Vaginal Exams

[Despareux]

I've never had a nurse perform a lady partsl exam on me, nor have I ever heard of a nurse performing them.

So as a Fundamental's student, why am I learning how perform these exams?

As a nurse, how often do you perform them, or have you ever performed one?

[Anisettes, BSN, RN]

SANE=Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner

Yep, Viva's right. Sorry, I shouldn't have assumed when posting that everybody knows what all the various acronyms stand for. Too much alphabet soup, LOL.

[VICEDRN, BSN, RN]

At our county boards of health here in Georgia, most paps and pelvic exams are done by RNs. The exam and the collection of the cultures is not, for any reason, reserved to Mds or mid-levels.

I think its great that you are learning this in your assessment class and I think it reflects the future of nursing and like other posters have stated, exposes you to material you may eventually find useful as you advance in nursing!!

Best of luck to you in school!

[DC Collins, ASN]

Ahh, but there is even more to it than that. You never know where you might end up working...Primary caregiver's office, ER, etc.

In those settings, while you may not be performing the exam, you will likely have to set up the exam for the caregiver, and you may be assisting.

As a guy, in the ER, we are not expected to perform them, but I have set them up and have been there in the room during the exams (out of view of the...uhhhh...affected region :) You are learning what you are likely to experience in *some* form during your career. It is important to know what the pt has to go through, whether or not you are performing direct care.

Nursing school is intended to do little more than give you a *broad* experience; a foundation upon which your Real Education (working) can be based.

DC, ED RN