a questionnaire, she took me down the hall to the scale. I was holding the back of the gown closed, as best I could, as several others were passing by.
Later, as I was leaving, there was a woman, probably in late-50’s or early-60’s, being weighed. She was dealing with the same problem with her gown. I waited for them to finish, so I didn’t have to squeeze by. As the woman stepped off the scale, she bent down to pick up her shoes, and her gown fell open in back, exposing her backside showing she was only wearing panties. She was grabbing at the gown in back with one hand, as she hurried down the hall to the exam room.
Not sure our attempts at modesty were really all that necessary, but it seem to be the compulsion of us patients in that situation.