Privacy at the Pediatrician

In going to the pediatrician the one thing that bothered me the most was the lack of privacy in the exam room. The door ranged from open a little bit, to halfway, to all the way, depending on the day and on the particular nurse. It was bad enough getting rectal temperatures until age 18, but I could have handled it a lot better if the door were closed, where the only people seeing me lying on the table would be the nurse and one of my parents. With the door ajar I was sometimes seen in various stages of undress by people going to and from an exam room, not to mention another nurse who might walk into the room to either get cotton balls, gauze pads, or maybe some vaseline, and then chat with the nurse who was taking care of me. It didn't bother me at 6 or 7 or 8 years old, but after puberty it bothered me alot. Wonder if anyone else had the same experience.

Sounds like production line Medical Office or a Public Clinic. My Pediatrician always made sure teen boys were examined in total privacy. Even the parent was excused back to waiting room as to allow the boy privacy with the Pediatrician. The Gentleman Pediatrician took his time with boys and I always thought he enjoyed what he got to see. As I reflect back on it now it seems there was always a nice looking middle class suburban teen boy from a nice family in the waiting room scheduled for a Physical Examination. I went monthly for allergy shot and that seemed to be the scene.

So why didn't you just ask them to close the door? Seems like a simple solution.

Physicial, what's with the use of "gentleman" pediatrician, who you say spends too much time with his male patients, "gentlemen" gynecologists who you say masturbate to the thought of his patients after their appointments and "gentlemen" other practitioners who you often refer to or imply are perverts in numerous posts?

My greatest lack of privacy fear was the receptionist present to watch me get injections in the bottom, especially when I had to bend over her lap for them.

I would imagine keeping the door open was a way to keep the doctors/nurses safe from any potential litigation. If sole parent claims that the doctor molested their kid, they'll have plenty of witnesses negating the claims. Closed doors = less witnesses/more speculation.

That was never a privacy issue for me. I did have group exams with other students, but by their very nature, they aren't private. But in my pediatricians office, there was never an issue with a door left open or ajar.

That was a lot like my pediatricians office. Very often you could see into other exam rooms as you were led down the hall. On more than one occasion I saw other boys and girls dressed only in underpants. It was embarrassing knowing I would soon be in the same state and that all of us would soon be naked at the end of our exams.

A couple incidents I remember clearly....

I was on the table with my underwear down around my knees when the doctors assistant came in for some reason. I was mortified and she made it worse with a sympathetic smile.

Another time I heard a girl in the next room pleading to be allowed to keep on her panties. This while I was wearing only my underpants which I knew were soon to come off.

My peds. exam rooms all opened into the waiting room and they were sometimes left ajar too. I hated being seen, but always tried to take a peak!

At my pediatrician's office the doors were always closed, but the walls were very thin, and some of the exam rooms were connected by a shared bathroom. I occasionally overheard things that I shouldn't have.

There was no concept of privacy or modesty at my pediatrician's office in the 1960's.

My friends who went to the same guy used to talk about the nudity when you hit the exam room. We all knew when we were sitting in the waiting room what was going to happen when we hit the exam room. Clothing was not optional. Modesty did not exist.

I once was led naked from the exam room to the procedure room at 14. I was in the hallway and anybody could have and probably did see me.

I never really noticed. My pediatrician had a private practice in a converted house.. (Common in New England) The exam rooms were not visible from the waiting room. To the best of my knowledge, the door was always shut, but. honestly, I was more concerned about what he was doing, and any embarrassment was over the idea of my mother being in the room when I was very young.

Even when Mom stopped sitting in on exams, I knew that I would not argue of fuss about anything the doctor did, because if I did, when I got home, my bare bottom would definitely be exposed as I lay across my mother's lap for a spanking.

Door was always closed at my pediatrician, never had to remove clothing until the doctor came in the room to do the exam, he would then make me take everything off including my underwear.

I was taken often to the paediatrician by my mom in my youth time (in the 1980s), because I was often sick mostly with abdominal problems and also for regular full body exams. I remember, that it was usuable to get undressed to the pants already in the waiting room, so that a nurse did the preparing measurements, taking height and weight and talked to my mom about my problems (like when I was nausea or vomiting at least, about diarrhoe, when and were I had stomach aches and if I had pain on my protruding gnarly (outie) navel, and about appointments by other doctors, who I had to see regularly, too). It was always so ashaming for me, when my mom answered her aboiut everything mostly in detail, so that the other young patients and moms heard that, too! In the exam room, the door was always closed, when I had to take of my pants, too. I had to stay stark naked for the whole exam by him, but sometimes nurses came into the room and let the door open for few seconds, so that other could see me lying there on the table. After the exam by the doctors, when I was taken by a nurse for the additional (apparative) exams (mostly ecg and abdominal ultrasound, sometimes x-rays, too) to another section of the ordination, I was only allowed to put on my pants, when she took me passing the waiting room again to the other exam-rooms.

Similar situation with a lack of privacy I had also by the dermatologist in my youth time, during my stays at hospital in my youth time, and at the company doctor during my own nursing education.

Remarkably, the pedia office I attended seemed very respectful of my privacy. I went to the same place from the late 1980s through the 90s, and I recall one visit when I was elementary-school aged in particular. The nurse had already taken my height and weight, shown my mom and me to an exam room, and instructed me to get undressed. She had forgotten to give my mom a form and proceeded to knock on the door, open it just enough to fit her arm in, and reach the paperwork inside, very careful not to look in the room at all -- even though I only had time to just begin undressing. I thought it was a nice touch if a bit incongruous when compared with the doctor who saw and touched almost every part of my body only a few minutes later.

For me the worst experience in the pediatrician was in school physicals. There all of us were in our briefs, waiting for the exam. Then in the worst part, witht he door open and some of your pals looking, the doctor lower your briefs to check genitalia.

I never had any breaches of privacy in my pediatrician's office. He was a very distinguished and dignified gentleman who I respected immensely. It was embarrassing having to strip to my briefs and have them down for the genital and hernia exam. It was always interesting seeing the other boys in the waiting room and thinking about them having their pants down too. I wish in retrospect that there had been privacy issues because I would love to think back about them.

Likewise. I never had that problem and I never went through those nightmarish group physicals at school.There always was a certain degree of respect for privacy. When I was in early adolescence my new doctor expected alone time between so we could talk about issues I was going through.

When I was young I was taken to the pediatrician in various occasions.

It was in a private practice and the waiting room was quite small and always crowded. Screams coming from the office were not infrequent and we expected the opening of the door for the next patient with disquietude. When inside the office the doctor always close the door. He always made me undress completely and lie down on the examination table. Generally it was also present an old nurse which helped me to undress and walk onto the table. She assisted the doctor during the examination, keeping firmly my ankles and also spreading my legs when necessary. At the same time she kept firm my arms with her elbows preventing any reaction from myself. This old woman was very dreaded by me and my school mates for her unfeeling manners especially with males.

Very often happens the doctor assistant came in. One time it happens during my genital examination and that bitch let the office door opened. That time the waiting room was not very crowed but mother and sister of a school mate of mine were present attending their turn and I saw them looking through the doorway seeing me naked and what the doctor was doing between my legs. It was very embarrassing. It happens also to me to look inside the office when the door was let partially opened and I saw other patients naked, modesty was not very taken in account considering it was present a curtain in the office but it was never used.

My pediatrician wanted me naked and went from room to room visiting two patients at a time. As a teenager, opening the door to people in the waiting room I could not see anything and I was trying to hide her breasts with her hands and between her legs. What a shame!

Hello,

Would you please elaborate on the method employed by your pediatrician whereby he would examine two patients at once. Did he perform certain aspects of the exam on one patient and then switch rooms and do likewise to the other? Were both patients examined in each others presence? Was it possible to catch a glimpse of a patient sitting naked on the exam table as the doctor went from room to room?

I've never had a problem with privacy as my pediatrician always ensured that the door was closed before he asked me to undress for my examinations.

There were a couple of times where the nurse left the door open a crack after she left the exam room. I was sitting on the exam table in my panties. I don't think anyone saw me but the opportunity was certainly there.

When I was little, there wasn't a lot of concern about the modesty of children. The pediatricians office had a scale in the hall way between exam rooms and you were taken to be weighed wearing just your underpants. I was used to seeing my girl cousins in their underwear at home so I didn't think much of it when I saw girls being weighed ahead of me. When I got to be older it was a little more embarrassing and I made sure I wore boxer shorts. The older girls were given a gown to wear, but they were always open in the back.

In grade school we were given TB skin tests in mass. The first couple of times this was done, the skin test was given in our backs between our shoulder blades, I guess so we wouldn't scratch it. Anyway. We all lined up by classes in the cafeteria. The boys would take off their shirts and stand there holding them. Girls however all wore dresses to school. So as they approached the table where the tests were done, the teachers would unbutton their dresses and slide them off their shoulders and the girls would stand there holding their dress up. The parents were told in advance not to have the boys wear undershirts or the girls wear slips or camisoles. And few days later the process was repeated so the nurses could read the skin test. When we got older, the test was changed and given in the arm.