This may sound a bit paranoid or strange, but we all know how this exam makes people freak out.
I took it the other week and there’s one thing that’s gnawing at me.
I’m a dude and one of my first patients was a female. I was so focused on making sure the stethoscope was clearly in the right spots during heart/lung exam that I was in my own head during this part of the encounter. Afterward, I got this sense that the patient was behaving differently, maybe a little uncomfortable. So of course, my mind started racing wondering if I did something wrong. Only thing I could think of was coming off as if I was staring at her chest while auscultating heart and lungs, when I was just ensuring stethoscope placement and thinking.
Anyone else have a similar experience? I know there’s nothing that can be done at this point and there’s no point in freaking out. Just hoping I’m not alone in this hahah. Otherwise, I felt the exam went ok.
I took it the other week and there’s one thing that’s gnawing at me.
I’m a dude and one of my first patients was a female. I was so focused on making sure the stethoscope was clearly in the right spots during heart/lung exam that I was in my own head during this part of the encounter. Afterward, I got this sense that the patient was behaving differently, maybe a little uncomfortable. So of course, my mind started racing wondering if I did something wrong. Only thing I could think of was coming off as if I was staring at her chest while auscultating heart and lungs, when I was just ensuring stethoscope placement and thinking.
Anyone else have a similar experience? I know there’s nothing that can be done at this point and there’s no point in freaking out. Just hoping I’m not alone in this hahah. Otherwise, I felt the exam went ok.
