Pediatric residents' assessment of adolescents' experiences during pelvic examination

We compared male and female pediatric residents' perceptions of adolescent females' attitude and experience during a pelvic examination. Females (n = 112) ages 12-19 years were randomly assigned to a male of female examiner and to a supine or semisitting pelvic-examination position. Pre- and postexamination questionnaires were completed by the patients. Female physicians were more accurate in assessing patient discomfort (p less than 0.006),pain (p less than 0.0004), and embarrassment (p less than 0.0006) during the pelvic examination. The correlation between the physicians' and the patients' assessments of the completeness of the examination was stronger for the male physicians (p less than 0.003). These relationships remained constant for both positions. The female physicians' appeared to base their perceptions of the patient-physician relationship partly on the emotional responses of the patient such as embarrassment, fear, and relaxation (p less than 0.02). In contrast, male physicians' perceptions were associated with patient expressions of pain and discomfort (p less than 0.02).