My previous Primary Care Doc always use to see me, then she started to pawn me off to her NP, then on to other doctors or nurses in the practice. It seemed like to me that the more I got tossed around in the practice the less I was examined. That was confirmed when I went in for my annual exam and the NP who was assigned to me that day had a NP in training tagging along with her. I thought 'Oh Hell YES!!! This is going to be interesting!'
And It wasn't. Sorry to say.
The NP allowed the NP in training to conduct the oral history, medications and a very brief blood pressure checks. I personally don't think she did the BP correctly, because it usually is high and they always ask if I am nervous or something. Instead she jots down her reading in my e-chart and moves on.
Because of my oral history and the confirmation of her checking my written history in her computer records, the NP in training asked if she could do a check for a hernia. (I think I have shared this story before on this site) Anyway the NP did give her permission to do one. She admitted to never having done one before and asks for some guidance. The NP huffs and dons a pair of gloves and goes in and swipes around my testicles, as if to say, do the squeeze tests for lumps first, blah, blah... and then does a quick finger up the inguinal canal and then stands up. The NP did say very little and the training NP could not really see much.
The NP in training gets down and hesitates. She puts my right testicle between her thumb and finger and gently strokes down the last third of my right testicle and then repeats that same bullshit stroke down the left testicle. The NP huffs again and tells her that I will instruct her how to do it. So I try to tell her. She then asks me how she can find my inguinal canal and she points into my pubic hair, above said area. I instruct her to come in from below and feel for the ring. She tries her best and gets close on the third attempt. She has me cough, then the left side. She then says she wants to do a DRE. I simply turn around and bend over, the NP tells her to re-glove. She enters my rectum, up to maybe her first knuckle. She flexes her tip of her finger and withdraws. They both leave the exam room.
I get dressed and sit down. The NP in training returns to the room and tells me everything is alright and I can leave now. I look surprised, I suppose. She then tells me she was instructed to refer male patients with genital issues to urology and let them handle it. I know the NP is (lazy) and unhappy (?) in her line of work. She doesn't like to do much if she doesn't have to. I think that poor girl got the worst trainer.
I have since left that practice. The straw that broke the camel's back, was the pre surgical physical I was to undergo at the same practice. The male doctor came into the room 7 minutes late. Asked me a bunch of questions, mostly related to anesthesia. Then left the room after 3 minutes. Then came back into the room to tell me I was good for surgery the following week. He spent 4 minutes with me. He never touched me. He never looked into my mouth, ears, nose, eyes.... The appointment was set up for 45 minutes and I was warned I might be there for an hour with this type of physical.
My new doctor, of the last two years is hands on and I do like her method of physical exams. Except she checks for hernia with me on my back, and she is above (or outside) the inguinal canal and I fear she is not doing it right. But I am no doctor, and am afraid to ask her to check me while standing. My two annual physicals I have had with her I spent about 3 minutes completely naked in her presence. She goes to take out a sheet for my modesty and I tell her it is not needed, then remove my gown for her to exam my abdomen, listen to my heart and bowels, do the hernia exam and the DRE while laying there naked.