tc104

I have a question to satisfy my curiosity. I recently took advantage of free prostate screenings in the area which included a prostate exam. I got talking to the female who did the exam and she told me she was an RN working for the public health dept. I said are you also an NP but she said no just an RN. Are RN's qualified to so this exam. She seemed to know what she was doing , of course I probably wouldn't know the difference between a good and bad exam. Thanks

Hi First time post here. I am not a Health Care professional but enjoy the site and have found a great deal of useful information. I felt compelled to register so I could respond to this thread which I have been following with interest. About 3 years ago I made an appointment to see a nutritionist. I just wanted better eating habits and maybe lose 15-20 lbs. I was in my early 40's at the time. During the intial visit she asked all kinds of questions about my health, eating etc... She asked about my last physical exam and I told her my doctor had left the area 3 years earlier and have not seen a doctor since then mainly because I felt fine. She was very concerned about this and said at the very least I should have had a DRE done each year because I had a family history of prostate problems. She told me she was a Nurse and while it was not something she normally would do could give me a physical exam. I told her since I was already there why not. Since I needed to undress for the exam anyways she said she would also do a quick skin exam. When she was having me bend over for my DRE she noticed a mole up near my lower buttocks that she said looked funny to her and I should get it checked. I made an appointment with a Dermatologist and found that it needed to be removed and all seems ok but I do need to go for yearly skin exams. I don't want to debate with anyone about should she have done it or not but all I can say is she may have saved my life because where it was located I would never have seen it even if I knew what to look for.