Mirror in exam room

That's exactly how the exam room in my doctors office is layed out. I often take a quick look in the mirror as I am laying down on the table and see how obvious the tent in my boxers is.

I got myself a copy of the book NORMAL AND ELEMENTARY PHYSICAL DIAGNOSIS by Whitelaw Reid Morrison, A.M., M.D. and Laurence B. Chenoweth, A.B., M.D. It contains a detailed section on how to arrange, set up, and manage large group physicals in high schools and colleges. In chapter 1, section III on pages 24-26, subtitled "Instruments and Equipment," they list everything that should be on hand for use and one of the items is a "Mirror 3 by 4 feet or larger." It's an old book, but my understanding from speaking to a few people who were in a position to know is that it set the basic model for large school group physicals up through the 1970s and 80s. It does jibe about 90% with the way my own school did them.

Yes. I recall a nurse practitioner in college at campus health had a mirror on one of the cabinet doors above her sink. I remember her watching me through the mirror as she asked me to pull down my underwear while she was putting on gloves. I don’t remember what this exam was for but I do remember her watching me pulling my underwear down to my knees.

I haven’t really noticed a mirror in an exam room, but I suppose a couple of reasons could be:

For patient use when getting redressed

For doctor or nurse to see if a door opens or something if they have their back to it

For use in examination to see multiple views - thinking especially for checking movement of limbs and such.

For showing the patient something they might not be able to see themselves - something on their face, head, or back, for example.

For play exams I’ve sometimes tried to position the exam “table” near a mirror in a hotel room so the patient can see more of what the doctor is doing.

My pediatrician had different offices were he received his patients. I remember only one -which is not my usual but it is in a close town- with mirrors.

They are fixed on the wall over a couple of drain he used to wash his hands after the examination.

Thinking about it, the examination table was placed so that the patient could look at their bodies or others in the room could easily peek... Anyway I am quite sure I did not looked at the mirror during my examinations,

I was always dreaded when at doctor and I stared at the ceiling expeciallly during the genital part.

My pediatrician's office is the only place where I can remember there being mirrors in the exam rooms. (At least mirrors large enough to be worth noting. The long end of the exam table was flush against the wall, and in every exam room, there was a mirror that ran the length of the table. So whenever I went in for an exam and it came time to lie back to the doctor could listen to my heart and palpate my abdomen, I could get a "third party" view of me getting checked out. (Well, I'd have to steal a look--if I lost eye contact with the doctor for but so long while he was making small talk, he'd think something was up.)

My pediatrician had a big mirror on the wall.

When laying down you could see exactly what he does.

Kind of interesting