Most women want to put off that dreaded once-a-year pelvic exam. Imagine volunteering to have one four times a week — by a trembling novice doctor.
That’s what Kat Wentworth does. She works as a stand-in patient to help train medical students how to give below-the-waist exams.
Some say she should get battle pay. But Wentworth says she is happy to move medical residents “from a place of fear and anxiety to a place of ease and success.”
Wentworth is among thousands of regular citizens across the country who are willing to let budding doctors practice on them so the rest of us can be in better hands when real illness strikes. Of course, most fake patients aren’t volunteering for such an intimate exam.
Pretty useful article. It would take more than a few bucks for me to volunteer for a student doctor.
CREEPY!!!
With the medical schools that I’ve worked with these were paid positions, not volunteer. And before you start snickering – no I was not one of these women. I worked as an actor training what I fondly called baby doctors how to give either detailed medical information or bad news to patients. Imagine every 15 minutes or so being told you were carrying a child with downs syndrome. Never did the physical stuff but met the women who did. Not only do they provide their bodies to the students to learn on they provide feedback during the process as well!