Consent forms are vital for pelvic exams
Most men, other than medical professionals, don’t know what a pelvic exam is. In a nutshell, it’s a procedure that doctors perform on patients to evaluate the patient’s reproductive organs. The exam lasts only a few minutes, with the doctor checking the vulva, vagina, cervix, ovaries, uterus, rectum and pelvis for any abnormalities. It also usually includes a Pap smear, a test carried out on a sample of cells from the cervix to check for abnormalities. As routine and vital as this procedure may sound, it is one of the most controversial in the modern age of medicine due to alleged sexual misconduct perpetrated by doctors like Michigan State University’s former doctor Larry Nassar and, of course, former USC gynecologist George Tyndall.
More than 700 former patients have filed individual suits against Tyndall. During the course of his pelvic exams, Tyndall would make inappropriate comments and wouldn’t use gloves to conduct the exam. After news of Tyndall’s misconduct broke, the Engemann Student Health Center took precautions for pelvic exams, such as providing a pre-exam form and a detailed explanation of what occurs during the exam, among other alleged misconduct.
More or less as a result of the Tyndall’s alleged misconduct, California Assembly Democrats Ian Calderon and Cottie Petrie-Norris introduced legislation in February that requires doctors to give first-time patients a pamphlet explaining proper conduct for the exam as well as a phone number to report misconduct to the state medical board.
California is just one of a dozen states that have introduced similar measures that require women who are receiving gynecological procedures to explicitly give approval beforehand. While the proposed laws are intended to eliminate any question of patient consent, they are meeting a surprising opposition coalition: the doctors themselves.
In California, two powerful medical groups, the California Medical Association and the California Academy of Family Physicians, oppose the bill’s signature requirement because they say it would cause burdensome paperwork and could potentially cause victims to blame themselves. The various medical organizations’ concerns can be described in one polite phrase: well-intentioned.
Proposed consent form laws in California and Michigan, and similar laws that have already passed the Utah, Maryland and New York state legislatures, are necessary. Consent forms are not only for the protection of the patients but also for the doctors.
“This is a new age, where previously condoned male behaviors toward women are no longer considered acceptable,” The Medical Board of California said in a 1994 statement regarding accusations of sexual misconduct allegations against physicians.
10 or even 20 years ago, jokes that would socially crucify a person today were laughed at heartily in a theater room. The way men conduct themselves toward women has progressed in the right direction, but that direction could lead to walking off a cliff. This generational gap between patient and doctor might have been a contributor to the abuse that Tyndall subjected his patients to. While definitely not an excuse, the generational gap is a factor in sexual misconduct and may lead to a solution –– the consent form.
Accusations of misconduct can stem from poor physician-to-patient communication regarding the procedure of the examination. The consent form would be an avenue to remedy this. Had a consent form existed when Tyndall was at USC, it may have served as a deterrent to his behavior.
Gone are the days of the house-call doctor who ran his medical practice out of his home with few standards for conduct. Physicians are supposed to do no harm, but that oath seems to have become soluble in the 21st century. The actions of Tyndall, Nassar and other doctors who took advantage of their position are emblematic of the epidemic plaguing college campus health centers across the nation. A pelvic exam consent form would help minimize the risk of any potential misconduct taken by the healthcare provider.