Interesting letter from doctor

I got a letter reminding me to get a physical from a pretty female PA that I saw last year.

It talks about the importance of it and how its a good time to go over fundamental health issues, etc

but the paragraph I like says: "I perform a head to toe examination that includes your heart and lungs, eyes and ears, abdomen , skin & prostate" she then wrote:

"I know some men prefer not to have their prostate examined- but don't worry- that like every other test is optional"

Has anyone else ever received a letter like that ?

Also one other thing I remember when i saw her last year I didn't put on a gown but lowered my pants for the rectal & there was no testicular or hernia exam.. I wonder if this year will be different..

The only way to find out is to schedule that exam!

Its scheduled !

Never received a letter like that. What they examine depends on your age, symptoms, and medical history. I've had a rectal and prostate exam yearly since around age 40.

In Belgium some dentist use a medical soft who have an option to send automatically reminders for the patients every 6 monthes.

The originator of the text is naturally the dentist, you have to know that belgium citizens must visit 2 times a year a dentist.

Knowing the medical concurrence in the US , evidence to use all what is possible to convince you.

What happens if the Belgian citizens don’t visit the dentist 2 times a year? Problems with the social security?

Yes the social security don't pay the reimbursement that usually is paid back.

So nice to visit a dentist and earing there is nothing !

I needed an exam for insurance and decided to find a female doc. To my surprise (and delight) her website very clearly described how she would perform the male exam, including testicles, penis and prostate exams. Needless to say I was highly anticipating this physical. Her nurse did the usual upper body stuff first, then I was told to undress from the waist down but "keep my underwear on", and to put the gown on with opening to the back. The doc came in and first asked how I found her, followed by a lot of medical questions. She told me that my blood pressure was a bit high--probably because having a physical with a new doctor can be stressful--and checked it again. This made me nervous that perhaps my MedFet was showing. All this time I was wondering when she would get to the physical exam, as described on her site. Finally she asked when was my last prostate exam (2 years ago) and would I want her to check it. I said it was up to her, but yes it's probably a good idea (as casually as I could). She had me lay on my side facing the wall. She pulled down my underwear just far enough and quickly inserted her finger. I made a slight groan--as if from pain--at which point she said "sorry" and then "no problem at all". It was over in seconds and she never did do the genital exam. I always wonder if she sensed my excitement; I've done many many play exams but this was real and I was a bit nervous. I also wonder if I'll get a letter from her office like you did, for my physical next year.

The VA sends out reminder letters about 2 weeks before an appointment. I never received one telling me anything was 'optional."

I did talk with my new NP when I saw her about a month ago. She did a head to toe including rectal, then she told me that she would see me every six months. (BP Issues) She told me that the next time I see her, she'll do "the basics' without genital or rectal exam, and the appointment after that, I'd get "the full Monty," and it would continue like that, so every other time I see her, I would have a full physical. (onece a year.) She also noted that I am due for a colonoscopy in 2016 (every 5 years. My last one was in 2011.)

Thats nice. That could be a good reminder for men. Because the yearly exams need to be done!!!

Well I went on friday.. same exam as last year.. no gown, stayed dressed , just pull down pants for DRE.. real quick.. nothing in the front,

oh well

Not a letter from a doctor before an exam, but had a required physical for a job years ago where the form that I took to the doctor said "Patient must undress for exam".

Not a letter from a doctor before an exam, but had a required physical for a job years ago where the form that I took to the doctor said "Patient must undress for exam".

That's always a good sign. Did you actually have to undress during the exam or did the doctor choose to ignore that?

The doctor definitely didn't ignore the "Patient must undress for exam" instruction. I don't know what this doctor's usual exam routine was but he looked over the physical exam form that I gave him at the beginning when I was still clothed. He couldn't have missed that instruction since it was at the top of the exam checklist portion of the form. He told me to "go ahead and strip to your shorts" so I undressed to my briefs. That is one of the two times as an adult that I was weighed in my briefs only. Then he did the exam, which ended with my briefs all the way down while I got the hernia check and a rectal. He kept me in my underwear sitting on the exam table while he finished writing his notes on my form. I guess that he could have ignored the instruction, but he didn't. When I looked at the physical exam form before I went to see him, I noticed that instruction and wondered what it meant and what the doctor might think that it meant. Not always the same thing.

Odd that a form would say "Patient must undress for exam". I don't remember any form that I ever took to a doctor for a physical ever instructing the doctor how to do the exam. I can see that an insurance company wouldn't want its preferred doctors to get lazy about doing an insurance physical and might provide instructions to the doctor about how thorough to be in the exam but wouldn't think that the patient would ever see those instructions. Still, a good idea to let the doctor know not to just do a quick exam that doesn't do the job right. I had sports physicals in school and maybe we had a form but I don't remember that. I had two insurance physicals years ago and had a form that I took to the doctors but don't remember anything other than it had a health history questionnaire for me and a list of body parts for the doc to check.

With young adults, teenagers, I have seen forms which tell the public, parents, what an exam will consist of. As for why 'the patient must undress,' it is, I agree, perhaps the only way a company can impose requirements outside of a checklist of parts to be examined or the certification requirements of the person doing the exam. It's clever, too, because the examiner can't then claim that he or she didn't notice something which undressing would have revealed.

Usually the company will tell the employee as little as possible about the components and other details of the exam that the employee must submit to.

I've received the annual reminder in the past, but not from my new PA.

I'm thinking that the "patient must undress for exam" verbiage is not meant as an instruction to the doctor - it's meant for the patient. It may simply be a way to advise the patient on what to expect for their exam. By telling them that they'll need to undress for the exam, the patient knows in advance that this will be a very thorough exam. And it takes away any uncertainty about what the exam will entail. Knowing that they'll be undressed, the patient can infer what body parts the doctor will examine. I just think it's there as a courtesy to the patient to help prepare them.

I agree that this "Patient must undress for exam" might be only meant to tell the patient what to expect and not an instruction for the doctor. Never occurred to me that it is information for the patient.. Even that information is vague, though. It doesn't say how much the patient will be expected to undress. That is why I said below that "Patient must undress for exam" might mean one thing to a patient and a different thing to a doctor. One doctor might think that it meant that the patient is strip down completely and put on a gown. Another doctor might think that a male patient in underpants only is fine. Maybe some doctors might think that "strip as you go" is fine. That instruction would mean only one thing for a female patients but could mean three different things for a male patient.

And maybe I was one of the few patients who bothered to look at the form and get that information at all.

Bowdoin College posts what different positions would expect during their pre-employment physicals. That, college policy, is for the patients because they have two facilities under contract to address any other aspects, certification, etc. If David took his form to a doctor who had no relationship with the company, I agree that it could be both instructions to provider and patient. As for how 'undress' translates, the patient, David, isn't going to get a stethoscope over a shirt, 'Everything is fine.'

Here is the form for Bowdoin College -

http://www.bowdoin.edu/health/IncomingFirstyear.pdf

Here is the form for Bowdoin College

I find the state law for DPT and MMR immunization [along with all the other states that have similar laws] amusing. I would pass on ALL of them and have only had a few of the 40 some odd vaccinations children get today. My daughters have only had a few of the ones I approved of. Some are downright dangerous.

Thanks, Jason. I can't do some things via a smartphone. There is a different form for employees since this one was for students and parents. It can be found by searching 'Bowdoin pre placement physical.' Occupational Health Associates is one of the two providers under contract and has a job description from Bowdoin to provide the right exam. NYU has a pre employment form, not release, in which the genital and rectal parts can be left out. In this case, the provider is NYU itself. Both are examples of a company- school- controlling the exam details.

Here is that form -

https://www.bowdoin.edu/facilities/safety/pdf/pre-placementPhysical.pdf

Unfortunately, while that form lists the jobs that require a physical, it really doesn't go into any detail on what the exam entails. It says they'll conduct a "basic physical" and then list a few things it might include, including some physical agility items. It would really be nice if we knew what a "basic physical" includes. Hernia exam? Genital exam? Rectal and prostate? How are you clothed when you're doing "floor exercises"? Is the urine test supervised or private? All things that I'd like to know. 😃

Thanks again, Jason. For Jimmy and everyone else, you'll have to watch the job posts to find one to apply for. Then you can tell us the details. 😃