What was the OTHER girl there for?

So a couple years ago I had an ultrasound of the lower abdomen that involved being in one of those paper gown things and being exposed "in that area" if you catch my drift. There were two techs(?) there, both women and one of them ran the machine and did everything including all the talking.

I didn't even think of it til like a year later coz I was nervous, but the other girl didn't do anything I remembered at all. Just watched. What was she there for anyway? Her presence wasn't explained to me in any way. Just..... there she was, like "of course she's part of the whole process!" She didn't seem like a nurse or doctor, more like the other tech.

Perhaps as part of her training through observation...not uncommon !!

Or maybe she was there to keep you in line in case you thought about misbehaving.

Or she may have been there as a witness.

Or to assist if needed, such as to fetch something for the machine operator.

It is quite possible that she was there as a witness, to make sure that proper protocols were followed. This is often done for your protection, as well as the technician's. Another possibility to consider, is that if for some reason, anything went wrong, there is somebody to render assistance or call for help if needed. (such as calling a code)

GNobern I would suspect that most things she was their to act as a chaperone in order to prevent any possible untoward incidents or accusations as stated by quiency and master anjinsan. Also as quiency correctly stated to render assistance as some patients do require assistance with getting onto and off the table/couch, as well as assists with documentation and the running of the list.

I don't look like someone who would need assistance though. At all!

I dunno I feel they should ask.

When having an ultrasound of my scrotum, performed by a young and attractive female technician, a second young woman entered the large room and sat some distance away reading what appeared to be a magazine. She was close enough to observe the general scene but not to directly see the area being imaged. Her presence was not explained, or even mentioned, to me but I knew she was there as a chaperone. I took her positioning and attention to her reading material to say, "I am here, I am not invading your privacy unnecessarily."

My female dermatologist always has a female medical assistant in the room with her when she does my yearly full body check. The Dr. will look at every inch of my entire body. The assistant does nothing, but is there to protect the Dr. from any frivolous law suits from patients trying to win the "legal lottery".

Almost positive it was a chaperone/witness. The unacceptable part is that she wasn't introduced. I always demand to know who everyone is and why they're there.

Possibilities:

1. Technician in training.

2. Assistant to the technician

3. Chaperon.

As to 3, it used to be common for a male examining a female to have a female chaperon in the room to protect both the practitioner and the patient from any abuse or frivolous lawsuits. This is not as common as it once was, and I had never seen the reverse done. The thing is that it doesn't make sense to me that you would have a female tech and chaperon. Maybe I'm just old school, but the chaperon should be the same gender as the patient.

. . . . Maybe I'm just old school, but the chaperon should be the same gender as the patient.

YES!

I have had a similar experience with my abdominal and testicular ultrasound. For the abdominal a girl help was there probably to hold stuff or something and helped me with my clothes a bit.

For the testicular another male doc came into the room and started instructing me while the Female technician was handling the machine and the probe.

I guess the guy was there to bash me if I had an erection or something.

Likely as a chaperone . We get them here 99% of the time .

If there is anyone else in the room for any of my exams I always ask who they are and why they are present .

If they talk over me in medical terms I always ask what they are saying and what it means.

I think it's quite rude of them otherwise.

I don't care if they find me annoying , off putting or nosey . I like to know exactly what is happening .

I'm sure if roles were switched they'd want to k ow everything .

Yes, absolutely there as a chaperone. And that's to primarily protect the doctor (or the other technician) from the patient's frivolous suits. She wasn't there to really protect you, the patient. I agree with what's already been said that she should have at a minimum introduced her and simply said that she was required to have her there as a witness/chaperone for this particular type of procedure. That's all that needed to be said.

Just like the other Jimmy said, I always have a nurse present when I'm at my dermatologist for a full body exam. She is very thorough and checks everything. I've never questioned her need for the witness/chaperone -- I can somewhat understand her need to have someone else in the room. And having someone else there greatly increases the erotic factor in my mind, so I'm good with that.

Same for me at the dermatologist. The assistant is there to chart findings and manage biopsies. Being a chaperone/witness is secondary.