In my Fundamentals of Clinical Practice class, I discovered there is a lot more technique involved in the physical exam than I ever anticipated. I recently had a lecture on the most awkward of subjects entitled: Male and Female Genital Exams, and Breast Exams. I'm not even going to touch on the first part of that lecture, and needless to say, I've pretty much eliminated proctology and OBGYN as career choices. When it came to breast exams, it turns out there are several different techniques to ensure that no potential hazardous lumps go unnoticed. Several techniques were described to us: Clock Pattern, Wedge Pattern, Swirl Pattern, and Lawn Mower Stripping. Lawn Mower Stripping was emphasized as the ideal choice. I could have been mistaken, but it really sounded like "Lawn Mower Stripping" and the lawn mower part is definitely descriptive. You just go up and down as if mowing a lawn in straight lines, only you're not mowing a lawn - you're examining a breast.I have physical exam lab the day after lecture. After sweating in my white coat for an hour, I was the last student to perform the exam. There were four students, one standardized patient, and one instructor in every lab room. Everybody watches you do your exam which is a little nerve racking. The instructor kept on correcting my hand position to make lumps and irregularities more obvious. She kindly told me, "Now, it's called the lawn mower technique, and you know when you're mowing a lawn you want to keep your lines straight. The same idea applies here, so you don't miss anything." I nervously replied with, "I don't mow lawns. Well actually, nobody let's me mow the lawn anymore because last time I did, my sister said the lines were too crooked." (This is a true story - my sister sent pictures of the lawn to my dad to show off how dysfunctional I am) We all had a nice little chuckle, even the lady with her top off had a laugh... awkward!
1 comment:
WE MET IRA GLASS!!!!!!!!!!!
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